Mortification (band)

Original line-up In 1987, bass guitarist and vocalist Steve Rowe formed the Australian power metal band LightForce with Murray Adams on guitar, Steve Johnson on vocals and Errol Willenberg on drums. On 6 June, it was announced that Mortification will record a new album in 2009. On 5 August, the band stated that they would record a demo for the new album. On 4 February, Rowe announced that the album titled The Evil Addiction Destroying Machine was partially completed, and it was released early June. Confusing many fans, Steve Rowe has reportedly called the new musical direction "easy-listening thrash". Rowe noted in a message for The Metal Resource about the reception of The Evil Addiction Destroying Machine: "With all new Mort releases there have been mixed response; pretty black and white. Some Really Like It and some really Don't Like It. But I knew with presenting the band in a reinvented way it was an excitingly dangerous move!" In 2016, Rowe spoke in an interview about a re-pressing of Post Momentary Affliction on vinyl. He stated that former drummer Jayson Sherlock redesigned the artwork. == Reception and legacy ==

Mortification was described by Australian rock music historian, Ian McFarlane in his Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop in 1999: "During the early 1990s, Mortification became internationally known as Australia's foremost Christian-inspired death metal band. Christian death metal: surely a contradiction in terms; but only for the uninitiated. Mortification successfully infused the down-tuned, sledgehammer riffs and gruff vocal style usually associated with the death/thrash metal genre with positive and spiritually uplifting lyric themes." The different singing style Rowe did for many years after Post Momentary Affliction was another target for criticism, being called "poor screaming". Discussing the social aspects of the extreme metal scene, author Keith Kahn-Harris wrote that overt Christian bands like Mortification are often "strongly criticized if their commitment to music is perceived to be subordinate to their commitment to politics." Kahn-Harris observed that "with a very few exceptions, overt Christian bands tend to be confined to their own, largely autonomous scenes." But he acknowledges that "music and scene can never be detached from flows of power and capital and hence a non-political scene is an impossibility.... The scene is enmeshed in relations of power and capital, despite its relative autonomy as a field." Vice stated the opinion that the band were underrated. == Band members ==

Current members • Steve Rowe – vocals, bass (1990–2016) • Lincoln Bowen – rhythm and lead guitars, backing vocals (1996–2001, 2011–2016) • Andrew Esnouf – drums (2011–2016) • Michael Jelinic – lead guitars, rhythm guitars (2002–2011, 2018–2016) Former members • Cameron Hall – rhythm guitars (1990) • Jayson Sherlock – drums, backing vocals (1990–1993) • Michael Carlisle – lead guitars, backing vocals (1991–1994) • Dean Conroy – lead guitars (1990–1998) • Phil Curtis–Gibson – drums (1993–1994) • George Ochoa – rhythm guitars, keyboards (1994–1996) • Keith Bannister – drums, backing vocals (1996–1999) • Adam Zaffarese – drums (2000–2003, 2008–2011) • Jeff Lewis – rhythm guitars (2002) • Mike Forsberg – drums (2003–2005) • Damien Percy – drums (2005–2008) (died 2018) • Dave Kilgallon – drums (2008) • Troy Dixon – guitars (2011) • Jason Campbell – rhythm guitars, vocals (1995) • Dave Kellogg – lead guitars (1995) • Josh Rivero – guitar (1995) • Bill Rice – drums (1995) Touring musicians • Johnny Vasquez – drums (1993) Session musicians • Derek Sean – lead guitars (1991) Timeline == Discography ==

Studio albums • Mortification (1991) • Scrolls of the Megilloth (1992) • Post Momentary Affliction (1993) • Blood World (1994) • Primitive Rhythm Machine (1995) • EnVision EvAngelene (1996) • Triumph of Mercy (1998) • Hammer of God (1999) • The Silver Cord is Severed (2001) • Relentless (2002) • Brain Cleaner (2004) • Erasing the Goblin (2006) • The Evil Addiction Destroying Machine (2009) • Realm of the Skelataur (2015) Demo albums • Break the Curse (1990) EPs • Scribe of the Pentateuch (2012) • Ancient Prophecy/Overseer (2017) Live albums • Live Planetarium (1993) • Live Without Fear (1996) • Noah Sat Down and Listened to the Mortification Live E.P. While Having a Coffee (1996, EP) • 10 Years Live Not Dead (2000) • Live Humanitarian (2006) • Live 1996 (2020) Compilation albums • The Best of Five Years (1996) • Ten Years 1990–2000 Power, Pain, and Passion (2002) • Twenty Years in the Underground (2010) Box sets • The Intense Years: 30th Anniversary Box Set (2020) Bootlegs • Australia Live (1992) • Distarnished Priest (1995) • Live Planetarium 2 (1995) • Triumph of Mercy (1998) • Conquer The Stump (2003) • Total Thrashing Death (2004) Other appearances • Death Is Just The Beginning Vol. 2 (1993) Scrolls of the Megilloth – Mortification (previously unreleased) • Nuclear Blast Presents! Summer Blast 1994 • Hot Metal V: Screaming Truth ::Track 7- An interview with Mortification ::Track 8- Distarnish Priest • Godspeed: Australian Metal Compilation- Time Crusaders (Studio Demo Version) • ''Tourniquet/Mortification collector's edition CD single'' ::Track 9- Your Life ::Track 10- J.G.S.H. ::Track 11- Love Song ::Track 12- A Short Interview with Steve Rowe on the History of Mortification Videos • Metal Missionaries (1991, video) • Grind Planets (1993, video, 55 minutes) • The History of Mortification (1994, video) • Live Planetarium (1994, video, 60 minutes) • Envision (1996, video, 60 minutes) • Conquer The World (2002, DVD, 95 minutes) • Grind Planets Reissue (2005, DVD, 89 minutes) • Live Planetarium (2006, DVD, 90 minutes) == References ==