Mortiis Bio

Elfin, batlike, inhabiting shadows and shunning company..........grotesquely featured, razor taloned and inhuman in appearance........the result of a misshapen mind, a fertile yet polluted imagination, the ultimate example of creation replacing creator. Mortiis - the concept born of dissatisfaction, desire and even mild dementia - is a being like no other, with a story to tell that knows no end.



Neither in this world or the next, the space in time that Mortiis occupies is one where the imagination is King, and the farthest reaches of the mind is God. Mortiis is a concept that allows anything to become a possibility, where the only restraint is the limits the creator imposes on himself. For the world Mortiis inhabits is self-created, ever-evolving and endless - an escapism of the most extreme form that means that Mortiis lives literally between worlds, displaced from where he started and headed to who knows where?



They say that the lines between fantasy and reality are often blurred - never has this been more true than in the case of Mortiis, the alter ego of his withdrawn, obscure earthly creator. In pursuing an existence so unique and solitary, Mortiis is open to criticism, normally from those with a singular lack of imagination or drive - the very bonds Mortiis has striven to shake off. For the whole Mortiis concept and search is concerned with the eternal quest for answers - what lies beyond our comprehension, how far can we expand our minds, where does the possibility end?



So far Mortiis has yet to draw the line - his physical appearance, (striking, seething, enigmatic, imposing, elf-demon), is at odds with his
music (epic ambient-based soundtales), yet the apparent contradiction of such an overwhelming image coupled with such a laidback musical style works, precisely because it challenges the accepted perception of how things should be. Despite outward appearances, black metal this is not - in Mortiis' world, things have gone far beyond the conventional.



Debuting with the mono-tonal 'Fodt til A Herske', a release that dumbfounded fans' expectations, many of whom expected a continuation of


Mortiis' past work in Emperor, the whole shadowy concept took further shape with the second chapter 'Anden Som Gjorde Oppror.' Slowly a new world was taking form, one in which the only god was the mind and its ultimate expansion. The archaic ambient nature of the music shrouded the world of Mortiis in more obscurity, and the outrageous persona the artist had adopted still seemed at odds with the music.



A third exploration, 'Keiser av en Dimensjion Ukjent,' showed greater signs of progression, but ultimately still left people confused. What was Mortiis, and what was he trying to communicate? Ambition accelerated with the release of five separate 12" singles (ultimately collected under the title 'Crypt of the Wizard'), works that finally developed the whole theory of another world, ruled by imagination and vision, a place where the human is replaced by the alter-ego.



The present brings us to the most varied (both musically and lyrically) view of this other-world. 'The Stargate' again relates tales of grim
journeys, hard fought battles and grim contemplation, cloaked with a mythological backdrop of psuedo-reality. For the world we are allowed to see is one that we can never inhabit, being exclusively the domain of Mortiis himself, a world where his fantasies are given wings. As listeners all we can do is wonder at what takes place in this creatures head, what made him this way - the answers are not easily found.



Reconciling the sounds you experience through 'The Stargate' with the shocking image that Mortiis portrays is not easy either. Only by surrendering to your own mind-god, and maybe creating your own nether-world, can you come close to appreciating the experiences that Mortiis conveys through his schizoid existence.