Mortiis - The Song Of A Long Forgotten Ghost (Demo Tape) (1993)

Label: Pagan Records/Witching Hour Productions
Year: 1993
Format: Demo Tape
Country: Norway
Genre: Dark Ambient
Style: Medieval/Ambient
Quality: MP3 VBR:160 kbps
Size:68,5 MB

Here you can hear the sample of the song: www.myspace.com/mortiisera1myspace

This is Mortiis first recording after leaving Emperor. I'm not really sure why he didn't continued to make black metal and started to create dark ambient, but I'm sure glad he did it, because there is no one that can create this kind of music as Mortiis does. The quality on this demo I gotta say is in the same class as the debut album, you can't really make a bad quality recording with synthesizers/keyboards unless you maybe record them live on stage or rehearsal place. Besides the keyboards the drums are pretty active too. As usual there are no snare rums or rides or crashes or tomes, but what it seems to be a bass drum that's beeing hit with a drum stick (or two). Well you get the picture. The music isn't always flawless, sometimes Mortiis presses two keys, but it's pretty rare that it happens. I think Mortiis even uses a melotron here. The keyboardss imitate strings, piano, oboe and other blowing instruments.

The closest thing I can compare this recording with is Mortiis' debut album "Født Til Å Herske" which is very similar to this one, since this recording is unlike for instance "Crypt of The Wizard" or "Kaiser Av En Dimensjon Ukjent" where you can hear the majestic sounds of Mortiis and what he has evolved into. However this is still sort of an epic recording that brings my thoughts to a lonely ghost, beeing rejected by the surrounding, drifting from place to place in search of understanding, compasion and love. Maybe this is the story Mortiis was trying to tell us.

Now there might be some people that would find the recording monotone, which I gotta say it is in some places where Mortiis loops the same melody over and over and over again, but you gotta have an open mind when listening to Mortiis and realise that his music is more than monotony and loops. I liked a really good crescendo in this recording somewhere in the middle I think, when it comes to a really tense and tight spot and the instruments are playing angrily which was extremely good and that is the highlight of this recording which otherwise I found very good and very Mortiis-ish. If you enjoy the magic of Mortiis you have to listen to this.Enjoy! belay