Veteran French black metal band Merrimack are releasing a cover of “Wrong” by Depeche Mode. Originally appearing on the UK synth-pop band’s 2009 album Sounds of the Universe, “Wrong” reached the Top 10 in nine countries and peaked at Number #1 on the U.S. Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. While faithful to the original, Merrimack’s cover is black metal in every breath.

Listen to “Wrong” Below:

Stream

https://orcd.co/merrimackwrong

Merrimack’s latest album, Of Grace and Gravity, is available now on Season of Mist.

Order

https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/MerrimackGraceGravity

Merrimack’s cover of “Wrong” is rooted in long-standing devotion. Guitarist, Perversifier, who proposed the cover to his bandmates,describes Depeche Mode as having "only grown better over the years". He singles out "Wrong" for "already carrying more darkness than even Black Metal rarely reaches."

Merrimack recorded their cover of “Wrong” during the sessions for their 2012 album The Acausal Mass. The cover was shelved for more than a decade before the band returned to record vocals. Perversifier says their cover "highlights just how dark the original song already is". They preserved all the notes from the original, only bringing "the level of violence that Black Metal can bring”. Where Depeche Mode channel obsessive self-negation through cold synth-pop, Merrimack strip away any distance the original might have offered.

Although MERRIMACK decided to reach out to a larger audience with the release of their first full-length 'Ashes of Purification', the Parisians did not sever their roots with the underground at any time. With the following albums, 'Of Entropy and Life Denial' (2006) and 'Grey Rigorism' (2009), MERRIMACK closed ranks with the most influential, active, and authentic acts of the French black metal scene. Their classic combination of harsh sound with epic structures appealed to critics and fans alike and put the band on their celebrated first US tour with MARDUK and NACHTMYSTIUM in 2009.

After recording 'The Acausal Mass' (2012) in the legendary Necromorbus Studio (WATAIN, DESTRÖYER 666) again, MERRIMACK embarked on a European tour with Norwegian icons MAYHEM and accepted invitations to prestigious festivals such as Hellfest in their native France, Germany's Party-San Open Air and Summer Breeze as well as Montreal's Messe des Morts in Canada. With their latest album, 'Omegaphilia', MERRIMACK were breathing fresh life into an exhausted genre. While ignoring epithets such as progressive, post-, and avant-garde, the French focused on razor-sharp songwriting, captivating melodies, and close to perfect arrangements.

Line-up

Vestal — Vocals
Perversifier — Guitars
A.K. — Guitars
Daethorn — Bass
Blastum — Drums

Recording Studio

Music: Necromorbus Studio (Stockholm, Sweden), Vocals: Tehom Productions

Production Credits

Music produced, recorded & mixed by Tore Stjerna at Necromorbus Studio

Vocals recorded, mixed & mastered by Xavier Berthiaume at Tehom Productions

Cover Art

Follow Merrimack
Bandcamp: https://merrimack.bandcamp.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/merrimackofficial

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merrimack666/

Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/artist/99176

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3XWKabUW6Y9pm9vyNGlrhV

Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/artist/3642745