Mortification News Bit

Saw this on Blabbermouth and thought Steve's comment at the end, about his being the "#1 target" of the Black Metallers in Norway back in the day was rather interesting.


MORTIFICATION Mainman: 'It Just Never Ceases To Amaze Me How God Turns Things Around' - Dec. 5, 2007

Vocalist/bassist Steve Rowe of the Australian Christian metal band MORTIFICATION has issued the following update:

"[A] MORTIFICATION story made front page news in one of Norway's biggest newspapers. It is so amazing that 10 to 13 years ago news, both in Norway and around the world, relating to metal music in Norway told of the infamous black metal scene there, with church burnings, murders and, more recently, rapes at the hands of some of Norway's black metal artists. Yet just three weeks ago one of their daily street newspapers ran a story on an Australian Christian metal band playing at a Christian metal festival in Oslo called NordicFest. It just never ceases to amaze me how God turns things around. The members of Nuclear Blast band BENEDICTION told me backstage in Germany in September 1995 that my name was #1 on Norway's black metal mafia list of death (the people they would kill)."

I remember some threats made against Steve back in the day. Much of it had to do with him releasing HORDE, as much as his involvement with Mortification. I think even Nuclear Blast recieved some death threats for putting out the Horde CD.

ultmetal wrote:

I remember some threats made against Steve back in the day. Much of it had to do with him releasing HORDE, as much as his involvement with Mortification. I think even Nuclear Blast recieved some death threats for putting out the Horde CD.

I used to have an issue of Heaven's Metal from back then that showed a pic of a flyer that was making the rounds in the black metal underground, calling for a total boycott of all Nuclear Blast Records releases because they signed Mortification. It was full of nonsense about how they were "Traitors to the underground scene" because they signed a Christian band. Dumb, dumb, dumb!!!

Pig headed, ignorant, "look how evil I am" losers with nothing better to do than burn down churches. Pitty is many of them are pretty talented musicians, what a waste (IMO of course).

I never knew there was a Black Metal mafia

It's actually not true that they made headline news, or frontpage news. It was mentioned in the online version of the newspaper, but only a small section that you had to know where to search for to read it.

probably about as serious as the death threats that Glen Benton gets from the animal rights groups. one or two peabrains making the entire scene look like bullies.

Quote :

It's actually not true that they made headline news, or frontpage news. It was mentioned in the online version of the newspaper, but only a small section that you had to know where to search for to read it.

It depends on what newspaper you mean. In Aftenposten, the paper I read everyday, Steve Rowe was on the frontpage of the culture section and the interview and photos inside covered almost two pages! Aftenposten is the third or second largest newspaper in Norway.

Well I am fully supportive of Steve. He seems like a GREAT guy and...yeah. Black Metal mafia? :kickbutt: Haha. I don't know why people would be so extreme that they would rape and kill people because they just really hate Christians. That's kind of stupid.

Apparently Metal Mind has gained a licensing deal with Nuclear Blast to reissue their back catalogue. Blabbermouth is reporting that the first on the docket is the reissue of 8 Mortification albums. I didn't realize that Nuclear Blast released 8 of their albums.

Nuclear Blast released all their albums through "Triumph of Mercy". Since these albums have all been re-released more than one time on more than one label, I'm not sure what the point is. I have several copies of each Mortification album. I think I have 5 or 6 versions of "Scrolls of the Megilloth". LOL!

ultmetal wrote:

I think I have 5 or 6 versions of "Scrolls of the Megilloth". LOL!

Looks like you may get another.

I just recently collected all the Morty albums so looks like I should have waited a bit. Oh well

Maybe we can get the rarest of the rare Mortification tracks as bonuses now then.

kmorg wrote:

Maybe we can get the rarest of the rare Mortification tracks as bonuses now then.

Would be nice to get:
Butchered Mutilation
Time Crusaders
Entering the Eternal Dawn

I think only Butchered Mutilation has been used as a bonus track. "Time Crusaders" was only ever released on an obscure Australian Metal Compilation and as a live track on their first live album. "Entering the Eternal Dawn" was only released on a Nuclear Blast compilation. Funny thing is, all these songs rule! Some of the band's best work IMO.

Metal Mind's deal with Nuclear Blast sounds pretty sweet. Anyone know if the NB stuff will be similar to their Roadrunner reissues, i.e. in digipacks, limited to 2000 copies, yadda yadda yadda?

The Beliver reissues from Metal Mind were not good though, and had no bonuses.

kmorg wrote:

The Beliver reissues from Metal Mind were not good though, and had no bonuses.

Why were they "not good"?

Cheap digipak covers, with no "pocket" for the booklets. Also no bonus tracks, which makes the M8 reissue of Extraction From Mortality a better option!

Will there be another studio LP from Mort?

Fat Freddy wrote:

i.e. in digipacks, limited to 2000 copies, yadda yadda yadda?

Affirmative. Just like the RR reissues.

Here's the full press release from Metal Mind

MetalMind wrote:

16.01.2008 12:43:50 Metal Mind Productions signs a deal with Nuclear Blast!!!

Metal Mind Productions is very proud to announce a multi licensing deal signed with Nuclear Blast Records for their interesting, valuable back-catalogue.
In the first half of 2008 Metal Mind Productions will re-issue nearly 70 albums from their deep archives. The selection of bands includes Brutallity, Control Denied, Darkseed, Disharmonic Orchestra, Gardenian, Horde, Hypocrisy, Impulse Manslaughter, Macabre, Mortification, Night In Gales, Slaughter, Warhammer or Winter to name a few. This is a must-have offer for fans of good music - re-issues of classic material in new digipak editions, each title limited to 2000 copies, digitally remastered using 24-Bit process. The albums will include additional features like bonus audio or video material, biography, liner notes from Artists etc.

Tomasz Dziubinski, the President of Metal Mind Productions: “We are very proud to have finalized the deal with Nuclear Blast. It is a huge distinction for Metal Mind Productions that such a fantastic label wanted to start co-operating with us. We expect that we will achieve great sales results as we want to make re-releases of the highest quality: classic albums in new, improved editions. We want to achieve the best results possible. We do hope that our cooperation with Nuclear Blast will develop very well and fans can expect more and more interesting albums to be re-released”

Among first titles to be re-issued as part of this deal are 8 Mortification albums, Control Denied and Macabre!

Cool. I didn't even realize that the Control Denied CD was OOP.

I see a "Slaughter" in the midst of all those band names - are we to assume that this refers to the Canadian thrash band, or did Metal Mind also strike a deal with the "Up All Night" guys?

Most of those band's catalogs aren't hard to find. The HORDE CD has been re-issued several times, most recently by Soundmass in Australia (w/ a bonus track). I'm just keeping my original Nuclear Blast version.

Quote :

Butchered Mutilation

Best Morty song out of an amazing catalogue of killers!!

spectrefate wrote:

Apparently Metal Mind has gained a licensing deal with Nuclear Blast to reissue their back catalogue. Blabbermouth is reporting that the first on the docket is the reissue of 8 Mortification albums. I didn't realize that Nuclear Blast released 8 of their albums.

Wonder if Steve is going to make money from these re-issues. Hopefully. I just hate the fact that they have to come in digipaks.

GrandNational wrote:

spectrefate wrote:

Apparently Metal Mind has gained a licensing deal with Nuclear Blast to reissue their back catalogue. Blabbermouth is reporting that the first on the docket is the reissue of 8 Mortification albums. I didn't realize that Nuclear Blast released 8 of their albums.

Wonder if Steve is going to make money from these re-issues.

Thats the main thing for me. If it will help Steve financially, I will gladly purchase some no matter what the packaging is. If he is going to get screwed over from this (like he has been in the past), then I won't even bother with it.