Featuring Several Former Members Of The Band, Including Luke Renno, Formerly Of Crimson Thorn... | Rumor Confirmed… Mortification Returns as a Tribute Band
It was a rumor that had been circulating and needed to be confirmed. Now we can say it outright and without any qualms. Mortification is back, 100% confirmed, but not in the way some social media hype-mongers imagined and posted without knowing much about the matter and, on top of that, without respecting the timetable. This comeback will be a tribute to the album “Scrolls Of The Megilloth,” on its 35th anniversary. Unfortunately, due to his health, Steve Rowe will not be part of the lineup. In case some of you don’t know yet, Steve suffered a stroke a few years ago, which has prevented him from continuing to lead Mortification in recent years. In fact, the last we heard from the band was “Realm Of The Skelataur” from 2015, in addition to Steve’s personal project, “WonRowe Vision.”
What followed was complete silence regarding both Steve Rowe and the band, which is understandable given his health condition, which prevents him from continuing the activities he had been engaged in up until that point.
It’s true that in recent years, nearly the entire Mortification discography has been reissued in various formats, in addition to the box set “The Intense Years – 30th Anniversary Box Set,” of which we’ve published an extensive review; yet, there was never any concrete news about the band itself.
The news is that Mortification is back, with a lineup that mixes members from different eras of the band and features Luke Renno (ex-Crimson Thorn) on vocals and bass, taking on a hot seat if ever there was one (in case anyone doesn’t know, Steve Rowe is historically the only vocalist and bassist in Mortification).
The lineup is rounded out by the band’s first and legendary drummer, Jayson Sherlock, who was the one behind the kit on “Scrolls Of The Megilloth,” as well as the band’s debut album, “Mortification,” and of course, also on “Post Momentary Affliction,” “Live Planetarium,” and “Break The Curse.”
Lincoln Bowen will also be part of the lineup. He played guitar during the “EnVision Evangelene” era, on the EPs “Live Without Fear” and “Noah Sath Down,” “Triumph Of Mercy,” “Hammer Of God,” “Ten Years Live Not Dead,” all the way through “The Silver Cord Is Severed” and the world tour that brought them to Argentina in 2001, before reappearing in Mortification’s final phase with “Scribe Of The Pentateuch” and “Realm Of The Skelataur.”
Finally, Mick Jelinick is another member joining this “Scrolls Of The Megilloth” celebration tour. He was Mortification’s guitarist during the era that began in 2002 with “Relentless,” also appearing on the albums “Brain Cleaner,” “Erasin The Globin,” “Live Humanitarian,” and “The Evil Addiction Destroying Machine.”
As we mentioned earlier, Steve Rowe won’t be part of the lineup. For the first time since the band’s formation in 1990, he won’t be fronting Mortification, primarily due to his current health issues.
Basically, the idea is to pay tribute to this legendary album, as well as to honor one of the most beloved bands in the Christian metal scene—and, in our opinion, undoubtedly the best—by bringing Mortification’s classics to life for those who never had the chance to see the band perform live. A relentless force that left nothing in its wake.
Unlike in other cases, it seems this won’t be a continuation of the band, though you never know. Still, not seeing Steve in the front will be tough, but at the same time, you have to consider that Luke Renno isn’t just a good choice. He seems like the ideal choice. If you’re familiar with Crimson Thorn’s material, you know what I mean. It’s also worth noting that the lineup for this tour is entirely new for Mortification, bringing together members from different eras of the band while retaining one of the key pillars from the Australians’ early days. We’ll see how the ensemble sounds together, especially considering that the band will be performing live with two tremendous guitarists, namely Lincoln Bowen and Mick Jelinick, which by all accounts sounds really interesting to see—and hear.
As expected, the set list will likely focus on “Scrolls Of The Megilloth,” though we shouldn’t rule out songs from the band’s other classic albums, such as “Mortification,” “Post Momentary Affliction,” and so on. We’ll see. Some time ago, when we had the almost prescient idea of reviewing this great classic of extreme music, we concluded that “Scrolls Of The Megilloth” is one of those albums that stands the test of time. The CD that never gets old, no matter how many times you play it, despite the wear and tear of time. That cassette with the tape already worn out but that still sounds like the first day. The one everyone wants to have, and we could even say it’s almost mandatory to experience it. Yes, “Scrolls Of The Megilloth” is perhaps one of the classics of Death Metal and possibly the most revealing and controversial release of Christian-themed music ever released.
In the realm of Christian music, there wasn’t a single—not a single—Death Metal band. It’s true that perhaps, somewhere, there was the Polish band “Creation Of Death,” to name one, but the reality is that “Scrolls Of The Megilloth” is the album that achieved a popularity that, over time, would make it a classic, and it would become one of the cornerstones of extreme music with Christian content.
This tour will officially kick off in February 2027. The dates are as follows:
02/04 Santiago, Chile
02/05 Buenos Aires, Argentina
02/09 Bogotá, Colombia
02/11 Guatemala City, Guatemala
02/13 Mexico City, Mexico
02/14 San José, Costa Rica
02/17 Recife, Brazil
02/19 Belo Horizonte, Brazil
02/20 São Paulo, Brazil
2/21 Curitiba, Brazil
So far, those are the scheduled dates, with the tour passing through Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Brazil. We still need to know the venues and ticket details, along with other information, which will surely become clear as the days and months go by. This has nothing to do with the fake flyers that were circulating. That’s why it’s always better to wait for official confirmations rather than rushing to see who has the scoop. Anyway…
Mortification won’t be alone on this tour. Our friends from Antidemon, from Brazil, and Terraphobia, Mick Jelinick’s band, will also be part of this historic tour as guest bands, so if there’s one thing that won’t be missing, it’s Death and Thrash Metal. This tour marks Mortification’s return to Latin America, even if only in this new lineup, following that legendary 2001 tour where Argentina was a stop—and, of course, we were there, as we should have been—but we’ll have plenty of time later to reminisce about what was a historic visit. While we wait for this historic return and tribute to one of the best Death Metal albums, we’ve included below our review of “Scrolls Of The Megilloth” and, while we’re at it, the box set “The Intense Years – 30th Anniversary,” so you can start getting ready, and of course, the official links for this tour, so you can follow everything that happens with what is going to be truly historic….
https://www.instagram.com/mortification.live
https://www.instagram.com/enhakkore.rec
