Origin:	Los Angeles, California, USA
Genres:
DISBANDED

Page online:	June 18, 2016
Last update/review:	June 18, 2016

The Mezmerist

First, to address the elephant in the room -- yes, it is that Bill Ward that plays on the first EP. How this came to pass is fascinating for its simplicity, as guitarist Tommy Mezmercardo, who didn't even have a band at the time, approached Ward at a party and asked if he was available. Ward listened to some rough tracks, said yes, Mezmercardo scrambled to recruit a bassist, finalized some tunes, and released The Innocent, The Forsaken, The Guilty in a pressing of 500 copies in 1985. Ward, for contractual reasons, was uncredited at the time, the EP never really got any press, and it wasn't until 2012 when the Shadow Kingdom label was approved by Mezmercardo to re-release the EP (packaged with an even rarer second EP) that the name The Mezmerist started appearing on some underground radars. As interesting as the story is, the music is a trip in itself, a pyschedelic NWOBHM oddity with falsetto vocals, tinny but cool guitars, and if anything an understated performance by Ward. While underdeveloped, it's a pretty interesting listen even without the Ward connection, it would have been nice to see what could have been with better funding. The aforementioned second EP was put out with a different lineup, presumably received even less press, and the project drifted into the ether. Truly one for the archives.