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.
WAY TOO WICKED (PSYCOTIC COMATOSE MIX
Mortiis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I built you the great machine to amplify my fear.
Would it matter to you if I say nothing as I walk away?
Did you know you're a soul predator?
So f**ked by the great machine.
The perfect instigator.
Redeem, redeem, redeem!!!
I can see you down below.
I can see what you really are.
I can see the one who stole my soul.
You're nothing, just another scar.
False though I may be.
I tried so hard, so long.
Now it's time for me.
How could I be?
In this ugly light of truth.
My slumber finally came undone.
The devil is inside of you.
None of this was ever true.
(What if) I could open up to you.
Like a big black stinking hole.
With sexteen thousand screaming demons
Tearing at your soul.
(But you wouldn't care)
I want to see you knee deep in the shit you pulled me through.
I want to make believe I'm dead so you can feel it too.
My muse is a dead soul.
My muse is so cold.
My muse has a heart of stone.
My muse is dead and gone.
My muse has the voice of God.
My muse is a beautiful fraud.
False though I may be, I tried so hard and now it's time for me.
Help me up so you can bring me down, how could I be so wrong?
Help me up so you can bring me down to hell where I belong.
Your absence makes me way too wicked...
You presence makes me you way too wicked...
We're just way too damaged inside.
The lyrics to Mortiis's "Way Too Wicked" (Psychotic Comatose Mix) are about the singer's struggle with their own creative process and a toxic relationship. The line "I killed my muse yesterday or was it yesteryear?" suggests that the singer has lost their inspiration and creativity, or perhaps they have gotten rid of the person who used to inspire them. They have built a "great machine" to amplify their fear, which could represent the creative process or anxiety caused by the toxic relationship.
The chorus "Did you know you're a soul predator? So f**ked by the great machine. The perfect instigator. Redeem, redeem, redeem!!!" describes how the toxic person in their life is a soul predator, taking away their inspiration and turning it into fear, which is amplified by the "great machine." The singer wants redemption from this person and the situation.
The bridge "False though I may be, I tried so hard and now it's time for me" suggests that the singer has been pretending to be someone they're not in order to please the toxic person. They have realized the truth and it's time for them to be themselves again. The ending lines "Your absence makes me way too wicked...You presence makes me way too wicked...We're just way too damaged inside" reveal that even without the toxic person, the singer is still damaged and struggling.
Line by Line Meaning
I killed my muse yesterday, or was it yesteryear?
I don't remember when exactly I lost my inspiration and motivation.
And I built you the great machine to amplify my fear.
I gave you a tool that could provoke and feed off my anxieties.
Would it matter to you if I say nothing as I walk away?
You don't care about me, so my leaving won't make a difference to you.
Did you know you're a soul predator?
You drain people's energy and manipulate them to your advantage.
So f**ked by the great machine.
You're trapped and affected by the same machine that amplifies my fear.
The perfect instigator.
You know how to provoke and incite people to act in certain ways.
Redeem, redeem, redeem!!!
You need to make up for your wrongdoings and be forgiven for your sins.
I can see you down below.
I can see through your façade and see your true intentions and nature.
I can see what you really are.
I know your true nature and intentions, which are not good or pure.
I can see the one who stole my soul.
You are the reason I lost my inspiration and motivation, and you drained my energy and spirit.
You're nothing, just another scar.
You don't have any value or significance to me, you're just another emotional wound.
False though I may be.
Even though I might not be truthful or authentic.
I tried so hard, so long.
I made a great effort and struggled for a considerable amount of time.
Now it's time for me.
It's time for me to leave and move on from this situation.
How could I be?
I can't believe how delusional and manipulated I was by you.
In this ugly light of truth.
Now that I see things for what they truly are, it's terrifying and ugly.
My slumber finally came undone.
I woke up and realized the reality of the situation.
The devil is inside of you.
You have evil intentions and are possessed by malevolent forces.
None of this was ever true.
Our relationship and interactions were never genuine or sincere.
I could open up to you.
I could reveal my innermost thoughts and fears to you.
Like a big black stinking hole.
But that would only lead to a dark and negative place.
With sexteen thousand screaming demons.
My fears and anxieties are so overwhelming and intense that they feel like demonic entities.
Tearing at your soul.
These demons would rapidly and viciously consume your spirit.
But you wouldn't care.
You wouldn't have any empathy or concern for my suffering.
I want to see you knee deep in the shit you pulled me through.
I want to see you experience the same pain and suffering that you inflicted on me.
I want to make believe I'm dead so you can feel it too.
I want you to understand the gravity of your actions and the harm they caused me.
My muse is a dead soul.
My source of inspiration and creativity is gone and lifeless.
My muse is so cold.
My inspiration and motivation have become distant and detached.
My muse has a heart of stone.
My source of creativity and passion has become cold and unfeeling.
My muse is dead and gone.
My source of inspiration and creativity is permanently lost and gone forever.
My muse has the voice of God.
My source of inspiration and creativity provides me with divine wisdom and insight.
My muse is a beautiful fraud.
My source of inspiration and creativity is attractive and seductive, but ultimately deceptive and false.
Help me up so you can bring me down, how could I be so wrong?
Even though I was vulnerable and needed your help, you took advantage of me and caused me harm.
Help me up so you can bring me down to hell where I belong.
You only bring me pain and misery, which feels like being in a hellish situation.
Your absence makes me way too wicked...
Without your presence, I become too consumed by my negative thoughts and emotions, which leads me to be cruel and malevolent.
You presence makes me you way too wicked...
Your presence in my life worsens my negative thoughts and emotions, leading me to be more cruel and malevolent.
We're just way too damaged inside.
We both have experienced harm and trauma that has left us emotionally scarred and dysfunctional.
Contributed by Hailey P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.