MORTIFICATION - SCRIBE OF THE PENTATEUCH

Steve Rowe and Mortification have released another slab of molten metallic mayhem that glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. This current offering is a six song affair entitled Scribe of the Pentateuch; the Pentateuch is the first five books of the Old Testament.

Scribe is the first completely fan funded release for Mortification, an indication of where the industry is moving in relation to Compact Disc releases. It costs money and the current label system is just not able to fund this process as it has in days gone by.

The tracks on Scribe of the Pentateuch by and large are a mix of death and thrash metal, with a few twinges of grind thrown if for good measure. Album opener Extradiefor is pure death/grind and really packs the punch. Lincoln Bowens guitar plows along with mounds of attack but it’s the thunderous bass of Steve Rowe that bowls you over and locks tightly with drummer Andrew Esnouf.

The title track switches between thrash and death metal which oozes powerful up and down chugging. Bowen adds an abundance of guitar accents that shine through the bombast which highlight the melody, yes there is melody albeit buried inside the musical carnage. This track as well as In Garland Hall feature some clean vocals by Steve Rowe, understand that there is only certain parts of these songs that have clean vocals the rest is pure growling goodness.

The Jaws of Life was a track that received quite a bit of hoopla in prerelease of a rather negative variety, well to these ears that is track is probably the weakest one! The structure left me a little flat, but by no means is it a throw away. Weapons of Mass Salvation slows things down quite a bit, with its slightly doomy feel, but never fear things don’t stay there for very long. Tempo changes very which definitely keep things engaged some more clean vocal elements here as well.

Something I must address is the complaint I’ve read about the drum sound. I’ve read the statement that claims “it sounds like a drum machine.” I suppose if you’re listening this on crummy computer speakers in a crushed MP3 it would sound a bit thin. Listening to the CD on my car stereo or using my AKG headphones the drum sound is solid and strong. Comments based on a YouTube clip are premature and should be ignored.

The production on the whole is well done as I’ve come to expect from Mortification. Perhaps the only thing I might’ve done different is to push the guitar louder in the overall mix, balls out rhythm guitar is so face melting.

The CD also includes four extra tracks entitled “The Best of the 00’s” the tracks include Priests of the Underground, Too Much Pain, Erasing the Goblin and Elasticized Outrage. Each of these is tracks from Relentless, Brain Cleaner, Erasing the Goblin and The Evil Addiction Killing Machine. Undoubtedly to give more exposure to those albums, these tracks were lifted from those albums directly without anything else done to them.

Nay sayers beware this disc is the real deal and if it’s not your cup of tea, then simply ignore it as many of us are tired of reading the anti Mort diatribes.

One will be reminded of past glories on this release and rightfully so. Scribe of the Pentateuch is a full on metal assault that should more than rally the faithful, but break down more barriers and remind the world of the juggernaut that is Mortification. I don't give this endorsement lightly.

9 axes

MORTIFICATION - XX YEARS IN THE UNDERGROUND

It's really difficult to believe that Mortification has been around for 20 years. Yet that is the case and as such, Nuclear Blast wanted to make sure that we were all aware and have provided a double disc to commemorate the occasion.

The Mort fan is treated to five re-recorded classics and disc one, “Nocturnal,” “Grind Planetarium,” “Impulsation,” “Hammer of God,” and “The Majestic Infiltration of Order.” All of the new recordings are strong and powerful. The guitars provided by Mick Jelinic are saturated with energy and heaviness; drums provided by Adam Zaffarese deliver the driving punch they’re supposed to. Steve sounds great just slightly more mature and raunchy vocally. His bass soaring like it should.

“Grind Planetarium” and “Hammer of God” enjoy the greatest benefit from these newly re-recorded tracks.

Disc two offers us the Live Planetarium album, which has been out of print for quite a while. It’s not clear if any re-mastering was done as no credit was given. Not owning a copy of the original I can’t really compare, but to have it here is a great touch.

The other material on discs one and two represent a collection of live material taken from the many different stages along the journey of Mortification. From their first concert in 1990 to 2007’s Nordic Fest appearance, a wide swath of performances are presented. Yet the actual audio quality at times is a little suspect. Most of these performances are true bootleg quality. The clarity at times is a little disappointing, but I also remember in my tape trading days I would’ve salivated all over stuff like this. It’s raw, imperfect, and for that reason alone these are for the collector who must have everything.

The performances presented range from Mexico City 2004, New Zealand 1996, Australia 1990 & 1995, and Norway 2007. There is also an acoustic performance from Dutch radio in 2001. How do you do acoustic Mortification? Just listen to this, unique and different.

It should probably be remembered that the underground has not been known for perfection. So this retrospective does have an underground feel. A great booklet is also included, 28 pages of photos and a great retrospective by Steve is presented here. It would've been great if there had been some live color photos. Maybe a journalistic point of view could have been included as well.

I found for the most part, this double disc set to be quite enjoyable, however I would say if I already owned the Live Planetarium album, this album could be passed over. Maybe some live video clips or studio video material could've been included as well. XX Years in the Underground is what this compilation is entitled. The underground is where Mort has shined all these years here’s to hoping that Mort still has more music to give. Any Mort posters?

7 axes

MORTIFICATION - ENVISION EVANGELINE

Mortification is a band that it seems that most people love or hate. It seems that those who aren’t that fond of the band these days are stuck in Death Metal gloom or so it seems. The rationale usually follows that the bands best material were their first three discs because ‘they were heavy and brutal’ and nothing else since then has been ‘up to snuff.’ In the other camp are those, like myself, who love HEAVY METAL and realize not every song must be 1000mph with guttural barking.

Those distinctions are important because as I come to listen and review Mortifications 1996 Envision Evangeline it must be noted that this IS NOT a death metal album. Quite simply this release brings the best heavy metal elements into one package. Power metal, Groove Metal and elements of Progressive and Thrash metal make this one superb piece of metal work.

Opening with the very Iron Maidenesqe and, in my opinion, early Rush like title song. ‘Envision Evangeline’ runs eighteen minutes with multiple movements. Reminiscent of a classic Maiden epic or early Rush prog adventures, this song tells the story of the Last Supper and Crucifixion, Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Intelligent lyric writing complements the strong metal atmospherics of the music. ‘Envision Evangeline’ is a powerful song that shares a powerful story.

Immediate standouts from the other seven songs are pretty obvious “Northern Storm” with its groove inspired riff is simply crushing. As a matter of fact I have to be careful not to get the pit going here as I listen (My wife hates that!). “Noah was a Knower” is another obvious bit of musical intensity that also contains some great lyric writing. Steve showing a rather dry bit of humor with the line “100 of real hard work/Noah sat down and had a Coffee!” Hits my funny bone every time.


“Peace in the Galaxy” brings another groove inspired riff that just rocks. Lincoln Bowen offers some rather tasty lead playing here. A solid tempo change breaks the groove then it breaks back down into a rather slower paced section with more Bowen guitar chops ala Maiden. “Jehovah Nissi” also brings a groove inspired riff which just screams. “Crusade for the King” and “Chapel of Hope” provide more solid metal support.

‘Buried into Obscurity’ is the only real barn burner here, pure grind, great riffs and solid playing. The Metal Mind reissue I’ve obtained also includes 4 live tracks and fantastic 16 page booklet with a rather lengthy talk of Mort’s past and a retrospective; however it doesn’t specify who wrote it. The live material I would guess was pulled from one of Mortifications DVD releases but that is only a guess as the notes don’t specify.

The Metal Mind reissues are on gold discs for better sound reproduction and are limited to 2000 pressed. Mine is number 645. All brothers of the metal fraternity should be picking this one up. However if you’re one of the haters who think every Mort album must be Scrolls part two just pass on this so we won’t have to hear your complaining. This album is a classic in its own right. Yes I did say classic. I love it.

10 axes

MORTIFICATION - BREAK THE CURSE 20TH anniversary release

The mega-tornado from Australia, Mortification, just had their original album re-mastered and re-released on Roxx Records. Break the Curse features raw brutal thrash metal that is short on subtly and long on intensity. All men play on ten and this release is on eleven. A metal assault that will dig in and take no prisoners this album is the real thing.

Nuclear Blast originally put out Break the Curse in 1993, capitalizing on Mortifications and death metals increasing popularity. While Break the Curse doesn’t quite fall into the death metal category it does fit nicely in the thrash camp. The classic tunes are here ‘Brutal Warfare,’ ‘Blood Sacrifice,’ ‘Your Last Breath’ and many others with a pulsating 500 horsepower engine driving it.

Bill at Roxx has really done all metal fans a service with this re-release. They’ve included several hard to find bonuses such as the studio version of ‘Time Crusaders.’ This obscure track had originally been released on a rare Rowe Productions compilation. A live version was available on Mortys Live Planetarium album of 1993. A classic song with a fantastic studio rendition

Also included is a Lightforce rendition of ‘Eyes of Destruction.’ As the guy on TV would say, ‘But wait there’s MORE!!’ as another bonus the hard to find live EP Noah sat down and Listened to the Mortification Live E.P. While Having a Coffee is here in all of its 3 song plus Steve Rowe interview glory. However there is STILL MORE! A bonus DVD of the very first Mortification concert; this was shot on a VHS recorder, but the quality is decent. The operator does zoom in so we get a feeling of actually being there. The audio is acceptable which doesn’t take away from the performance at all.

The inlays are fabulous. A nice collections of photos and posters from that time period. Steve Rowe contributes a cool history lesson of the material compiled on this release for those of us 'who were doing other things' when this went down. Kudos to Scott Waters for assembling this part of the project with great style and sensibility. The original Noah... EP cover is located in the back inlay of all places! Perfect! One other bit of importance (well actually two) 1st. The initial 100 discs came with a bonus Mortification guitar pick with a Steve Rowe autograph made special for this release only. 2nd There is also a totally cool looking T-Shirt as well which features the cover art and a killer inscription on the back. I didn't have the cash myself to order but from what I've seen this shirt rules, especially for all of you Morty collectors. This too was a limited run as I understand, no more than 100 I'm sure but you had to buy it presale as well. Snooze ya lose.

I never had a copy of any of this material before so hearing this now is a treat. This definitely reminds me old school European thrash. The production is good but not at all overproduced, very underground in feel like old Kreator, Destruction I suppose. You won’t confuse this with Metallica’s Black Album. You just have to start headbanging when you hear this album however, it’s that good.

This isn’t about two million mile an hour songs, but only 1 million mile an hour songs! Break the Curse is a superb piece of metal history that must be in your collection. The historical significance aside, musically it reminds us why Mortification has had the impact they’ve had. My only regret is that I waited twenty years to hear it.

8 axes

MORTIFICATION - THE EVIL ADDICTION DESTROYING MACHINE

“The Evil Addiction Destroying Machine" is the title of Mortifications latest release. This disc was released in June of this year. While summer is usually a great time to acquire some great metal I must admit I didn’t get this particular disc until just a few weeks ago. When I received this disc I realized that how sketchy I am on Mort’s catalog.

I mean I’ve heard a few of their tunes i.e. ‘Scrolls’ and ‘Noah was a Knower’ really just stuff from YouTube. I do own one disc and that is ‘Triumph of Mercy’ and I have to admit I thought the production was a bit thin on that disc. After reading many comments apparently I wasn’t the only one. (I did just find a copy of ‘The Silver Chord is Severed’ some cool sounding stuff there) So before reviewing this disc I spent some extra ‘research’ on the bands Myspace and listened to several different albums from different eras.

Having said all that on Mortification’s 14th release there are several components at work here. Back in the early 80’s I remember picking up a copy of Metal Rendezvous. As I read the reviews one person was praising some disc by saying ‘The Return of the Riff!!!” Well one of most obvious things here is THE RETURN OF THE RIFF!!! All over this album there are riffs galore. And the intriguing thing is that many of these tunes have 2 or 3 (or 5!) riffs with the songs. I’m not just talking about time changes or verse to chorus stuff, differing riffs within a song. I just don’t hear a lot of this stuff these days. Listen to ‘A Sense of Eternity’ this song must have 5 different riff components.

I realize it seems that many Mortification fans want a ‘Scrolls Part Deux’, sorta like Rush fans want another ‘2112’ or Deliverance fans want another ‘Weapons of Our Warfare.’ That’s not the case here but there is a lot of pounding metal to drive the point home. Favorites for me include ‘One Man With Courage Makes a Majority’, ‘The Master of Reinvention’, ‘Pilots Hanging From Shoulder Dust’, and “Pushing The Envelope Of The Red Sonrise.’

On this release I also hear a lot Iron Maiden influence in the guitar parts, particularly in the solos. I mean did Davey or Adrian stuff by the studio???? Mick Jelinic is simply superb. So many times we get to the solo and it just changes the song taking heaviness and making it more melodic, yet off the cuff. Go Mick Go….! Returning drummer Adam Zaffarese shows why he’s back in Mortification. His technique and timing are a great addition back in behind his kit.

The production is full and fits the songs like a glove. Frankly the vibe and feel I get here is Motorhead. Mortification isn’t trying to sound like Motorhead, but perhaps Steve’s growl and being a three piece there is something that just strikes me that way. Speaking of Steve his bass playing shines and is very prominent in the mix. His bass playing and vocalizations are intense. When the band kicks in “I’m Not Confused” they hit on all cylinders moving onto full speed ahead. Steve vocalizes with real snarl here.

The tribute song to Resurrection Band entitled ‘Resurrection Band a tribute’ sounds very Megadeth inspired musically. The melody and riffs really hit me that way.

The album lyrically is very straight ahead Jesus, but there are also some social ills covered. If you have enjoyed previous Mortification albums from 1996 on you’ll dig this one.

Mortification, great job mates!
I’m not confused, I know where I’m going!

8 AXES