Mortification hails from 'the land down under,' Australia and brings to the Metal realm some Extreme Metal in the form of Thrash/Death Metal with Doom injections. I have listened time and time again to Mortification's albums & thinking to myself that today is the day that I'm going to like their music only to leave disappointed without a purchase. Finally, I thought to myself hmmm out of some 24+ albums surely there's one that doesn't have the extreme Death vocals that I can't understand and don't like. So, I began listening and sifting through the mountain of discs the band has released over the years. Finally, I came to their album 'Hammer of God', This album didn't sound like any of their other releases and sounded more like straight up Thrash with cleaner vocals. You see, if you want to find a gem sometimes you just have to dig deep to find it. 

       In 1999 Mortification released their full-length studio album titled 'Hammer Of God' on Metal Blade Records. With 'Hammer of God' we find a mixture of Thrash and Doom Metal along with clean gritty sounding vocals more on the lines of Grave Forsaken. The mad scientist behind the bands successful 20+ years of carefully mixed Thrash madness is Steve Rowe. Steve is also the mastermind behind the bands Wonrowe Vision, and Lightforce. One thing helping to set Steve's vocals apart from other bands is the unique accent that you can hear coming through his vocals. When He is using his gritty vocal delivery, the Aussie really shines through. 
       These Aussie Moshers know how to deliver some heavy Thrash. On "Hammer of God" you will find some killer Thrash riffs along with some double bass pedal action. At times, the Thrash riffs get the mosh pit slam'n hard, then they bring it back down with some slow Doom riffs. The guitar work on this album is second to none and very diverse going from Thrash to 80's style solos to slow Doom to Power Metal. But do my ears hear the sound of a piano on a Thrash album? Yes, Mortification isn't scared of mixing in some different instruments and different genre guitar styles without over doing it and still staying true to their Thrash roots.        
       The uplifting song "Metal Crusade" reminds me of a tune from Grave Forsaken called "Warriors of Light." The song "God Rulz" is a short one clocking in at 1 min 27 seconds long and without going into a lot of words, reminds us that God is Sovereign over everyone and everything that goes on in this world. Short one-phrase songs have always been commonplace in Thrash music. On the album "What a Joke" by Deliverance, we find the song "Happy Star" clocking in at 0:05 secs and the song "Pray" clocking in at 0:41 secs also there's the fun song "Chipped Beef" which is a talked-out recipe. I believe this is what Mortification was doing when they put the song D.W.A.M. (Daniel Was A Mosher) on the album. Because in Thrash music "fun" is part of the gig!

"D.W.A.M."
D.W.A.M. Daniel was a mosher 

A plan to kill off Daniel 
By the administrators 
Get the king to issue a royal decree 

Stage dived into the lions den 
Administrators want him dead 
But the lions surfed him all around 
D.W.A.M. Daniel was a mosher 

For thirty nights must worship just the king 
But Daniel prayed three times a day 
To our God on high. 

The enemies observed him pray 
They went & told the king his ways 
The king was sad he'd signed the plot 
Daniel was a trusted man. 

There was no way out for the king 
Bound by law to stick to his 
Laws he made cannot be changed 
Into the pit offenders thrown. 

Daniel was thrown into the lion's den 
But God closed their hungry mouths 
And he was not dead. 

 "Extreme Conditions"
Under the hideous spell, 
Masses are tormented 
Under the fate of death, 
Heathen are burning 
Seek the way of Life, 
Christians are forgiven 
He died to save us, 
Bringing us to Heaven 

The gates open wide, 
Millions truding forth 
Satan rises laughing, 
Taking the young ones 
Close the gates in your life, 
Look to the Master 
See the blood dripping, 

      Salvation through the cross    

(See Site Info for Sword Scale meaning)

       Some other Thrash'n albums by Mordi with clean gritty vocals include 'Envision Envangeline', 'Blood World', and 'Relentless', With Mortification there's a little something for everyone. 

       If you are looking for some traditional Thrash to add to your arsenal, then Mortification's 'Hammer of God' is a great option and a must for all Thrash Metal fans!

Musicians:
Steve Rowe - Vocals, Bass
Lincoln Bowen - Guitars
Andrew Esnouf - Drums