This is an older album but I felt that with the new Frontline re-releases, I should review it for all of you who may not have checked it out yet. If nothing else, the cover art is worth getting the cd. However, the cover art only serves as an opener for an incredible cd. Anyone who has Scrolls of the Megilloth knows what to expect from this album. It was the second cd release by Mortification, whose first release was Break the Curse. Any one who is missing either Mortification's self - titled cd or Scrolls of the Megilloth needs to get the double cd re-release of these two cds. You get both cds for only ten dollars!
Musically, this album is solid. In the days that Jayson Sherlock and Michael Carlisle were with the band, Mortification ruled as the heaviest Christian death metal around. With all the changes in the band, the same can no longer be said, but the self titled Mortification album still hangs with anything put out today. Jayson Sherlock is incredible on the drums as is expected of him. Although the vocals are not as deep as Scrolls of the Megilloth, the traditional death metal type growls still are present. Most death metal vocals have a similar sound, but Steve Rowe's growls on this self titled cd aren't like any other. The musical style isn't greatly repetitive on this album either. Brutal death metal is played in songs like Brutal Warfare and screeching unblack/ grindcore is played in songs like Turn. Also, the infamous Mortification quote, "God Rulz!" was birthed in this cd, as far as I know. As always, Mortification's lyrics are right on with Christ. Take this excerpt from New Awakening.
I won't choose pleasures of sin
For a short time
I won't betray the sacrifice
That Christ made for me
No excuse to enter the state of sin
I will not turn away
Anyway you look at it, you can't go wrong with this cd. Especially now that you can get both it and Scrolls of the Megilloth for only ten dollars. The guys at Frontline deserve a thank-you card from all of us.
7.5/10
Other Staff Member Ratings
Grindboy: 6/10
D_Lister: 9/10
HadeSlayeR: 8/10
Other coverage for this album
Dead Zine 2002Reviewed by NecRoSarXYet another CD I got simply because of the cover artwork: faces of demons being cast in a lake of fire. That, if I got my facts straight, is what was banned from most Christian bookstores, opting for the alternate tame cover, the Mortification logo on a black background. Anyway, the national debut release from Mortification is metal. Thrash-oriented death metal, to be choosey. And choice…Dead Zine 2002Reviewed by undeadI would like to start out by saying that this is my favorite, or at least tied for favorite Mortification disc. Even though they have had some really good stuff in different styles of metal, I believe this album is the epitome of early Mortification. Unlike their album Scrolls of the Megilloth a year later, this album is thrash/death metal instead of the chaotic grindcore of Scrolls. Although…Heaven's Metal #31Reviewed by Doug Van PeltDeath metal fans will love the low end crunch of Mortification. Bassist Steve Rowe handles lead vocals for this three-piece band, and they help the band hone in on its grindcore audience, while at the same time turn off commercial/melodic metalheads due to its incoherencey. But, such is the genre. Fans of Roger Martinez will find it up to snuff, but what really separates this band from the boys…Similar sounding releases
1993PossessionThe Unnameable Suffering
1996Frank's EnemyNeoblasphemies
1988Vengeance RisingHuman Sacrifice
1996xDisciplexLantern
1990SacramentTestimony of Apocalypse
1993DiscarnatedDeus MisereaturMore from Mortification
1996EnVideon (Video)
1999Hammer of God
1994Blood World
1996EnVision EvAngelene
1998Triumph Of Mercy
1990Break The Curse 1990
