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 To Wicked
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 fucked 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 sixteen 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 tough I may be I tried so hard and now its 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 abscence makes me way too wicked
Your prescence makes you way too wicked
We're just way too damaged inside
The lyrics of Mortiis's song "Way Too Wicked" portray a relationship that has become toxic and destructive. The singer has killed their muse, which can be interpreted as a metaphor for losing inspiration or creativity. They have instead turned to a "great machine" that amplifies their fear, suggesting that they have become consumed by negative emotions. The singer questions whether it would make a difference if they said nothing as they walk away from the toxic relationship, highlighting a sense of resignation and defeat.
The chorus suggests that the other person in the relationship is a "soul predator" who is "fucked by the great machine," implying that they are also consumed by negativity and darkness. The phrase "redeem, redeem, redeem!!!" may be seen as a desperate plea for salvation or a call to action. The singer can see through the facade of the other person and recognizes that they have "stole [their] soul."
As the song progresses, the singer realizes that they have been living a lie and that the devil is inside the other person. They express a desire to make the other person suffer in the way that they have suffered. The muse is described as a "dead soul" with a "heart of stone" and a "voice of God," suggesting that they may have held too much power over the singer. The final lines of the song express a sense of being damaged and way too wicked, indicating that the relationship has taken a significant toll on both parties.
Line by Line Meaning
I killed my muse yesterday or was it yesteryear?
I am unsure of when I killed my inspiration
And I built you the great machine to amplify my fear
I created a tool to enhance my terror and anxieties
Would it matter to you if I say nothing as I walk away?
Is it relevant to you if I leave without explanation?
Did you know you're a soul predator?
Are you aware of how you consume others' spirits?
So fucked by the great machine
Ravaged by the tool I created
The perfect instigator
Flawless at provoking chaos and torment
Redeem redeem redeem!!!
Make amends, beg for forgiveness, change your ways
I can see you down below
I can perceive your malevolence
I can see what you really are
I can discern your true nature
I can see the one who stole my soul
I can identify the person who took my essence
You're nothing just another scar
You are simply another wound, a mark of pain
False though I may be
Even though I maybe lying
I tried so hard so long
I made a sincere effort for an extended time
Now it's time for me
It is now my turn
How could I be
How could I have been so naive
In this ugly light of truth
Through this unpleasant revelation
My slumber finally came undone
My rest has been disrupted
The devil is inside of you
You are a vessel for evil
None of this was ever true
Nothing in the past was ever genuine
I could open up to you
I wish I could be transparent with you
Like a big black stinking hole
Like a vast, dark abyss
With sixteen thousand screaming demons
With an overwhelming amount of inner demons
Tearing at your soul
Ripping apart your being
But you wouldn't care
But you would not be concerned
I want to see you knee-deep in the shit you pulled me through
I desire to witness you suffer the same anguish you inflicted on me
I want to make believe I'm dead so you can feel it too
I want to pretend to be deceased so that you can comprehend my pain
My muse is a dead soul
My source of inspiration is lifeless
My muse is so cold
My inspiration is frigid
My muse has a heart of stone
My muse is unfeeling and unsympathetic
My muse is dead and gone
My inspiration is gone forever
My muse has the voice of God
My inspiration speaks with divine power
My muse is a beautiful fraud
My muse appears alluring but is truly deceitful
Help me up so you can bring me down
Assist me only to weaken me later
To hell where I belong
To the place of my deserving - a place of suffering
Your absence makes me way too wicked
Your lack of presence results in a heightened level of malevolence in me
Your presence makes you way too wicked
Your existence enhances your evil nature
We're just way too damaged inside
We are both severely wounded at our cores
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@skye-michaelconroy1380
So damn awesome!
@ogrebattle22763
I think "The Grudge" is one of his best albums....