01. The Great Leap
02. The Ugly Truth
03. Doppelganger
04. Demons Are Back
05. Hard to Believe
06. Road to Ruin
07. Bleed Like You
08. Scalding the Burnt
09. The Shining Lamp of God
10. Sins of Mine
11. Feed the Greed
12. Too little too Late
Mortiis is a band from Notodden, Norway fronted by Håvard Ellefsen, who is also known as the namesake of the band. The name is a misspelling of the word 'mortis', which is the pronunciation used by the band. Mortiis started as the solo project of Ellefsen as a means to convey a story. This aspect was lost over time and Mortiis slowly formed into a band.
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 bands 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." Mortiis has been known to repair his live clothes by using black tape to seal holes and tears. They often cover themselves in corn flour before going on stage.
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."
Current line-up :
Mortiis (Håvard Ellefsen) - lead vocals, programming, mixing
Levi Gawron (Levi Gawrock Trøite) - lead guitar, programming, mixing, bass
Former members:
Sarah Jezebel Deva - female vocals (soprano)
Leo Troy (Svein Tråserud) - drums (2001–2007)
Åsmund Sveinnungard - guitar (2001–2005)
Endre Tonnesen - session/studio bass for The Grudge album
Magnus Abelsen - session bass for The Grudge album
Mortal (Anund Grini) - guitar (2001–2002)
Joe Letz - drums (2008–2010)
Tim Van Horn - live drums,(2011)
Åge Trøite - live guitar, 2005–2011
Chris Kling - live drums 2009–2011
Discography :
Født til å Herske (Cassette - 1993)
The Song of a Long Forgotten Ghost (Démo - 1993)
Ånden Som Gjorde Opprør (LP - 1994)
Keiser av en Dimension Ukjent (LP - 1995)
Crypt of the Wizard (Compilation - 1997)
The Stargate (CD - 1999)
The Smell of Rain (CD - 2001)
The Grudge (CD - 2004)
Some Kind of Heroin (Compilation - 2007)
Perfectly Defect (CD - 2010)
Vardøger (Split - 2012)
The Great Deceiver (CD - 2016)
/ XBTT (1) by Dejavu
