Mortem by Hayley o’ Halloran
MORTEM ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM MØRKETID, RELEASED JULY 3
THE SECOND STUDIO ALBUM FROM THE NORWEGIAN EXTREME METAL PIONEERS, COMPRISING MEMBERS OF ARCTURUS, THORNS, MAYHEM & 1349
Mørketid [06:04]
The Mighty Odious [04:43]
Skyggeånd [07:34]
Blodvassen grunn [05:44]
Aftermath [04:09]
Den sanne Gud [05:22]
Mørkets Ormebol [05:52]
Ditt ødes ære [05:10]
Mortem return with a new ode to the dark: Mørketid. Combining brooding, mid-paced monumental riffs with bursts of hyperspeed black metal, the album — set for release on 3rd July — marks a clear progression from their 2019 debut, Ravnsart. Across eight tracks of savage, eerie, and often epic black metal, the band is joined by the indomitable keyboard textures of Sverd, Hellhammer’s unmistakable percussive prowess, and the vicious returning snarls of vocalist Marius Vold.
Mortem was originally known as the Norwegian cult band which preceded Arcturus. Formed by Marius Vold & Steinar Sverd Johnsen in 1989, Mortem was one of the first black metal bands to crawl out of the woodwork in Norway, releasing the highly coveted and brutal ‘Slow Death’ demo, with Euronymous & Dead of Mayhem acting as producer and cover artist respectively (whilst also featuring Hellhammer on session drums). After the release of ‘Slow Death’, the band was laid to rest, with members going on to form and feature in acclaimed titans such as Arcturus and Thorns, both of which would become mainstays in the black metal scene and beyond.
It wasn’t until 2019, when Mortem’s studio debut ‘Ravnsvart’ was released, and the magic of old undoubtedly returned with that same spirit and brutality of the original incarnation, whilst injecting new elements to form an opus of ferocious yet atmospheric horror. This was followed soon after by the fully re-recorded and re-worked ‘Slow Death’ tracks.
‘Mørketid’ was recorded at Toproom Studio in Norway, by Børge Finnstad & Kevin Kleiven.
LIMITED OXBLOOD RED VINYL LP EDITION
BLACK VINYL LP EDITION
CD EDITION WITH 12-PAGE PRINTED BOOKLET
Mortem – Slow Death
2CD & LP +7” edition of the legendary Mortem ‘Slow Death’ recordings, fully re-recorded and reworked including extra tracks, plus the original 1989 demo itself. Includes booklet with extended band history and rare images due for release on Peaceville
2CD & digital album out on 18th February; LP +7” out 13th May. Pre-order now.
Before Arcturus there was Mortem. Originally comprised of members now known from such classic bands as Arcturus, Mayhem & Thorns, Mortem was a leading act of the early Norwegian underground metal scene; their ‘Slow Death’ demo a highly inspirational work of early Norwegian extreme metal.
Formed by Marius Vold & Steinar Sverd Johnsen in 1989, Mortem was one of the first black metal bands to crawl out of the woodwork in Norway, releasing the highly coveted and brutal ‘Slow Death’ demo, with Euronymous & Dead of Mayhem acting as producer and cover artist respectively. After the release of ‘Slow Death’, the band was laid to rest with members going on to form and feature in acclaimed titans such as Arcturus and Thorns, both of which would become mainstays in the black metal scene and beyond.
This special release of ‘Slow Death’ contains the tracks newly recorded and reworked in a style more akin to the recent ‘Ravnsvart’ album material, plus also includes the legendary pioneering 1989 demo itself, with a fresh transfer from a new tape source. The new recordings also include a rendition of the old Mortem track ‘Satanas’, plus a cover of ‘Likferd’ (Funeral Fog) by Mayhem, this time sung in Norwegian. Joining the original line-up of Marius, Steinar & Hellhammer is Tor Seidemann of 1349 on bass guitar.
Formed by Marius Vold & Steinar Sverd Johnsen in 1989, Mortem was one of the first black metal bands to crawl out of the woodwork in Norway, releasing the highly coveted and brutal ‘Slow Death’ demo, with Euronymous & Dead of Mayhem acting as producer and cover artist respectively. After the release of ‘Slow Death’, the band was laid to rest with members going on to form and feature in acclaimed titans such as Arcturus and Thorns, both of which would become mainstays in the black metal scene and beyond.
This special release of ‘Slow Death’ contains the tracks newly recorded and reworked in a style more akin to the recent ‘Ravnsvart’ album material, plus also includes the legendary pioneering 1989 demo itself, with a fresh transfer from a new tape source. The new recordings also include a rendition of the old Mortem track ‘Satanas’, plus a cover of ‘Likferd’ (Funeral Fog) by Mayhem, this time sung in Norwegian. Joining the original line-up of Marius, Steinar & Hellhammer is Tor Seidemann of 1349 on bass guitar.
2CD & digital album out on 18th February
DISC 1
- Mutilated Corpse [03:36]
- Milena [02:33]
- Slow Death [03:42]
- Agonized To Suicide [03:37]
- Nightmare [04:06]
- Satanas [05:53]
- Likferd [05:48]
DISC 2
- Intro (Demo 1989) [01:28]
- Mutilated Corpse (Demo 1989) [03:33]
- Milena (Demo 1989) [02:06]
- Slow Death (Demo 1989) [02:07]
- Agonized To Suicide (Demo 1989) [02:25]
- Nightmare (Demo 1989) [02:17]
LP +7” out 13th May
DISC 1
- A.1. Mutilated Corpse [03:36]
- A.2. Milena [02:33]
- A.3. Slow Death [03:42]
- A.4. Agonized To Suicide [03:37]
- B.1. Nightmare [04:06]
- B.2. Satanas [05:53]
- B.3. Likferd [05:48]
DISC 2
- C.1. Intro (Demo 1989) [01:28]
- C.2. Mutilated Corpse (Demo 1989) [03:33]
- C.3. Milena (Demo 1989) [02:06]
- D.1. Slow Death (Demo 1989) [02:07]
- D.2. Agonized To Suicide (Demo 1989) [02:25]
- D.3. Nightmare (Demo 1989) [02:17]
Mortem – Ravnsvart
The first new studio album from the newly reformed Norwegian black metal legends
