Back in stock

Mortem was originally known as the Norwegian cult band which preceded Arcturus. Formed by Marius Vold and Steinar Sverd Johnsen in 1989, Mortem was one of the first black metal bands to crawl out of the woodwork in Norway, releasing the highly coveted & brutal 'Slow Death' demo, with Euronymous and Dead of Mayhem acting as producer and cover artist respectively (whilst also featuring Hellhammer on session drums). After the release of 'Slow Death', the band was laid to rest, with members going on to form and feature in acclaimed titans such as Arcturus and Thorns, both of which would become mainstays in the black metal scene and beyond.

It wasn’t until 2019, when Mortem’s studio debut 'Ravnsvart' was released, and the magic of old undoubtedly returned with that same spirit and brutality of the original incarnation, whilst injecting new elements to form an opus of ferocious yet atmospheric horror. This was followed soon after by the fully re-recorded and re-worked ‘Slow Death’ tracks.

And now Mortem returns with new ode to the dark, ‘Mørketid’. The album presents an expansion and marked progression over the debut, with brooding mid-paced monumental riffs interspersed with periods of hyperspeed black metal. The album presents eight tracks of savage yet eerie and also often epic Black Metal of the highest order, adorned with the indomitable keyboard textures of Sverd, along with Hellhammer’s unmistakable percussive prowess, and the returning vicious snarls of vocalist Marius Vold.

Double-disc edition of mayhem's early rehearsals from 1986, paving the way for the cult 'Pure Fucking Armageddon' demo recording.

Featuring guest appearances from Dimmu Borgir’s Silenoz and 1349’s Seidemann.

Primarily inspired by the works of Darkthrone & Burzum, Mork’s third album Eremittens Dal stands as a tribute to the spirit of old-school Norwegian Black Metal. Raw production and ice-cold riffs combine with the band's dynamic and atmospheric twists and the album effortlessly alternates between the ferocious and the melancholy. Covering themes of hate, death, seclusion and misanthropy, both lyrically and in the way that a one-man-band makes music in solitude, the music is perfectly fitting of the title (translated as Valley Of The Hermit).

The suitably grim pencil cover art comes courtesy of Jannicke Wiese-Hansen, who famously made artwork for early Burzum and Satyricon releases. Having featured guest vocals from Darkthrone’s Nocturno Culto on its previous album, Eremittens Dal includes special guest appearances from Dimmu Borgir's Silenoz who contributes vocals on two tracks, plus additional bass parts from 1349's Seidemann.
 

Norwegian titan, Mork, was created by Thomas Eriksen in 2004, with the debut album ‘Isebakke’ eventually surfacing in 2013. Since then, Mork has been ceaselessly rising through the echelons of Black Metal, and on the heels of 2024’s intense and groundbreaking ‘Syv’ opus - which has resulted in the band branching out with tours in the Far East & Australia - Eriksen continues on this evolutionary path with the new album, and what is undoubtedly set to be a new benchmark, ‘Monolitt’.

“A stark monument to the unrelenting brutality of reality, the monolith looms above us, immovable, indifferent, eternal. Its crushing presence bears down on the spirit, suffocating hope and testing the limits of endurance. It is an experience carved in stone, unyielding”.

‘Monolitt’ is an album that further expands the sonic and atmospheric depth of existing Mork releases; unafraid to challenge the listener, while steadfastly rooted in the cold traditions of the genre. With this uncompromising vision and direction for ‘Monolitt’, Mork delivers a sound which is brutal yet expansive, whilst also heavy and epic, for a relentless journey through the shadows of Norwegian Black Metal, while forging new paths within that ancient and revered framework.

Across these songs, themes of collapse, transformation, isolation, and destruction form the central pillars. From the crushing burden of existence to spectral wanderings through forgotten landscapes, ‘Monolitt’ explores the human condition through bleak introspection and grand imagery. Nature rages, giants awaken, faith crumbles, all in pursuit of experience beyond the limits of flesh and mind.