Mortiis
Mortiis |
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Mortiis (born as Håvard Ellefsen on July 25, 1975 in Notodden, Norway), is a Norwegian musician. During his career he has created music that falls into the black metal, dark ambient, dark wave, and, most recently, industrial rock genres of music. How one pronounces his name varies from person to person.
History
Mortiis began his musical career playing bass for the infamous black metal act Emperor. He stayed with the band for two years before going on to create his own solo project, though unlike his previous band the music would be dark ambient orientated.
Era I
All of the albums Mortiis created up to 1999's The Stargate were composed entirely on synthesizers, creating a sound that was described as "Dark Dungeon Music" by Mortiis himself. However Stargate went even deeper into "battle music" genre with flutes and acoustic guitars, as well as the trademark synths, which this time sounded more professional. Female vocals were provided by Sarah Jezebel Deva.
Era II
2001's The Smell of Rain created a divide among fans; the songs this time had a darkwave feel to them, and some fans loved the new sound, while others hated it.
Some fans thought Mortiis had betrayed them as they were expecting what many had nicknamed "The Stargate II". This would however prove to be Mortiis' most commercially successful period to date.
Band members
Mortiis as a band was formed shortly after the release of The Smell of Rain. The line-up consists of the following:
- Håvard Ellefsen (also known as Mortiis) - lead vocals, programming, mixing
- Åsmund Sveinnungard - guitar
- Leo Troy - drums
- Levi Gawrond - bass guitar, programming, mixing
- Åge Micheal Troite - live guitar during The Blackest of the Black Tour.
Era III
Mortiis' latest release, The Grudge, took an even more drastic turn from his Era I and Era II albums and is said to have made the largest impression of any of his albums. The Grudge took on a heavy industrial rock emphasis, combining grinding guitars and industrial programming. Some of the long time fans were again not too happy with this turn, but it helped gain Mortiis more new fans. Recently the Norwegian government declared The Grudge as a cultural artifact, requiring the album to be in libraries across the country[1].
Mortiis is working alongside Rhys Fulber for his latest album (working title: Road to Ruin[2]), with working titles such as "The Great Deceiver", "Zeitgeist", "The Ugly Truth", and "Scolding the Burnt".
Mortiis is set to release a remix album titled "Some Kind of Heroin", reworking material from "The Grudge", on April 16, via Earache Records. "Some Kind of Heroin" offers diverse remix material including interpretations by a wide range of contemporaries, such as Zombie Girl, Gothminister, Implant, Mental Siege, PIG, The Kovenant, Velvet Acid Christ, Girls Under Glass, David Wallace, Kubrick, Flesh Field, Dope Stars, In the Nursery and others[3].
Image
For much of Mortiis' career, he has worn a striking prosthetic mask which has become a subject of much urban legend over the years. It is debated in almost every interview with him. When asked as to what the mask represents he has answered, "I do not look upon myself as a goblin, or troll, or elf, or medieval. I am merely Mortiis."[4]
When talking about the influence for the imagery that his band uses, Mortiis has commented, "A lot of people do not get that you can do more than just look like you're waiting for a bus. I mean how dull is that? I grew up with KISS, W.A.S.P. and Alice Cooper." [5]
The mask is based around that of Blix from the movie Legend. When making the mask, Mortiis used Blix as a character reference for the moulding.
Discography
Albums
Singles
| Single Cover | Date of Release | Title | Label | Chart Position |
| August 16, 2004 | The Grudge | Earache Records | UK National Singles: 51
UK Indie Singles: 7 | |
 |
April 25, 2005 | Decadent & Desperate | Earache Records | UK National Singles: 42 |
Videography
Side projects
In the past Mortiis has worked on a number of side projects. They were later disbanded so that he could focus solely on his main project. Although involving various different bands, they took on a similar style; much like Era 1 Mortiis, they were produced using synthesizers.
The sideprojects include:
Mortiis has recently announced that he is wrapping up work on the soundtrack to the movie Broken (Renegade Films, 2006). Broken is directed by Adam Mason who first worked with Mortiis on the video for Decadent & Desperate. Having completed a near album's worth of songs, Mortiis commented at how they were "atmospheric and eerie" and also "very dark" while "some of it actually is semi-song structured, with some melody and sense to it."
Adam Mason's latest film, The Devil's Chair (Renegade Films, 2006) will also feature Mortiis' music. It is yet to be revealed whether it will be music from the upcoming album or similar to that in the previous soundtrack or a mixture of both.
Collaborations
The following are songs Mortiis has produced or co-produced:
| Year | Song | Type | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Jesus was a Zombie (mortiis version) | Remix | Zombie Girl |
| 2006 | Havestar (la malediction mix) | Remix | I:Scintilla |
| 2006 | Blitzkrieg (driven on mix) | Remix | Deathstars |
| 2005 | Muv Your Dolly (Swedish erotica mix) | Remix | XP8 |
| 2005 | N.A.S.A. (return of the funky dead mix) | Remix | T3chnophob1a |
| 2005 | Self Destructive Corp. (midnight mass remix) | Remix | Dope Stars Inc. |
| 2005 | Fear Feeders | Soundtrack | - |
| 2005 | Maze | Backing Vocals | Apoptygma Berzerk |
| 2005 | Speaking in Tongues | Lead Vocals, co-writer | SCUM |
| 2005 | Backstabbers go to Heaven | Backing Vocals | SCUM |
| 2005 | Touch Me (cleanse & corrupt) | Remix | Girls Under Glass |
| 1995 | Necrose Evangelicum | Synths | Brighter Death Now |
| ? | ? | ? | Repturence |
References
- ^ "Album made available to public for free". Earache. April 14, 2005.
- ^ "Road to Ruin (working title)". Live Journal. December 18, 2006.
- ^ Mortiis to release remix album
- ^ Source: StarVox.net Interview
- ^ Source:Studio Pop Interview 2003