Mercury – Act 1 is the first half of the fifth studio album by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons, released on September 3, 2021, by Kidinakorner and Interscope Records in the United States.

Following the conclusion of their Evolve World Tour in 2018, Imagine Dragons' fourth studio album Origins was released that November.

The album touches on themes of loss, loneliness, and grief, while celebrating life:[4]"I have watched my friends die to drug addiction.

"The album's name is derived from the word “mercurial”, drawing on Reynolds’ mental health struggles and the band's lack of specific genre classification.

Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic stated "While the overall tone and narrative could use a little polishing, Mercury: Act 1 is a huge step forward in their maturation process".

Conversely Evan Rytlewski of Pitchfork, was hard-pressed to find signs of maturity and unimpressed by the band’s "genre hopping".

He concluded that "despite the ostensibly humanizing presence of Rick Rubin, rock's patron saint of prestige, these quintessentially Vegas showmen still sound like they're firing their emotions out of a T-shirt cannon.

[8] David Smyth of Evening Standard called the album "more irritating than inspiring" and stated that "there are a few songs you might like here, but a few you'll violently hate.

When the fans solved the riddles, Imagine Dragons confirmed that the double single "Follow You + Cutthroat" would be released on March 12, 2021.

The song was the band's first to feature contributions from former drummer Andrew Tolman since their debut album Night Visions in 2012.

"Enemy" (with rapper JID) was released on October 28, 2021, and was featured on the soundtrack to the Netflix animated series Arcane.

[17][18][19] An accompanying animated video was released alongside the song, and produced by Riot Games and Fortiche Production.

Additional writers are included below.Some credits below were taken from the official photobook of the band in physical versionsImagine Dragons Production Art Direction and Design Mercury – Act 1 debuted at No.