“Each lighter-waving chorus on the group’s consistently impressive debut is polished until it practically gleams.” Andy Downing - Chicago Tribune

"’Hit’ is the key word, as Holding Mercury certainly have the hooks to spawn a few.” Jeff Pizek - Chicago Daily Herald

“There is a certain strength in Hoffer's vocal and an uncommon bit to his lyrics.” Jason Behrends – gapersblock.com

“Holding Mercury’s album entitled Downfall of an Empire is a cyclone of fury that decimates extraneous, imposing remains on its path when you least suspect it.”…..”Downfall of an Empire is lock, stock and barrels filled to the brim with passion.”….” They really nail it here with an album that can be listened to straight through without skipping over tracks.” 8.5/10. John Berkowitz – celebritycafe.com

“This is a very cool band with a lot of qualities. The opening "Stuck In A Box" is a beautiful melodic rock piece a'la Melodine with a perfect edge a'la Cheap Trick, and the second one out "I'm Not Well" continues the race. The softer "Anchors Away" where Matt Hoffer (I wrote about his soloalbum back in 2005) shows his qualities is fantastic and ninth out "Do You" is really cool 80's smelling pop with a flirt of Tears For Fears goes Chameleon. All spiced with an american edge. Beautiful stuff. “ 3.5/5 stars. Par Windberg – melodic.net

“The melody [in “I’m Not Well”] is hooky as hell and the singer has a pretty good voice. When I checked out the band's website, I saw a review that compared them to Cheap Trick. I guess I can hear that.” The Pop Eye Blog

“If you like your rock and roll with equal parts good hooks and brains, then I implore you to pick up Downfall of an Empire on November 4th. Final Score: 8/10” TJ – Viva La Mainstream Blog

“You couldn’t ask for a more mainstreamrock sound than what you’re going to get from Holding Mercury’s “Downfall of an Empire.” With obvious influences from Cheap Trick and the 90s alt-rock sound, the new record is a crisp pop album that sounds completely ready for radio” . . “The best part of the album is that they they’ve got skills on top of the great production here. They lyrics are good and PG (lots of lines about caffeine, none about coke), the hooks are terrific, and the vocals are pitch perfect. This is not what you’d expect from an indie band.” Ekko – Berkley Place Blog

“I think if Holding Mercury’s “I’m Not Well” (which you can listen to below) gets into the right hands it has a shot of enjoying some significant airplay.” Rock Sellout Blog