No Mercy is a project of a famous German producer Frank Farian, mostly known for his work with Boney M. The band consists of three musicians, Marty Cintron and twin brothers Ariel and Gabriel Hernández. The lineup hasn’t changed since 1996, which is considered the official year of group formation. At first, Farian found Cintron, who introduced him to his friends Ariel and Gabriel.
It’s interesting to note that Marty has Puerto Rican roots while Ariel and Gabriel were born on Cuba. All three musicians lived in the USA until moving to Germany to work with Farian.
In 1995, in Germany, the band recorded its debut song. It was a cover version to Everything But The Girl’s “Missing”. The song made its way to the 19th position of Germany’s GfK Entertainment Charts.
In 1996, No Mercy presented their first single “Where Do You Go". The song climbed to the 5th spot of Billboard Hot 100 and came in 3rd in Germany. It earned platinum certification in Germany any Australia. Several music celebrities, including Frank Farian, wrote the lyrics for the album.
In October 1996, the trio presented its debut studio LP, My Promise, which they recorded with the German label Hansa Records. The LP topped Austria’s Ö3 Austria Top 40 and reached high spots on German, Swiss, Danish, Belgian, and Australian charts. Such hits as "When I Die", "Please Don't Go", and "Kiss You All Over" became very popular in Europe and the USA. Many fans dreamed to book No Mercy for their private events, but the group was busy giving concerts.
Eight days after the official release of My Promise in Germany, the album came out in the USA under the name of No Mercy. The LP reached the 22nd spot of Canadian Albums Chart and settled on the 104th spot of Billboard 200. In the USA, the album was released under Arista label. It earned a platinum certification in the USA and gold in Canada.