Mercy Drive is an American hard rock band originally based out of Central Florida, best known for writing and performing entrance themes for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestlers, most notably Maven Huffman ("Tattoo") and Randy Orton ("Burn In My Light").

History

Mercy Drive originates from the band Big Mother Thruster, founded by Corey Lane and Josh Lyons. Jimmy McGlothin joined the band after meeting Corey in a mosh pit during a Hard Rock Live show in the summer of 2000. Big Mother Thruster was a moderate success. Their momentum increased when they played the Florida circuit. They also gained recognition through supporting other acts including

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and

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. In 2001, Big Mother Thruster gained bigger exposure through working with

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

(then World Wrestling Federation) and

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. Four of their songs were used on '' Tough Enough'', a reality show produced by WWE which aired on MTV. The soundtrack to the series went on to sell over 150,000 copies nationwide. WWE would also enlist the help of Big Mother Thruster to produce a song for the series' eventual winner,

Maven Huffman Maven Klint Huffman (born November 26, 1976) is an American professional wrestler and television personality best known for his time with WWE under his first name. He is known for co-winning the inaugural season of Tough Enough alongside Nidia ...

. Maven went on to use "Tattoo" as his entrance theme for the entirety of his time in WWE (2001–2005). After parting ways with Josh Lyons and Mark James, the band reorganized and changed its name to 'Mercy Drive'. Jimmy McGlothlin (vocals), Jake Beard (guitar), and Corey Lane (drums) recorded at Tree Studios in Atlanta with producer

Rick Beato Richard John Beato (born April 24, 1962) is an American YouTube personality, multi-instrumentalist, and music producer and educator. Since the early 1980s, he has worked variously as a musician, songwriter, audio engineer, and record producer, a ...

. Stan Martell (bass guitar) was later added to the lineup. When Mercy Drive returned under their new name, they rerecorded Tattoo with new lyrics. The song was renamed "Memory". However, the new version of the song was never used as an entrance theme for Maven, as he was released from WWE just days before the song could make its way to television. When

Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor who is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand but is currently out of action due to a back injury. H ...

won the World Heavyweight Championship in 2004, Mercy Drive's song "Away" was used in a promotional video showcasing Orton's accomplishments from his debut to his World Championship victory. Following Orton's departure from

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

, he began to use Mercy Drive's "Burn in My Light" as his entrance theme. The song made its debut on ''

WWE RAW ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television show, television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time Zone, ET on the USA Networ ...

'' a week after Orton spit in

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as on ...

's face after refusing to hand over his newly won World Heavyweight Championship. The track was included on WWE's '' Wreckless Intent'' in 2006. Mercy Drive teamed up with producer Rick Beato (Shinedown, Vince Neil, Flickerstick, Working Title) to put together an "in-your-face" blend of Modern Rock that complemented the band's dynamic live performances. Maverick Records dropped them prior to the album's release. As a result, their self-titled debut record was available exclusively through the band's official website.

Members

;Current members * Raymond McCall -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(2000–present) * Jake Beard -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

(2000–present) * Jimmy McGlothlin -

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

(2000–present) * Gordon Madison -

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

(2021- Present -Former members * Josh Lyons -

(2000-2004) * Mark James -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

(2000-2004) * Stan Martell -

(2004-2008)

Discography

Mercy Drive's self-titled album, produced by Rick Beato, was never released by Maverick Records.

Track listing

References

{{Reflist

External links

Mercy Drive's Website
Hard rock musical groups from Florida Musical groups from Orlando, Florida Musical groups established in 2000