History

Mortiis began his musical career playing bass for the infamous black metal act Emperor. He stayed with the band for two years before going on to create his own solo project, though unlike his previous band the music would be dark ambient orientated.

Era I

All of the albums Mortiis created up to 1999's The Stargate were composed entirely on synthesizers, creating a sound that was described as "Dark Dungeon Music" by Mortiis himself. However Stargate went even deeper into "battle music" genre with flutes and acoustic guitars, as well as the trademark synths, which this time sounded more professional. Female vocals were provided by Sarah Jezebel Deva.

Era II

2001's The Smell of Rain created a divide among fans; the songs this time had a darkwave feel to them, and some fans loved the new sound, while others hated it.

Band members

Mortiis as a band was formed shortly after the release of The Smell of Rain. The line-up consists of the following:

Era III

Mortiis' latest release, The Grudge, took an even more drastic turn from his Era I and Era II albums. The Grudge took on a heavy industrial rock emphasis, combining grinding guitars and industrial programing. Some of the long time fans were again not too happy with this turn, but it helped gain Mortiis more new fans. Recently the Norwegian government declared The Grudge as a cultural artifact, requiring the album to be in libraries across the country^[1].

Side projects

In the past Mortiis has worked on a number of side projects. They were later disbanded so that he could focus solely on his main project. Although involving various different bands, they took on a similar style; much like Era 1 Mortiis, they were produced using synthesizers.

Collaborations

The following are songs Mortiis has produced or co-produced:

1. ^ "Album made available to public for free", Earache, April 14, 2005.
2. ^ Source: StarVox.net Interview
3. ^ Source: 2003 Swedish TV Interview