Mortification is an Australian Christian death metal band which was formed in 1987 as a heavy metal group, Lightforce, by mainstay Steve Rowe on bass guitar and vocals. By 1990, in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin, they were renamed as Mortification with the line-up of Rowe, Michael Carlisle on guitar and Jayson Sherlock on drums. Mortification has released fourteen studio albums, three compilation albums, three extended plays, six live discs, one demo album, one box set, and several videos on major record labels such as Nuclear Blast. As one of the earliest internationally successful Christian death metal bands from Australia, they served as an inspiration for later similar groups.
Horde is the black metal solo project of Australian musician Jayson Sherlock, formerly of Mortification and Paramaecium. In 1994, the only studio album, Hellig Usvart, was released on Nuclear Blast Records. With a session line-up, Horde played live in 2006 in Norway and in 2010 in Finland and Germany. Hellig Usvart proved to be a seminal release for the unblack metal movement, and the album was highly controversial in the secular black metal scene at the time it was released.
Vengeance Rising was an American Christian thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. Fronted by vocalist Roger Martinez, they originally formed as Vengeance in 1987, but changed their name in 1989 to avoid conflict with another band from the Netherlands. Band members Larry Farkas, Doug Thieme, Roger Dale Martin, and Glen Mancaruso left following Once Dead and formed the band Die Happy. Roger Martinez stayed on to record two more studio albums, but aside from him, Vengeance Rising's lineup changed for each subsequent album. While the group was a ground breaking Christian metal band, today Vengeance Rising is known for vocalist Martinez's turning from Christianity to Satanism to atheism. AllMusic describes Vengeance Rising's history as "one of the most entertaining and bizarre stories in the realm of heavy metal."
Terminate Damnation is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Becoming the Archetype, released on August 30, 2005. The title of the album was taken from the song "Terminate Damnation" from the Mortification album, Scrolls of the Megilloth.
Break the Curse is a demo album by the Australian Christian death metal band Mortification. It was released in 1994 as Break the Curse 1990. The album focuses on Mortification's thrash metal style rather than their later death metal. Several of the album's songs were re-recorded for other Mortification albums. It was re-released on Rowe Productions in 2001 with updated artwork, an updated album booklet, and remastered audio. The album was re-released on Roxx Records as Break the Curse 1990–2010: 20th Anniversary Gold Edition in 2010 as a two-disc set with a CD containing bonus tracks and a DVD containing footage from Mortification's first crossover concert on 15 June 1990 at Harvest Centre in Melbourne, Australia, and later on vinyl as Break the Curse 1990: 25th Anniversary in July 2015. In 2022, the album was re-released as Break the Curse on Soundmass with remastered audio and a second disc containing the audio from the 2010 DVD.
Scrolls of the Megilloth is the second studio album by Australian Christian death metal band Mortification. It was released on 28 August 1992. The band's most famous release, this album is full-on death metal, with the thrash metal roots barely showing, and possibly their most extreme album to date. According to AllMusic, the album "garnered the band some attention from the heavy metal underground" and contains "some of the most frightening vocals ever recorded." In 2010, HM Magazine ranked Scrolls of the Megilloth number 17 on the Top 100 Christian Metal Albums of All Time list with Van Pelt stating that "Though the band has been living it down ever since, this album raised the standard of Christian grindcore to almost unattainable levels."
Post Momentary Affliction is the third studio album by Australian Christian death metal band Mortification, released in 1993. The album's sound has Mortification returning to their thrash metal roots, but with death metal elements still showing. It contains an alternate recording of the track "Impulsation" from the band's Break the Curse demo album. Post Momentary Affliction was bundled with Mortification's 1992 album Scrolls of the Megilloth on Nuclear Blast and included "Butchered Mutilation" as a bonus track, releasing on 18 November 1996. In 2008, a reissue was released by Metal Mind Productions, which also included "Butchered Mutilation" and three live tracks. Soundmass released reissues in 2020 and 2022, with the former having three live tracks and the latter having new remastering and two discs, with the second CD containing fifteen live tracks1; both reissues include "Butchered Mutilation". In 2010, HM Magazine ranked Post Momentary Affliction No. 70 on the Top 100 Christian metal albums of all-time list.
Live Planetarium is the first live album and fifth release of Australian Christian death metal band Mortification, released in 1993. It contains live versions of material from the band's three previously released studio albums, Mortification (1991), Scrolls of the Megilloth (1992), and Post Momentary Affliction (1993), as well as two new songs, "Symbiosis" and "Time Crusaders", and a cover of "Black Snake" by American Christian metal band Bloodgood. A video version of Live Planetarium was released on VHS in 1994 and later on DVD in 2006. A segment on Mortification's history, from the video of Live Planetarium, was included on the Tourniquet/Mortification Collector's Edition CD Single in 1994; the disc also contained songs from Mortification's Blood World album and American Christian metal band Tourniquet's Vanishing Lessons album. A studio recording of "Symbiosis" was included on Blood World. Soundmass released a reissue of Live Planetarium in 2019 on vinyl with new cover art and on CD in 2020 with the studio version of "Time Crusaders" as a bonus track; the track "Black Snake" was removed from the reissues.
Blood World is the fourth studio album by Australian Christian death metal band Mortification, released in 1994. The songs "Your Life", "J.G.S.H." and "Love Song" were included on the Tourniquet/Mortification Collector's Edition CD Single in 1994; the disc also contained a segment discussing Mortification's history, from the video release of Live Planetarium, and material from American Christian metal band Tourniquet's album Vanishing Lessons. Blood World was a commercial hit and the band's most successful album.
EnVision EvAngelene is the sixth studio album by the Australian Christian death metal band Mortification, released on 23 April 1996. Musically, this particular album is known for having more of a traditional heavy metal and thrash metal sound than previous Mortification offerings, which focused mainly on death metal.
Hellig Usvart is the debut studio album by Australian unblack metal band Horde, released on Nuclear Blast Records in 1994. Upon its release, the album created a controversy among many black metal fans; death threats were sent to Nuclear Blast demanding the label to drop the album from its catalogue because the album contains Christian, anti-satanic lyrics, counteracting the usual black metal thematics at the time. As a result of the strong lyrical contradiction, the album was thought to be a parody of the Norwegian black metal movement by magazines such as Morgenbladet in 1995.
Stephen Andrew Rowe is an Australian musician who is the founder, bass guitarist, and vocalist of the Australian Christian death metal band Mortification, which is considered to be a pioneer in the genre. Prior to forming Mortification he was in a traditional heavy metal styled Christian band known as LightForce. He was diagnosed with leukemia in 1997, but made a full recovery. He is currently the owner and head of the Rowe Productions record label. In 2015, Rowe announced his retirement from Christian music. However, his career has continued, while Mortification has been inactive the members' side project, Wonrowe Vision, have remained active.
Deuteronomium is a Christian death metal band formed in 1993, Jyväskylä, Finland, one of Finland's earliest and most influential groups in that genre.
Hammer of God is the eighth studio album by the Australian Christian death metal band Mortification, released on 27 July 1999.
Jayson Andrew Sherlock is a Christian metal musician from Australia. He began his career in the Australian death metal band Mortification, which was considered to be a major pioneer in the genre. Sherlock was the founder of the one-man project unblack metal band Horde, in which he played every instrument. He has also been in other bands such as Paramaecium, inExordium, Altera Enigma, and Soundscape. During 2012, he was the drummer for Deliverance. He is currently the drummer for the death metal band Revulsed.
Ultimatum is an American thrash metal band from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Released Upon the Earth is the fourth album of the thrash metal band, Vengeance Rising. The album was later re-released in 2015, remastered and expanded. The only official members of the band at this point were founder Roger Martinez and new drummer Johnny Vasquez, who would later play with Mortification, when they first came to America, Tooth n’ Nail recording artists The Blamed, and Time Spent Burning Alongside Vasquez, on this album, Steve Rowe performed guest vocals on the track "Tion"
Lament is a Mexican death metal/power metal band. that originated in Mexico City in 1993.
Realm of the Skelataur is the fourteenth studio album by the Australian Christian death metal band Mortification. It was released on 9 March 2015. A reissue was released on Soundmass in 2022 with a second disc containing a live recording to celebrate the band's 25th anniversary at EasterFest on 3 April 2015.
