MORTIIS embarks on US Decibel Magazine Tour 2025

In the beginning there was black metal. The artist Håvard Ellefsen known as the musical entity MORTIIS started out as a bass player in and during the formation of EMPEROR in 1991 and 1992. He is credited on the “Wrath of the Tyrant” demo/album (1992), the “Emperor” EP (1993), and the 1994 7″ EP “As the Shadows Rise”.

After parting ways with the Norwegian black metal pioneers, MORTIIS embarked on a solo career, the so-called ‘Era I’, that lasted from 1993 until 1999. In this highly creative period, the Norwegian released six full-length albums (including the “The Song of a Long Forgotten Ghost” demo and “Crypt of the Wizard”). His music during this phase was entirely composed on synthesizers. The resulting sound was described by MORTIIS as ‘dark dungeon music’ and has been named as a fundamental influence on the later dungeon synth genre. On “The Stargate” (1999), the last album of this era, a wider range of instruments was implemented as well as additional vocals from Sarah Jezebel Deva.

In the next decade, MORTIIS evolved into a band that marked the beginning of the short-lived ‘Era II’, which only consists of the rather electropop oriented 2001-album “The Smell of Rain”. When ‘The Grudge’ came out in 2004, the album had a hard impact on the scene and started ‘Era III’. The Norwegian and his band had turned to heavy industrial rock and as a result made many new friends. A host of musician friends gathered on the remix album “Some Kind of Heroin” (2007) that included contributions by and collaborations with THE KOVENANT, VELVET ACID CHRIST, and GIRLS UNDER GLASS among many others.

‘Era III’ ended with MORTIIS releasing “Perfectly Defect” as a free internet download album in 2010 due to a serious disenchantment with the music industry. This was followed by a factual hiatus between 2011 and 2015, although it was never officially announced. In 2016, the next full-length “The Great Deceiver” surprised global followers of the band that had long hoped for a new release. Although the style of the previous phase is largely continued, it is named ‘Era 0’. On the gargantuan remix album “The Great Corrupter”, MORTIIS again teamed up with a host of exciting artists including musicians from GODFLESH, FRONTLINE ASSEMBLY, DIE KRUPPS, MERZBOW, and APOPTYGMA BERZEK among a multitude of others.

What comes around, goes around and the now experienced and matured musician decided to return to the music of ‘Era 1’ as the 2020 album “Spirit of Rebellion” was born out of a revisiting of the 1994 “Ånden som gjorde opprør”. In 2023, Mortiis released a reworked version of the quintessential album “Født til å herske”.

During most of his career MORTIIS has performed with a mask and face prosthetic that turned his stage persona into an otherworldly being. Over the years, his looks have changed and evolved. For a time during ‘Era 0’, his live concept even abandoned the wearing of the iconic mask. MORTIIS’ stage entity has often been compared with a troll – a creature of Nordic folklore, which it was never intended to be according to the artist.

So where will MORTIIS go from here? As an artist, the Norwegian has offered a wide stylistic range of sounds and never proved to be predictable and has resisted any attempt to be pigeon-holed. A glimpse onto some of the many collaborations on this album might provide some hints: Among many others, the upcoming full-length features Thorsten Quaeschning (TANGERINE DREAM), Christopher Amott (BLACK EARTH, formerly ARCH ENEMY), and Matthew Setzer (SKINNY PUPPY). Well, everybody just will have to wait and see, until his forthcoming new album is going to be revealed in 2025.