Merciless is a Swedish extreme metal band. The band was formed during the summer of 1986 in Strängnäs, Sweden by Erik Wallin (guitar), Fredrik Karlén (bass guitar) and Stefan Carlsson (drums). They were inspired of the early fast-playing bands such as Kreator, Sodom, Destruction and Bathory. First they did some local gigs as "Obsessed" and "Black Mass" but changed their name to Merciless in early 1987.