Band:

Madder Mortem

BiografieIn the beginning Madder Mortem was formed in 1993 as Mystery Tribe, and recorded the demo "Days in Sorrow". The name was changed to Madder Mortem, and in January 1997, the MCD "Misty Sleep" was recorded. The result was mailed around, Misanthropy Records reacted and the debut "Mercury" (X-ray Studios) was released in February 1999. "Mercury" was well received, but sadly, Misanthropy decided to close down, which left the Madders with neither company nor contract.




In 1999 Christian Ruud (guitars), Boye Nyberg (bass) and Sigurd Nielsen (drums) left the band to pursue educations and other pastimes.

This was naturally a setback, but after some time Agnete and BP found new musicians. Eirik Ulvo Langnes (guitars), Pål Mozart Bjørke (bass) and Mads Solås (drums) joined the band. All former acquaintances, the new members fitted in perfectly.

In December 1999 Century Media got in touch. The Madders promptly got to work, and in January 2000 a new demo was recorded (Space Valley Studios). This demo, containing three of the "AFIG" songs, saw the Madders turn in a new and heavier direction. Century Media received this demo exclusively and Madder Mortem became a CMR band. Madder Mortem´s second album, "All flesh is grass" (Studio Underground, Sweden) was released in February 2001, with cover art from former guitar player Christian Ruud. Reviews were very good, and the aggressive and driven music lent another face to Madder Mortem.



In September/October 2001, Madder Mortem supported Tristania, Rotting Christ and Vintersorg on a 23-date European tour. Returning back home, the Madders started writing again. Studio Underground was re-invaded in May 2002, and after a hard-as-hell period of three weeks, "Deadlands" was born. It is darker and groovier than its´ predecessor, but also shows even more sides to the Madder face. Music, lyrics and cover art (by Christian) was developed together, and the conceptual whole is a bleak but organic monster not fit for the faint of heart.
"Deadlands" was released 21st October 2002. The End Records licensed it for the US, and on 11th February 2003 we had our first album release in the US.



In February and March 2003 Madder Mortem supported Opeth on the European leg of their "Deliverance" tour. A chance like that doesn´t come often, and the reason for it was Mr Åkerfeldt´s personal interest in the Madder music. We had 6 fantastic weeks on the road with a band that have mastered both musical and social skills, and we´re very grateful to the Opeth guys for giving us this opportunity. In addition to taking us all over Western Europe, the Opeth tour also saw us entering the UK shores for the first time.
A total of 33 gigs with Opeth didn´t quite leave us played out. We played the Inferno festival in Oslo in front of an AMAZING audience, with bigtime sing-along tendencies. Southern Discomfort was next, and the arrangers need be mentioned for their unbelieveable zeal, idealism and goodwill. We went on to do several more Norwegian gigs, amongst others supporting The Kovenant in Hamar.



We had been asked to do a festival in Mexico City, and though the travel arrangements came through in the very last minute, we managed to get it done. Due to United Airlines professional manner of luggage handling, we had NONE of our own equipment for the show, but we hope the Mexican audience appreciate that we did our very best and enjoyed the show nonetheless. Being in Mexico was in itself quite an adventure for us pale Norwegians, and special thanks to the guys who readily lent us their guitars etc.



The return to Norway gave us some big changes in the Madder camp. Paul announced his decision to leave the band just after returning from Mexico. Though the decision was a very responsible one, since Paul wanted to concentrate on his young son (something hard to do while playing in a very active band), we were very sorry to see him leave. This disruption also led to the musical disagreements within the band crystallizing, and as a result, Eirik left the band shortly afterwards. Unfortunately, the musical side doesn´t always work out, even with the best of people. Eirik is now playing guitar in a quite different band (currently without name), and we´re wishing him and his band a great career.
We then started looking for new members - again....Having had such success with recruiting friends the last time, we used the same procedure, and scrutinized our circle of friends. Odd Eivind Ebbesen was a very natural choice for guitarist. He´d played in Mystery Tribe, and also with BP in Chopworm, and is a very able musician, both on the performing and the writing side. He´s also our long time friend and webmaster. For a bass player, we went to another friend, Tormod Moseng. He´d also played with BP and Mads in various projects, and he actually stepped in for Boye for the Misty Sleep releaseparty. The timing couldn´t have been better, since he had just finished his education and was looking for a serious band commitment. When Tormod also enthusiastically accepted, we had in a couple of weeks solved the problem which we were dreading would set us back for months. A couple of gigs in Norway served to give the new members their "baptism in fire".



Right now we´ve been outwardly pretty quiet for a while. We had previously decided that we´d stop playing live for some time to concentrate on the next album, and that is exactly what we´re doing. We´re well on our way; about 6-7 songs are more or less ready. The direction is just as you´d might expect: Everywhere.

There will be some uptempo release from the bleak depression of Deadlands, but there´s also some serious aggression to come, as well as melodic wonders. As to when the recording will take place, we can´t really say yet, but we´re hoping to be able to set a date soon. Having Odd and Tormod in the band has given us a new helping of eagerness, and we can promise some very Madderish tunes to come. Stay with us!

Quelle: http://www.maddermortem.com/site_deadlands.php?topCat=1&subCat=0&subPg=0&bioPg=0Discografie
2009 - Eight Ways

2006 - Desiderata

2002 - Deadlands

2001 - All Flesh Is Grass

1999 - Mercury

1997 - Misty Sleep (Mini-CD)

www

Reviews

Deadlands (Re-Releases) - Cover
MADDER MORTEM gehören zu jenen Bands welche einen einschränkten Bekanntheitsgrad haben und über die man eher in Insiderkreisen diskutiert.
TIPP
Desiderata - Cover
Die Norweger MADDER MORTEM gehören zu den Bands, die man eigentlich nur wahlweise lieben oder hassen kann.
Eight Ways - Cover
Mit „Eight Ways“ liefern die aus Norwegen stammenden MADDER MORTEM ihr fünftes Album ab und lassen den geneigten Hörer nach dem ersten Reinschnuppern etwas ratlos zurück.