Håvard Ellefsen, often referred to as Mortiis, is the only constant band member. He was born in Skien, Telemark. Mortiis began his musical career playing bass for the black metal act Emperor. He stayed with the band just over one year before going on to create his own solo project, though unlike his previous band the music would be dark ambient oriented. Ellefsen was experimenting greatly with music during his early solo career. He started four separate projects, though the focus was always on Mortiis.
Ellefsen wrapped up work on the soundtrack to the movie Broken and The Devil's Chair (Renegade Films) in 2007. Both films were directed by Adam Mason who first worked with him on the Mortiis video for Decadent & Desperate. Having completed an album's worth of songs, Ellefsen 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." They were done under the Mortiis name. The collected music will eventually be released as a Mortiis album.
Mortiis as a band was formed shortly after the release of The Smell of Rain.
Dark Dungeon Music was the personal record label of Mortiis. It operated between 1995 and 1999 while Mortiis resided in Halmstad, Sweden, and released mostly limited-edition vinyl. It was dissolved as Mortiis moved back to Norway in late 1999.
For nearly the entirety of the band's existence, frontman Ellefsen has altered his facial appearance using several alternatives before using a prosthetic mask and ear set. The studio who made Mortiis' mask asked for a character reference for the moulding. The mask was always coupled with ears. During Era I the mask covered his whole face, though by Era III it had an appearance whereby it seemed to be falling off and was stitched in place. The mask was dropped after the release of Some Kind of Heroin. Having stated in an interview that the mask has been shelved "for better or worse", as part of the significance of Some Kind of Heroin.
Ellefsen's choice of dreadlocks (sometime after Era I), and various outfits helped produce the "Mortiis image". 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." When talking about the influence for the imagery that his band uses, Ellefsen 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.
The title of Era I was never intentional. It came about in 2001 when Mortiis was set to release The Smell of Rain, which was such a departure from his earlier records that he wanted to brand it in a way to signify this. All works previous to The Smell of Rain were thereafter referred to as Era I as a consequence. All of the Era I albums were composed entirely on synthesizers, creating a sound that Mortiis described as "dark dungeon music"- a fundamental influence on the later Dungeon Synth genre. The last album of this era, The Stargate, went a step further by introducing a wider range of instruments including acoustic guitars, flutes and dark vocals; mainly provided by Sarah Jezebel Deva.
Songs on The Smell of Rain were electropop, and frontman Ellefsen took to lead vocals for the first time. This would be the only release under the title of Era II. It was during this era that Ellefsen decided he needed to seek members to perform in a live setting, which later helped change how Mortiis as a band sounded. The first live shows with this new lineup and with Mortiis as frontman & vocalist took place in the United Kingdom in December 2001.
With Era III came The Grudge, which took an even more drastic turn from previous eras and is said to have made the biggest impression of any of his albums. The Grudge took on a heavy industrial rock emphasis, combining grinding guitars and industrial programming. Some of the longtime fans were again not too happy with this turn, but it helped gain Mortiis more new fans. In 2005, the Norwegian Culture Council selected The Grudge to be freely available for listening to the public in libraries across the country.
On 16 April 2007 Mortiis released a remix album titled Some Kind of Heroin, reworking material from The Grudge, 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, XP8, PIG, The Kovenant, Velvet Acid Christ, Girls Under Glass, David Wallace, Kubrick, Flesh Field, Victor Vortexx, Dope Stars Inc, In the Nursery among others. In late 2009 and early 2010 earlier music has been partly reprogrammed and re-arranged for future live use.
On 10 October 2010 Mortiis released Perfectly Defect as a free internet only download album. Regarding why the album was free, Mortiis stated, "The new model of the music business is important to keep in mind; there's a new mentality out there in terms of how people acquire their music now." During this time and the subsequent tours, the visual appearance and sound was similar to that of Era III, but with a more Industrial appearance closer to Combichrist and without any form of mask which had been a key characteristic of previous eras. Although this is marked as being part of Era III, this could be construed as a movement in Era IV.
A four-year hiatus was broken on 8 June 2015 when a message placed on the band's Facebook page suggested a new album was on its way in a new era, Era 0. This was confirmed on 5 October 2015 when the release of the single "Doppelgänger," off the forthcoming album The Great Deceiver. The artwork for "Doppelgänger" included the familiar Mortiis logo, but with the Era 0 subscript, confirming the new Era. The album (The Great Deceiver) was originally finished in 2008, and included mixes by Chris Vrenna (of Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson).
Additional material was also finished with enough material for another album during 2009. To mark the return, Mortiis announced a series of US tours starting on 7 October 2015 with "The Devils Be Damned Tour". Despite the Era being 0, this was not a return to the original sound of Era I, but a continuation of that within Era III, again with complete lack of prosthetics or mask, but keeping the gothic/industrial costuming and face paint.
In January 2020, Mortiis returned to his Era 1 style of music with the album Spirit of Rebellion. The album was a reworking of his 1994 work Ånden som Gjorde Opprør, and was instigated after he was invited to perform at the 25th anniversary celebrations for former label Cold Meat Industry in 2017. In April 2020, he shared a work in progress tentatively entitled The Shadow of the Tower during the online Dungeon Synth festival 'Northeast Dungeon Siege'. An extract was also shared on Mortiis' Bandcamp page; again, the style of this new track reflected the style of the artist's early output. A previously unreleased 1997 track of the same name was released via the same website in October 2020, with Mortiis explaining that the piece had previously been used as atmospheric background music during his sporadic live shows of the era. A second such sample, entitled Blood Becomes Water, was released in July 2020.
Mortiis admitted to having long-held negative feelings about his 1990s output, feeling resentment towards perceived lack of quality in musicianship and production. However, he has since reassessed his detachment towards this material, and now sees renewed worth in the honesty and originality of his early records. In the period leading up to the release of Spirit of Rebellion, many of these early releases were reissued, having remained largely out of print for many years. Mortiis' 2001 book, Secrets of My Kingdom, was also reprinted as an expanded edition in 2018. Subtitled Return to Dimensions Unknown, the reprint featured new interviews, images and other archive material from the 1990s.
Side projects include Cintecele Diavolui, Fata Morgana, and Vond.
Antimental
Mortiis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Holds me tight it's clutching me.
Like black cold chains forever,
Dragging me towards hell's misery.
The things that I've seen with Your eyes.
The things that You choose not to see.
Have scorched me like ten thousand burning years.
Is this Damnation?
Is it in my mind or is it something I don't know.
Something that I should control,
I've got to find,
Find the machine.
That makes me want to be me.
Cannot face another mirror,
Cannot face another truth.
I've got to find,
Find some new eyes,
I've got to find a substitute.
My omnipresence this is me.
My weapon against your dynasty.
I've got to stop existing mentally,
In places that i do not want to be.
I have to move away,
From thoughts terrible and gray.
It will not let me go,
is this Damnation?
My Omnipresence this is me.
My friend, turns into an enemy.
Must control, I must control the evil daemon.
Antimental!
The opening stanza of "Antimental" describes the suffocating sensation of being held tightly by the darkness of the marshland. The lyrics then give a hint of a deeper meaning; the singer is dragged towards the misery that lurks in hell. The second stanza is a reflection of past experiences that have burning effects. The pain the singer feels seems like the type that is endured while trapped in a purgatory of sorts. He delves into the idea of whether it is Damnation he feels, whether it exists only in his mind, or if perhaps it is something he has no clue about. This confusion leaves him aimlessly searching for a solution to regain his true identity, to gain control of that which dictates his behavior. The line "I've got to find the machine, that makes me want to be me," hints at a belief that a tool or method exists capable of unlocking his inner self.
The chorus of the song is a cry for help. The singer is lost and deeply troubled, forced to confront his fears and the truth that the mirrors he faces and the version of himself they reflect is not what he wishes to see. He is desperate to find something, some kind of new perspective or substitute that enables him to leave this mental space of darkness and terror. The bridge section of the song appears to introduce the idea that the singer's presence is his weapon against those who seek to control him. However, his existence mentally in places he does not desire to be is the enemy that must be challenged. It highlights the theme of mental anguish in the lyrics, indicating how overwhelming it can be to feel trapped within yourself.
Line by Line Meaning
The marsh land that is down and deep,
Holds me tight it's clutching me.
Like black cold chains forever,
Dragging me towards hell's misery.
I feel trapped and bound by the dark and cold scenery of this marsh land, as if I am being dragged down to eternal damnation and misery.
The things that I've seen with Your eyes.
The things that You choose not to see.
Have scorched me like ten thousand burning years.
In a purgatory.
I have experienced things that you have chosen to ignore or overlook, and these experiences have caused me immense pain and suffering that feel like a never-ending purgatory.
Is this Damnation?
I am questioning whether or not this pain and suffering is a form of damnation or eternal punishment.
Is it in my mind or is it something I don't know.
Something that I should control,
I've got to find,
Find the machine.
That makes me want to be me.
I am unsure if my suffering is purely mental and within my own control, or if there is something external causing it. I am searching for the inspiration or drive that will make me feel like myself again.
Cannot face another mirror,
Cannot face another truth.
I've got to find,
Find some new eyes,
I've got to find a substitute.
I am unable to confront my own reflection or the reality of my situation. I need to find a new perspective or way of looking at things.
My omnipresence this is me.
My weapon against your dynasty.
I am constantly present and always myself, and this sense of self is a threat to those in power.
I've got to stop existing mentally,
In places that i do not want to be.
I have to move away,
From thoughts terrible and gray.
It will not let me go,
is this Damnation?
I need to stop dwelling in negative, draining thoughts and spaces that are taking a toll on my mental health. I am unsure if this is a form of damnation or if there is a way out of it.
My Omnipresence this is me.
My friend, turns into an enemy.
My constant presence and sense of self has become a source of conflict and negativity in my life.
Must control, I must control the evil daemon.
Antimental!
I need to take control of the negative influence in my life and overcome it, and this requires me to reject all forms of toxic or damaging behavior.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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