A Historical Overview Of Their Live Recordings | Mortification Live
“Let Me Hear Some Noise!” is the battle cry Steve Rowe always used to rile up the metal crowd and Mortification fans, and it’s exactly the phrase that kicks off their first official live recording.
With that, we’d like to begin this journey through the live material Mortification has recorded and released. It’s a difficult and complicated task because, in addition to their long career, Mortification has not only released live albums of varying degrees of popularity, but there are also some hard-to-find releases and a few hidden gems scattered among the occasional reissue. We’ll give it a shot.
The band is back in action. We already know that. It will be a tour exclusively in Latin America, during which Mortification will perform live in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Guatemala with a lineup that reflects the band’s long history, featuring Luke Renno on bass and vocals; as many of you know—and as has been explained on several occasions—health issues prevent Steve Rowe, the band’s longtime frontman, from going on tour. This is a great opportunity to see Mortification live, especially for those who haven’t had that chance before. And that’s why we thought it would be a good opportunity to revisit all the live material the band has released.
As I write this, Mortification’s first official live album is playing in the background. I’m referring, of course, to Live Planetarium, a classic album if ever there was one—and also a hard-to-find gem. It was released in 1993 and possesses that magic of bringing us the band’s original lineup performing live, with a setlist based on their first three albums, which has earned it a reputation as both legendary and historic. Apparently, there isn’t much live material from Mortification’s early years—at least not with the sound quality that “Live Planetarium” possesses.
But beyond all that, “Live Planetarium” marks drummer Jayson Sherlock’s final appearance on a Mortification album. The album has a few notable features worth highlighting. Among them is the fact that here we find not only songs that the band would later play only rarely or never again, but also a previously unreleased track; “Time Crusaders” would never appear on any official album, only on a “Rowe Productions” compilation and later on reissues of “Bloodworld.” Then, there’s also what was, at the time, a preview: “Symbiosis,” which would appear on the aforementioned 1994 album.
Another rarity is the Bloodgood cover, “Black Snake,” which appears on the original version of the album but was removed from subsequent reissues—possibly due to rights issues and such.
Along with the album’s release, a VHS was also published, which would later be released on DVD, making “Live Planetarium” one of the best recordings of Mortification performing live with their original lineup.
“Live Planetarium” was reissued several times and was even included in the compilation album “Twenty Years In The Underground,” but, as we mentioned, without the Bloodgood cover, which only exists on the original edition of the album, as you may have noticed.
An interesting point is the cover art for “Live Planetarium,” which was replaced in later reissues. The reasons? Unknown, at least to us.
We had to wait until 1996 for Mortification to officially release live material again. It was right after the release of “EnVision Evangelene” that the band released two live EPs in 1996 through Steve Rowe’s own label, “Rowe Productions.”
Many consider “Live Without Fear” to be a live album, but we prefer to call it an EP, since its length and format have those characteristics. With just 10 tracks, Mortification showcased here what the lineup sounded like during those years. With an interesting setlist that covers much of their discography up to that point, Mortification sounds fantastic in what is clearly an underground venue—unlike “Live Planetarium,” which was recorded during a festival (the Blackstump Festival). This distinction gives “Live Without Fear” a very distinctive and much more “intimate” sound, if I may say so.
Here we find excellent renditions of “Northern Storm,” “New Beginnings,” “Bloodworld,” among others. It was recorded during their performance at “The Voice,” a preeminent underground venue, and the sound quality leaves no room for doubt. “Live Without Fear” sounds natural, heavy, and deep, in a small, enclosed space. It has just the right atmosphere for a tremendous show by the band, which would go on to make “Live Without Fear” one of their live classics.
The show was filmed, and proof of this is that the VHS the band released in 1996 (“EnVidion”) included two videos from that concert, specifically for the songs ‘Mephiboshet’ and “Primitive Rhythm Machine.” As far as we know, only the footage of those tracks was released—nothing else.
But that wasn’t all in 1996. Mortification also released the EP “Noah Sat Down And Listened To The Live Mortification E.P. While Having A Coffee,” featuring just five tracks, including “EnVision A Beginning,” “Buried Into Obscurity,” “Noah Sat Down,” a message from Steve (“Steve Talks”), and an interview with him. The record and its inner sleeve don’t specify this, but based on the sound, it’s likely that these tracks come from the same recording and the same concert as “Live Without Fear.”
This EP is one of Mortification’s hardest items to find, as it was clearly a limited edition, although it was later included as a bonus track on the 2010 reissue of “Break The Curse” by Roxx Records.
Following the well-known events surrounding Steve Rowe’s illness, the band suspended its activities for quite some time, and it wasn’t until 1998 that they released a new studio album (“Triumph Of Mercy”). So it took a few years for the band to release new live material, and it was after the 1999 release of “Hammer of God”—more precisely in 2000—that Mortification released a new live album.
“10 Years Live Not Dead” was a testament to the vitality of both the band and Steve Rowe himself. Recorded once again at the Blackstump Festival—specifically in October 1999—it’s no coincidence that the album kicks off with a previously unreleased track, “Dead Man Walking,” before showcasing part of Mortification’s repertoire from 1995 onward, with the exception of the “medley,” which blends four older songs. Notable tracks include interesting renditions of “Peace In The Galaxy,” “Hammer Of God,” “Martyrs,” and others—songs that have rarely been performed live. The album also marked, in a way, Keith Bannister’s farewell to Mortification, as it would be his final work with the band.
Their polished and powerful sound represents one of the band’s finest live performances and served as a springboard into a new era for Mortification. It was released by both Rowe Productions and Metal Blade, as well as through local editions in Argentina (Nems Enterprises) and Brazil (Rock Brigade). It was also included as a bonus-track CD in some double editions of the 2001 album The Silver Cord Is Severed.
This was followed by Mortification’s famous and historic Latin American tour in 2001, of which few recordings remain. The only footage available can be found in the video the band released titled “Conquer The World,” but these are merely brief clips. A bootleg video of Mortification’s show in Chile is circulating, but it is not part of any official releases.
In any case, in 2002, Mortification released a compilation CD titled “Power, Pain & Passion – Ten Years 1990–2000,” which, in addition to some live tracks from the albums mentioned earlier, includes four “acoustic” versions recorded live. “Metal Blessing” and “Standing At The Door Of Death” were recorded during the “Seaside Festival” in 2001 in Norway, and “Your Life” and “Grind Planetarium” at “Radio 3FM” in Hilversum, the Netherlands. These recordings would later appear on the 2010 compilation Twenty Years In The Underground, and they differ in sound quality. The first two tracks have a home-recorded sound, not studio-quality, though they are still clearly audible. The last two were recorded at a radio station, so the sound quality is nearly perfect.
Later, Mortification underwent some lineup changes, in addition to releasing the albums “Brain Cleaner” in 2004 and “Erasing The Globin” in 2006. With Steve Rowe (as always) on bass and vocals, along with Mick Jelinic on guitar and Damien Percy on drums, Mortification released a new live album in 2007.
“Live Humanitarian” is the title of Mortification’s third live album (not counting the EPs, of course). It was recorded during the band’s performance at the IMAX Theater in Perth, Australia, in 2006, and was also released on DVD, which includes bonus material. The track list features songs from Mortification’s most recent studio albums at the time, plus the classic “Medley”—with few surprises, aside from a fully electric version of “Standing At The Door Of Death,” and not much else.
Beyond that, “Live Humanitarian” has a few noteworthy details. For one thing, it’s their longest live album, though Steve Rowe’s various speeches between songs play a big part in that. The sound, unlike “10 Years Live Not Dead,” feels much more natural and intimate, with a very interesting mix that gives it a different feel from any other Mortification live recording. Here, the sounds of the bass, guitars, and various drum parts have a very distinctive character that sets it apart from other live recordings.
In 2010, a double-CD compilation titled “Twenty Years In The Underground” was released, a collection that brings together several lost gems by Mortification, also serving as a celebration of the band’s 20th anniversary.
Beyond the classics that were re-recorded in 2009, we’ll find rare and unusual material. The most interesting tracks are the recordings from the band’s first performance as Mortification (for those who don’t know, Mortification rose from the ashes of Lightforce, an old ’80s heavy metal band) on June 15, 1990. Three tracks were taken from that performance, which are actually Lightforce songs. “Eyes Of Destruction,” “Searching,” and “City Streets” were reworked into a kind of fast-paced thrash metal, moving closer to the new sound and style that Steve Rowe originally envisioned for Mortification. This is truly the gem of the entire collection. The downside is that we only have those three tracks and not the full concert, which would later be released alongside the 2010 reissue of “Break The Curse.”
Next, we have two tracks recorded on August 19, 1995, during what was Lincoln Bowen and Keith Bannister’s first concert with Mortification: “Bloodworld” and “Scrolls Of The Megilloth”; as well as material recorded during the “Revolution Metal Fest” in Mexico City in 2004, plus two tracks recorded at the “Nordic Fest” in Norway in 2007. All of these recordings vary in sound quality, ranging from the most homemade-sounding to recordings taken directly from the mixing console, as in the cases of Mexico and Norway.
The thing is, these are just tracks salvaged from various concerts, and so far, the full concerts have never been released.
But “Twenty Years In The Underground” comes with a second disc containing the entire “Live Planetarium” album, except for the Bloodgood cover and the four acoustic tracks that already appeared on “Power, Pain & Passion – Ten Years 1990–2000.”
There’s even more. “Break The Curse,” that old Lightforce demo that would become Mortification—released on CD in 1994—would see a special reissue in 2010, and along with it, as a bonus track, not only the EP “Noah Sat Down And Listened To The Mortification Live E.P. While Having A Coffee,” but also, on DVD, Mortification’s first concert on June 15, 1990, with sound quality that only a true fan could accept. The recording is a home recording, though clear and listenable. At that concert, Mortification performed several classics from Lightforce and the band’s early songs, such as “Blood Sacrifice,” as well as gems like “Illusion Of Life,” “Journey Of Reconciliation,” and “The Destroyer Beholds” (listed here as “Infectious Growth”), among others. Truly historic material.
Additionally, live material was included in the 2013 reissue of the EP “Scribe Of The Pentateuch.” In this case, it’s an excerpt from Mortification’s performance at “Easterfest” 2013, from which eight tracks were selected, including standout live versions of “Extradiefor” and “Scribe Of The Pentateuch,” as well as classics like “Scrolls Of The Megilloth” and “Blood Sacrifice.” The sound quality is rather raw and unpolished, though it was clearly recorded directly from the mixing console.
Later, the box set “The Intense Years – 30th Anniversary” was released, which includes a CD exclusive to this release. This is “Live 1996,” which features a complete Mortification concert from 1996, recorded at the “Murray Hill Theater” in Florida, USA, that same year. It is notable for being a console recording—unpolished and completely raw, with all that that entails.
We’ll also find various excerpts from different Mortification live recordings spanning all eras on the studio albums reissued for this box set.
Finally, we have editions of various live concerts released digitally, notably material from 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2015, which have not yet been released in physical format—except for a few excerpts that have appeared in some reissues of their studio albums.
We may have missed something. Mortification’s live repertoire is quite extensive, but at least we’ve gone over what’s available—what’s been officially released—though there’s still plenty of unofficial material, or bootlegs, floating around, especially in the form of home videos.
One thing is clear: seeing and hearing Mortification live is quite an experience that many of us have been fortunate enough to enjoy. For those who didn’t have that chance, there’s a new opportunity. Mortification’s tour in February 2027 will be a chance to see the band with a lineup that spans all their different eras, in a tribute marking the 35th anniversary of the classic “Scrolls Of The Megilloth.” We’ll see you there… and in the meantime, there’s plenty of live material from the band to watch and listen to…
