As arguably the first band in Australia to play purely thrash metal, Mortal Sin quickly developed a solid following and only seven months after their first live show the band recorded an album-length demo in a mere three days in July 1986. The eight track recording was eventually released in late 1986 as Mayhemic Destruction and released as an album on the band's own label Mega Metal Productions. Reaction to the album was immediate and the band was snapped up for an international album deal by Phonogram Records UK, who then re-released Mayhemic Destruction worldwide in 1987. In the meantime, Krstin was replaced by Mick Burke from fellow Sydney thrash act Slaughter Lord. Mortal Sin spent much of 1988 recording a second album with producer Randy Burns, who had previously worked with Kreator & Megadeth. The release of Face of Despair was held over until early 1989; shortly afterward the band gained further prominence with an Australian tour with Metallica in May but Campbell was sacked shortly after. Another former Slaughter Lord member in Steve Hughes replaced him. In January 1990, Mortal Sin toured Europe and the UK then played some shows in the US but after their final show there Maurer quit the band.
On its return to Australia, the band split, only to reform a short time later with Steve Sly replacing Maurer, however by the end of the year Hughes, Burke and Carwana had also been replaced. The line-up of Eftichiou and Sly plus Alex Hardy (guitar), Dave DeFrancesco (guitar, ex-Enticer) and drummer Nash Hall toured briefly and recorded a third album entitled Every Dog Has Its Day (released as Rebellious Youth in some markets) that showcased a more traditional metal style than previously but the new combination and sound ultimately failed and by late 1991 Mortal Sin split up.
For the next few years Wayne Campbell featured in bands such as White Trash and Grungeon and also worked as a promoter and Steve Hughes played in Presto and Nazxul. Andy Eftichiou formed Who's Guilty, a heavy rock band that achieved minor significance with an EP and ironically also included two former members of Wizzard. Mick Burke moved into the area of sound engineering. Mat Maurer formed his own band Omega which supported Scatterbrain, but the band did not progress into a writing stage.
It was not until 1996, when Campbell and Maurer then reformed Mortal Sin with Eftichiou and Carwana, plus Anthony Hoffman from Campbell's band Grungeon. Carwana departed almost immediately and was replaced by Troy Scerri, who had previously played alongside Campbell in White Trash. This version of the band released an EP - Revolution of the Mind independently and launched the first full-scale Australian tour that Mortal Sin had ever undertaken. The tour wasn't particularly successful and eventually Eftichiou was sacked, replaced briefly by the bassist from Sydney death metal band Tscabeze for the group's only appearance at the annual Metal For The Brain festival in Canberra. Jason Thorncraft of Sydney's Headlifter took Eftichiou's place after this but Mortal Sin split up once more in September 1998. The original Australian thrash metal band's reformation had lasted less than two years.
However, the band still wasn't finished, and in February 2004 Mortal Sin returned once more, this time as Campbell, Maurer, Eftichou and former Addictive guitarists Joe Buttigieg and Mick Sultana. A year later, Mortal Sin was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the inaugural Australian Heavy Metal Music Awards but within a month the line-up changed again when Campbell and Buttigieg were replaced by Luke Cook and Nathan Shea. In April 2005, Mortal Sin toured Australia with Anthrax and a comeback album is being recorded. On February 4, 2006, the band played a show in Sydney that featured them performing the Mayhemic Destruction album live in its entirety for the first time; this performance was filmed for a proprosed DVD release, however Mortal Sin announced in late June 2006 that the project was abandoned due to poor audio quality.
In August 2006, the band returned to European stages to play some shows in Germany, firstly with Rock over Hamburg alongside Michael Schenker Group, Rose Tattoo, Metal Church, Victory, Gorilla Monsoon and Tourettes Syndrome. The band also performed at the Wacken Open Air Festival. Mortal Sin's fourth full-length album An Absence of Faith was recorded in February 2007 at The Basement Studios in Sydney with producer Phil McKellar. It is due for released in July 2007 in Australia through Riot Entertainment and in Europe in September through Germany's Armageddon Music.
Mortal Sin will return to Europe in March 2008 as support to Overkill to tour and promote the new album.
Wasted Days
Mortal Sin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As the misty morning clears on another day
All alone I wait for the final call
Bought the big ticket, got to ride that train all alone
All hope for freedom is lost and my back's against the wall
Flesh and blood is all that remain to get me through it all
Tagged with a number, the human baggage of the world
Living on memories
I can't break free
I can't escape those wasted days
Living on memories
I can't escape the wasted days
I stare into the mirror but the face I'm seeing is not my own
My life flashes by me now, the years they pass like days
I don't belong in this hardened world
Hey, take a look at me, I'm not the same
Looking back into the mirror, I hear it whisper my name
Living on memories
I can't break free
I can't escape the wasted days
Living on memories
I can't escape those wasted days
No more pain from the world inside
Still can't escape those wasted days
Living on memories
I can't break free
I can't escape the wasted days
Living on memories
My back's against the wall
(Living on memories)
Can't escape those wasted days
(Living on memories)
As the sun rises slowly on another day
They've come to take me away
The lyrics of Mortal Sin's song Wasted Days convey a feeling of disillusionment and hopelessness. The singer is alone, waiting for the "final call," most likely a metaphor for death. He bought the "big ticket" but is "riding the train all alone," suggesting that although he may have achieved success in some form, it has ultimately left him feeling alone and lost. He feels that "all hope for freedom is lost," and his "back's against the wall." The singer goes on to describe how he has been reduced to nothing more than "flesh and blood," stripped of his dignity, and "tagged with a number," implying that he is a mere statistic, a piece of "human baggage" in a cruel world.
The singer is trapped in his memories of "wasted days," and he cannot escape them despite his desire to do so. He feels like he's lost his identity and doesn't recognize his face in the mirror, and his life flashes before his eyes. The singer does not belong in this "hardened world," and he cannot escape the memories of his past. The song ends on a somber note, with the singer resigned to his fate as "they've come to take me away." Overall, the lyrics of Mortal Sin's Wasted Days express a sense of despair and regret at the time wasted, and the feeling of being stuck in a cycle of hopelessness, longing for something that's seemingly unattainable.
Line by Line Meaning
As the misty morning clears on another day
The start of a new day is dawning and the mist slowly fades.
All alone I wait for the final call
I am waiting all by myself, with nobody else around, for the end to come.
Bought the big ticket, got to ride that train all alone
I made the ultimate sacrifice and now I must face the consequences all by myself.
All hope for freedom is lost and my back's against the wall
I have no way out and I feel hopeless and trapped.
Flesh and blood is all that remain to get me through it all
My physical body and basic survival instincts are all I have left to rely on.
Dignity stripped away, the human cloak is frail
I have lost my self-respect and my human body seems weak and vulnerable.
Tagged with a number, the human baggage of the world
I have become just a statistic, a number among many, weighed down by the problems of humanity.
Living on memories
I am surviving by holding onto memories of better times.
I can't break free
I am unable to escape my current predicament no matter how hard I try.
I can't escape those wasted days
I cannot forget or move past the time I have lost and wasted in my life.
I stare into the mirror but the face I'm seeing is not my own
When I look at myself in the mirror, I no longer recognize the person staring back at me.
My life flashes by me now, the years they pass like days
My life seems to have gone by in a flash, with the years feeling like mere days.
I don't belong in this hardened world
I feel like I do not fit in with the harsh and cruel society around me.
Hey, take a look at me, I'm not the same
I am different now and I want others to see who I have become.
Looking back into the mirror, I hear it whisper my name
As I continue to gaze into the mirror, I hear a voice calling out to me.
No more pain from the world inside
The inner turmoil and suffering that I have experienced is no longer affecting me.
Still can't escape those wasted days
Despite the lack of pain, I am still struggling to forget about the time I have lost.
My back's against the wall
I feel trapped and cornered, with no way out of my current situation.
Can't escape those wasted days
I am unable to move past my past mistakes and wasted time, no matter how hard I try.
As the sun rises slowly on another day
A new day is beginning with the sun slowly rising in the sky.
They've come to take me away
Someone is coming to take me away from this world and into the next.
Contributed by Avery L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@DigitalPhantomZX
As the misty morning clears on another day
All alone I wait for the final call
Bought the big ticket, got to ride that train all alone
All hope for freedom is lost and my back's against the wall
Flesh and blood is all that remain to get me through it all
Dignity stripped away, the human cloak is frail
Tagged with a number, the human baggage of the world
Living on memories
I can't break free
I can't escape those wasted days
Living on memories
I can't escape the wasted days
I stare into the mirror but the face I'm seeing is not my own
My life flashes by me now, the years they pass like days
I don't belong in this hardened world
Hey, take a look at me, I'm not the same
Looking back into the mirror, I hear it whisper my name
Living on memories
I can't break free
I can't escape the wasted days
Living on memories
I can't escape those wasted days
No more pain from the world inside
Still can't escape those wasted days
Living on memories
I can't break free
I can't escape the wasted days
Living on memories
My back's against the wall
Can't escape those wasted days
(Living on memories)
As the sun rises slowly on another day
They've come to take me away
@chadluvsjapan
I cant find this album anywhere ;(