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.
Closer to the End
Mortiis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You turn your back for a moment and you're back on the ground
You're lost and everyone around you got old
Nothing quite like the sense of losing control
You can spend a lifetime believing and pretending
But you're really just another step closer to the end
You spent a lifetime amending, atoning, condescending
'Cause you are really just one step closer to the end
We are really just one step closer to the end
Well,you've been trying to find a place that isn't so cold
But you just can't seem to find a way out of that hole
Everything you ever did, everything you tried was in vain
You're getting smaller and you're wishing it was someone else's pain
So you own everyone, everyone's afraid of you
It only took a second and you ruined someone new
Oh you got it made, the blood belongs to somebody else
But soon enough you're gonna know how emptiness feels
'Cause you are really just one step closer to the end
We are really just one step closer to the end
When all is dead and gone
You're not the only one
When all your hope is gone
No you are not alone
The lyrics of Mortiis's song "Closer to the End" seem to be about the inevitability of death and the realization of one's own mortality. The song suggests that life is fragile and fleeting, and that no matter what a person does to try and avoid the reality of death, it is an inescapable truth.
The opening lines of the song - "It only took a second and it all fell down / You turn your back for a moment and you're back on the ground" - suggest that life can be unpredictable and unstable. The sense of losing control is a recurring theme throughout the song, suggesting that no matter how much one tries to hold onto life, eventually one must let go.
The lyrics also address the idea of ego and the futility of trying to hold onto power or control. The lines "So you own everyone, everyone's afraid of you / It only took a second and you ruined someone new" suggest that those who try to dominate others or exert their influence over the world will ultimately fail, and that their actions will only lead to their downfall.
Despite the song's grim subject matter, there is also a sense of solidarity and shared experience in the closing lines: "When all is dead and gone / You're not the only one / When all your hope is gone / No you are not alone." The song suggests that even though death is an individual experience, it is also something that we all share and can find comfort in each other's company.
Line by Line Meaning
It only took a second and it all fell down
Life changes in a heartbeat and everything can come crashing down in an instant
You turn your back for a moment and you're back on the ground
One misstep can cause a downfall, even after working hard to get up
You're lost and everyone around you got old
Feeling lost and alone while watching others age and the world changing simultaneously
Nothing quite like the sense of losing control
The gut-wrenching feeling of losing control of one's life
You can spend a lifetime believing and pretending
Trying to find solace through false beliefs and pretenses
But you're really just another step closer to the end
However, all it does is bring you closer to your eventual end
You spent a lifetime amending, atoning, condescending
Living a life of making up for past mistakes, apologizing, and feeling superior to others
You got the biggest soul, but is it really neverending?
Despite having a big soul, one wonders if it can last forever
'Cause you are really just one step closer to the end
One's life is constantly bringing them closer to the end
We are really just one step closer to the end
Everyone, as a collective, is also heading towards their respective end
Well, you've been trying to find a place that isn't so cold
Trying to carve out a comfortable and warm place in the world
But you just can't seem to find a way out of that hole
Failing to find a way out of the rut or hole in one's life
Everything you ever did, everything you tried was in vain
Feeling as though all efforts and actions were fruitless or meaningless
You're getting smaller and you're wishing it was someone else's pain
Suffering and feeling small, one wishes it was someone else's pain and not their own
So you own everyone, everyone's afraid of you
To compensate for weakness, one acts strong and causes everyone to fear them
It only took a second and you ruined someone new
In a single moment of weakness, one may cause harm to someone else
Oh you got it made, the blood belongs to somebody else
Living a life of luxury while someone else bears the responsibility or cost
But soon enough you're gonna know how emptiness feels
One day, despite having everything, one will still feel a sense of emptiness and loneliness
When all is dead and gone
When everything is lost, gone, or dead
You're not the only one
One isn't alone in their suffering
When all your hope is gone
When there's no hope left to hold onto
No you are not alone
Even then, one is not alone and can find solace in others
Contributed by William Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
pdude1911
wow I haven't listened to this album in years. Got the signed cd! :-) PLEASE release the new (old?) album "The Great Deceiver" or whatever it's called!!
Teemu Jaakkola
+pdude1911 4.3.2016 (european date for "The Great Deceiver") ;)
macinos
Terys je sice zlá, ale toto je dost dobrý!
Chief
Divím se kolik lidí v Česku zná Mortiise
Matrix 6000
Perfectly Defect
TheRetroMantic
NIN style