After their fourth album, Mortification changed styles from death metal to thrash, and even took on power metal and traditional metal influences in their later days. The band has recently returned to their thrash/death metal roots from their "glory" days. The line-up has also changed many times, but bassist and vocalist SMortification is an Australian Christian extreme metal band. As one of the first and most successful Christian extreme metal bands in the world, they serve as inspiration for many of today's Christian metal bands. The group was formed in 1990 from the ashes of Christian power metal band Lightforce by Steve Rowe, Cameron Hall and Jayson Sherlock. Over the years Mortification has released over twenty records and several videos on major record labels such as Nuclear Blast.
During the early 1990s Mortification "belonged to the elite of the death metal movement," especially with their widely praised album Scrolls of the Megilloth. After the departure of their original drummer Mortification began experimenting with groove metal, hardcore punk and power metal. They achieved notable commercial success with Blood World, though the critics have not been interested in the band after the 1996's critically acclaimed EnVision EvAngelene. Despite critical backlash, the band has maintained its status as "some kind of superstars in the Christian metal scene," and have been called in the mainstream media as "a legend in the death metal scene." They returned to their deathrash roots on the 2004's Brain Cleaner album.
Original line-up
In the late-eighties, bassist Steve Rowe played in the Australian power metal band LightForce, a group which saw moderate success in its homeland. Around 1990, the band broke up. Steve, still determined to play heavy music with a Christian message, soon joined with drummer Jayson Sherlock and guitarist Cameron Hall under the LightForce name to release the 1990 demo, Break the Curse. With this release, the band changed musically towards thrash metal with a death metal influence. Feeling that their new musical direction merited a new name, the band retitled itself Mortification.The album's music garnered the band some attention from the heavy metal underground and, according to Allmusic, contains some of the most frightening vocals ever recorded.
In 1991, they released their self-titled debut album Mortification on the American Christian label Intense Records. Michael Carlisle replaced guitarist Cameron Hall, and the direction of the music changed once again. A lot of the songs were taken from their demo Break the Curse, but the band tuned their guitars down, and the feel to the songs was a lot more heavy and doomy than on previous material. Also, Steve proved to be an excellent death metal vocalist, presenting his "Grind Baritone vocals of extreme reality" throughout the album. According to Allmusic, the band "sought to provide a positive alternative to traditional death metal acts such as Carcass, Death, and Obituary. On the strength of their self-titled 1990 debut, Mortification quickly gained a reputation in their native Australia for being one of the loudest and fastest bands around."
In 1992, the band had signed a deal with Nuclear Blast Records in Germany, who had the biggest death metal names on their roster. Mortification released their second album, Scrolls of the Megilloth, which had great success, and in the Christian metal scene is considered a classic as well as a piece of Australian metal history. The line-up had outdone themselves, playing some fast death metal with a few doom metal influences on a couple of tracks. According to Allmusic, the album contains "some of the most frightening vocals ever recorded." A video-compilation titled Grind Planets which featured eight Mortification music-videos shot by film maker Neil Johnson was also released. Grind Planets, a word play of the term "Rock Star" presented a more humorous side of Mortification on the "On the Road" material in contrast with their serious message about spiritual warfare - a common theme among Christian extreme metal bands during early 1990s when anti-Christian bands such as Deicide and Morbid Angel gained popularity.
The band conquered new ground with their 1993 release Post Momentary Affliction. Most notably, the vocal style shifted, adding some thrash-like screams to the already-familiar metal growls. The band also experimented with the industrial style. The album also featured one of Mortification's most popular songs, "Grind Planetarium". Jayson Sherlock had his last concert with the band at the Blackstump Festival '93, and the concert was released both on CD and also VHS under the name Live Planetarium. A big US major magazine cited the Live Planetarium video as the best live album and video they have ever seen and heard. Jayson joined Paramæcium, and Phil Gibson replaced him as Mortification's drummer.
Commercial Success
The band released a new album in 1994 called Blood World. They leaned more towards modern groove/thrash with classic metal and hardcore punk influence, rather than death metal, and Steve mainly used his shouts rather than growling. Phil and Michael left the band, and Steve stood by himself. The strange combination of extreme styles began setting Mortification apart from the crowd of same sounding bands and widened the band's audience as they became quickly recognised as innovators and not imitators. Blood World received rave reviews in America and Europe. Horror Infernal Magazine gave the album 13 out of 13 points. Blood World eventually became their best selling album.
1994 also saw the birth of Steve's own record label, "Rowe Productions." Also, Break the Curse was remixed and re-released by Nuclear Blast Records with a bonus track called "Butchered Mutilation".
Together with numerous friends, Steve recorded the album Primitive Rhythm Machine which was released in 1995. The sound of the album is really nasty and messy with a tribal-percussion to it. Musically, Steve mixed all the styles Mortification had played in the past, death metal, thrash metal and groove metal.
Also, Mortification's The Best of Five Years were released. A compilation album of older material. 2 songs from each previous release made a good introduction to new fans, and showed the bands innovation. This was the last album to be released by Mortification through Intense Records.
In 1996, Steve Rowe started his search for a new drummer and guitarist. The drum position was filled by long time roadie Keith Bannister, who had become a Christian during the first Mortification tour back in 1990. He learned how to play the drums while Mortification was on tour, and when they came back, Steve saw that he had been practicing, and was amazed at his progress, and instantly chose him to fill the spot as the drummer of the band. The guitar position was filled by guitarist Lincoln Bowen. Together, they recorded the album EnVision EvAngelene. This disc mixed elements of classic metal, thrash metal and added a punk feel to some of the songs. The first cut is an epic 18+ minute about Christ's crucifixion from the angels point of view.
Two live EPs were also released, Noah Sat Down and Listened to the Mortification Live EP While Having a Coffee and Live without Fear. Unlike their first live album Live Planetarium from the Black Stump Music and Arts Festival, this was recorded at a small club, with a raw sound.
A video compilation called EnVidion was released, containing numerous music-videos and interviews. Also released this year was a novel by Steve Rowe titled "Minstrel."
In 2006, their song "Livin like a Zombie" was played in the background of the BME Pain Olympics: Final Round.
Mortification recorded and released Triumph of Mercy in 1998, which was released by Rowe Productions in the US and Nuclear Blast Germany in Europe. Lyrically, the album focused on the experiences of Steve and the band during Steve's two-year trial. The style of the album was a mixture of groove and thrash.
1999 saw the release of Hammer of God, also a mix of thrash and groove. The death metal elements had vanished, but the religious message of the lyrics remained.
In 2000, Mortification released another live album, recorded at Blackstump Festival in 1999, called 10 Years Live Not Dead, which mainly featured material from their newer albums plus a new song called "Dead Man Walking". Keith Bannister left the band, and a replacement was found in the very young drummer Adam Zaffarese.
The new line-up released the album The Silver Cord is Severed in 2000 and the band went on its first world tour. The music continued to be thrash and groove. While many fans thought the album was the weakest effort in the band's career, The Silver Cord is Severed sold well like its precessors. This was due to the fact that - like Nuclear Blast founder Markus Staiger stated in a newsletter - had become "some kind of superstars in the Christian metal scene". At the end of 2000 Lincoln Bowen left, and the band was split, which seemed like it was the end of Mortification. However, things changed when the guitarists Jeff Lewis and Mick Jelinic joined the band, and in 2002 they released Relentless. The band went in a slightly more heavy direction with a good dose of thrash and classic metal. The band played live as a 4-piece only a couple of times, as Jeff Lewis left the band.
Return to death/thrash roots
2004 saw the released of Brain Cleaner, now with ex-Cybergrind and current Martyrs Shrine drummer Mike Forsberg. This was the heaviest release from the band in 10 years, and fast thrash dominates the album with lots of groove and death metal influences.
In 2006, Mortification released a new album. It was originally titled Impaling the Goblin, but after many complaints that in some cultures this term had a sexual connotation to it, they changed the name to Erasing the Goblin. The album, with a cover which features a warrior throwing a sword into a goblin sitting on a rocking chair in a cave, is said to be a take on their older death/thrash sound around the time of their first 2-3 albums.
In early 2008, the band's nine early records were re-released by Polish Metal Mind Productions. In July 2008 Steve Rowe announced on his website that drummer Damien Percy was leaving after 3 years in the band and has been replaced by Dave Kilgallon, who is also the drummer for Australian Christian metal bands Grave Forsaken and Scourged Flesh.
On June 6, it was announced that Mortification will record a new album in 2009 On August 5, the band stated that they would record a demo for the new album. On February 4, Rowe announced that the album titled The Evil Addiction Destroying Machine was partially completed, and it was released early June. Confusing many fans, Steve Rowe has reportedly called the new musical direction "easy-listening thrash." Rowe noted in a message for The Metal Resource about the reception of The Evil Addiction Destroying Machine: "With all new Mort releases there have been mixed response; pretty black and white. Some Really Like It and some really Don't Like It. But I knew with presenting the band in a reinvented way it was an excitingly dangerous move!"
Reception and Legacy
According to Australian writers Gary Garson and Peter Schultz, Mortification is the world's most successful Christian extreme metal band. Their first three albums are respected efforts of death metal. Blood World was a commercial hit and EnVision EvAngelene gained some respect for its music. During the tour for Blood World they played with Napalm Death, Sick of it All and Entombed for audiences consisting of thousands of people, and sold more merchandise than the other bands in the venues.Several Mortification tribute albums have been released by Christian metal bands that have been influenced by Mortification.
Records released after Steve Rowe's leukemia have received poor reviews from critics, though they kept selling well. A critic wrote that "The weakest link of current Mortification are the lyrics. They are just somewhat naive and cheesy. On the old albums sinners screamed in pain in the fiery pits of hell, Satan was slaughtered; the rhetorics fit the spirit of the brutal music better. Apparently the fatherhood and going through the disease has calmed Rowe down too much, although on the early records the previous members Jayson Sherlock and Mick Carlisle wrote a lot of the lyrics." The different singing style Rowe did for many years after Post Momentary Affliction was another target for criticism, being called "poor screaming".
Band members
Current members
Steve Rowe - (Vocals & Bass) (1990–present)
Mick Jelinic - (Rhythm Guitar) (2002–present)
Triumph Of Mercy
Mortification Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Doctor gave me asprin to ease the pain,
Soon a blood test revealed the brutal force,
I had been inflicted with the worst...luekaemia.
Chemotherapy began the process off,
Powerful but destructive drugs infused into my blood.
The only way out, but hideous pain,
Cry out to God in the night.
But little did I know that the real pain was coming.
What is known as a bone marrow transplant,
Was my only chance they said.
Chemotherapy was just a 1% chance
But if I could find a donor with identical stem cells,
I could have a 25-40% chance of cure, survival.
78% of sufferers never find a donor but something
Interesting was there in my case....
God had given me my father's stem cells,
Perfect for the transplant.
God doesn't work by percentages.
We trusted God with all our heart
My dad had had skin cancer,
Any remaining melanoma would surely have taken my life.
The immense suffering of a bone marrow transplant can
Not be put into words.
As I lay in my living nightmare I cried out to God,
Who is always there.
Two days had gone past the limit to produce the blood
For me to survive.
Doctors with empty faces entered the room to share the
Devastating news.
I needed a second transplant or I would surely die.
We were told the second transplant usually didn't
Work, but was my only hope.
We needed a miracle from God, we felt his power fill
The room. Peace overcame fear, as we gave up control
To the almighty. Ashtonishment, joy, and disbelief was
Felt by family, medical staff and doctors, were
Shocked with the realization that the original stem
Cells had begun to work. God performed a miracle and
The blood began it's count. Soon the graft had taken I
Was on the road home. As I was discharged we prayed
That all would work.
Weeks of pain followed as my body fought to live. The
Devastating pain was a real sick affair. I forced
Myself on walks and to eat each day, but the immense
Pain was more than I can say, was more than I can say.
As I struggled to live on and fight the sickness war
We were told by doctors that the cancer had returned.
Two weeks I was given but we had had enough. We were
Ready to hand all to God. No more treatment I annouced
To the cancer doctor. Standing there I was in God's
Hands then suddenly one day a double seizure struck me
Down. Family gathered round to see my final hours.
Countless damage had racked my body leaving me half
Dead. I couldn't walk, I couldn't see, my insides were
Badly hurt, it seemed it was the end for me. Warrior
Upon warrior around our distant globe kept the vigil
Fight of prayer of power that can't be stopped and as
The folks cried out to God, He heard them and I live
To stand for him. A lot more special days. God has
Given me peace and comfort all along. As I have cried
Out to HIs grace the joy is overwhelming. He has the
Power to heal, He has the power to save, as we trust
In his mercy we know that we are safe. I KNOW THAT I
AM HEALED!!!!!!!!
The song Triumph of Mercy by Mortification highlights the journey of one who had gone through extreme pain due to leukemia. The lyrics depict the pain, the hope, and the faith in God that the person went through during the process of treatment. The chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant are described in detail, both physically and emotionally. The hopelessness and despair felt by the patient and doctors when the first transplant did not work is contrasted by the shock and joy felt by all when the original stem cells began to work. After surviving the ordeal, the patient declares that they are healed and gives credit to God for their recovery.
This song is a testimony of the power of faith and prayer. It shows how even in the darkest of moments, one can find solace in God and emerge stronger. The song also acknowledges the reality of physical pain and suffering that one must go through during such treatments, but it also highlights the importance of perseverance and never giving up.
Line by Line Meaning
Weeks of hideous pain bent me down,
I suffered through weeks of indescribable pain, leaving me physically and emotionally weakened.
Doctor gave me asprin to ease the pain,
The doctor could only offer basic pain relief in the form of aspirin.
Soon a blood test revealed the brutal force,
The true extent of the illness was revealed through a blood test.
I had been inflicted with the worst...luekaemia.
It turned out I had been diagnosed with the worst form of leukemia.
Chemotherapy began the process off,
The only treatment available - chemotherapy - began, although it was a difficult process.
Powerful but destructive drugs infused into my blood.
The drugs used for chemotherapy were powerful, but caused destruction to my body.
The only way out, but hideous pain,
The chemotherapy was the only way to treat the disease, despite the excruciating pain it inflicted.
Cry out to God in the night.
I sought comfort and help through prayer to God in the depths of night.
He blesses his children with sleep.
Despite the pain and struggle, God provided moments of rest.
But little did I know that the real pain was coming.
However, there was worse pain yet to come.
What is known as a bone marrow transplant,
I was told that a bone marrow transplant was the only remaining option for treatment.
Was my only chance they said.
The doctors indicated that this was my only hope for survival.
Chemotherapy was just a 1% chance
The chances of surviving with just chemotherapy were extremely low, only around 1%.
But if I could find a donor with identical stem cells,
However, if a donor with identical stem cells could be found, the chances of a cure and survival were higher (around 25-40%).
I could have a 25-40% chance of cure, survival.
Finding a donor with identical stem cells would increase my chances of a successful transplant and recovery.
78% of sufferers never find a donor but something
Unfortunately, many sufferers are not able to find a donor with identical stem cells, which greatly reduces their chances of survival.
Interesting was there in my case....
However, there was something interesting about my case.
God had given me my father's stem cells,
Remarkably, my father's stem cells were found to be identical and ideal for the transplant.
Perfect for the transplant.
My father's stem cells were an ideal match for the transplant.
God doesn't work by percentages.
The situation was a reminder that God works in mysterious ways and that sometimes the odds don't matter when He is involved.
We trusted God with all our heart
Despite the challenging circumstances, our faith in God remained strong.
My dad had had skin cancer,
Interestingly, my father had previously battled skin cancer.
Any remaining melanoma would surely have taken my life.
Had there been any remaining melanoma cells in the transplanted cells, it would have been fatal for me.
The immense suffering of a bone marrow transplant can
Despite the hope of a cure and recovery, the reality of the bone marrow transplant procedure was incredibly painful and difficult.
Not be put into words.
It is impossible to fully describe the pain and suffering experienced during the transplant.
As I lay in my living nightmare I cried out to God,
During the most difficult moments of my experience, I continued to turn to and call out to God for help and support.
Who is always there.
I found comfort in the knowledge that God is always present and available to help us through our struggles.
Two days had gone past the limit to produce the blood
There was a critical period during the transplant process where blood needed to be produced, but two days had already passed without any sign of success.
For me to survive.
My survival hinged on the blood being produced in time.
Doctors with empty faces entered the room to share the
Sadly, it appeared that the worst outcome had occurred and the doctors came to share the devastating news.
Devastating news.
The news that the blood had not been produced was tragic and difficult to hear.
I needed a second transplant or I would surely die.
It was clear that I needed a second transplant in order to stand any chance of recovery.
We were told the second transplant usually didn't
The chances of success with a second transplant were typically quite low, although it was still the best chance I had.
Work, but was my only hope.
Despite the low chances of success, a second transplant was my only remaining hope.
We needed a miracle from God, we felt his power fill
At that point, we were relying solely on a miracle from God and we felt His power and presence with us in the room.
The room. Peace overcame fear, as we gave up control
In the face of such an impossible situation, we surrendered control and found peace in the knowledge that God was with us.
To the almighty. Ashtonishment, joy, and disbelief was
As we awaited the outcome of the second transplant, we were filled with astonishment, joy, and disbelief at what happened next.
Felt by family, medical staff and doctors, were
Everyone involved - my family, the medical staff and the doctors - were amazed by what happened next.
Shocked with the realization that the original stem
Remarkably, it became clear that the original stem cells had finally begun to work.
Cells had begun to work. God performed a miracle and
God had performed a miracle and the previously stalled blood production started to increase again.
The blood began it's count. Soon the graft had taken I
The production of blood had resumed and the transplant had taken hold.
Was on the road home. As I was discharged we prayed
I was able to be discharged from the hospital and as we left, we continued to pray for my full recovery.
That all would work.
We prayed that the transplant would be fully successful and that I would not experience any further setbacks.
Weeks of pain followed as my body fought to live. The
Following my discharge, I continued to experience significant pain as my body fought to recover and heal.
Devastating pain was a real sick affair. I forced
The pain I experienced during this time was truly devastating and made every moment a struggle.
Myself on walks and to eat each day, but the immense
Despite the pain, I pushed myself to maintain some basic activities such as walking and eating each day.
Pain was more than I can say, was more than I can say.
The pain continued to be almost too much to bear and became indescribable.
As I struggled to live on and fight the sickness war
I continued to fight on and struggle through my illness, determined to survive.
We were told by doctors that the cancer had returned.
However, the news we received from doctors was devastating: the cancer had returned.
Two weeks I was given but we had had enough. We were
Given a prognosis of just two weeks, we ultimately decided that we had had enough of treatment.
Ready to hand all to God. No more treatment I announced
With nowhere else to turn, we chose to fully surrender control to God and abandon any further treatment.
To the cancer doctor. Standing there I was in God's
As I delivered this announcement to my doctor, I felt a strong sense of being in God's presence.
Hands then suddenly one day a double seizure struck me
Despite our decision to stop treatment, I experienced a double seizure that left me in critical condition.
Down. Family gathered round to see my final hours.
My loved ones gathered around, fully expecting that these could be my final moments.
Countless damage had racked my body leaving me half
My body had been ravaged by the disease and the treatment, leaving me in a severely weakened state.
Dead. I couldn't walk, I couldn't see, my insides were
My condition left me unable to walk or see, and my internal organs were badly damaged.
Badly hurt, it seemed it was the end for me. Warrior
The situation at this point felt hopeless, but I continued to fight on as a warrior.
Upon warrior around our distant globe kept the vigil
Across the globe, countless others joined together in prayer and support, keeping watch and fighting the battle with me.
Fight of prayer of power that can't be stopped and as
Through the collective power of prayer and support, our cause could not be stopped.
The folks cried out to God, He heard them and I live
As all those who were praying called out to God, He heard them and I survived.
To stand for him. A lot more special days. God has
Through the power of prayer and God's mercy, I was able to live on and experience many more special days.
Given me peace and comfort all along. As I have cried
God has provided me with peace and comfort through all of the hardships I faced, including moments of prayer and tears.
Out to HIs grace the joy is overwhelming. He has the
As I called out to God and sought His grace, I experienced a joy and contentment that is beyond words.
Power to heal, He has the power to save, as we trust
Through God's power, both healing and salvation are possible, as long as we trust in His mercy and grace.
In his mercy we know that we are safe. I KNOW THAT I
In His infinite mercy, we can find safety and security. At the end of the journey, I was left to declare that I knew I was healed.
AM HEALED!!!!!!!!
I emerge from this experience as a testament to the healing power of God, a survivor of a truly impossible situation.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: S. ROWE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind