Mortiis, Auckland NZ, 2018

Mortiis

2nd August 2018
Whammy! Bar, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Doug Peters.

As the night cascaded down upon the city of Auckland it brought with it a chill bite to the air and the smell of rain. Along Karangahape Road, figures in black began to move on mass towards the familiar sanctity of Whammy! Bar, anticipation riding high in the air for what was to come.

Mortiis has long been a figure of great stature in the music world and so it was no surprise that fans tonight were already lining up at the door to ensure they had their pick of a prime viewing point. To whet their appetites, two outstanding Auckland support acts were ready and waiting to take the stage.

Hieronymus Bosch are New Zealand’s longest running experimental industrial act having formed between the years of 1985-86. Live performances are few and far between now days so the crowd pushed forward eagerly to take in all they had to offer. Unfortunately due to a small scheduling hiccup, the duo could not appear together; so instead Mark Wallbank lead the charge, his head bound in black duct tape.

Commanding the stage he began behind his keyboard, two pieces of silver metal in his hands; as waves of sound poured out and filled the room he would move the two pieces of metal against each other, their reverberations ringing out in an almost hypnotising fashion. Fans watched in fascination as Wallbank moved through to using both heavy chains and a hammer against a metal tool case, a cacophony of sound that had distinct rhythms and grew before the audience like a jagged structural nightmare. Playing both ‘The Serpent and the Rainbow’ along with ‘Musicbox’, two of Hieronymus Bosch’s well known classics it seemed more than appropriate that Wallbank also dropped a little piece from their 7” which features a Russian exorcism.

The night was already off to a wonderfully dark and brooding start when Lichtbeuger appeared before the audience. The duo that consists of Drew Lyon and Adam Colegrove have long been impressing with their brand of 90’s Industrial EBM, and with rumours that tonight’s set would include some new material the anticipation that was already in the air was tweaked just that little bit more. Taking us back to the beginning of their career ‘Nazi’ began the set – a rather apt choice for this particular venue which is where Lichtbeuger first ever played.

Colegrove was brilliantly animated on stage, looming over the mic stand he fixed his gaze into the middle of the room as he let loose with his unique brand of deep and raspy vocals. Moving into their second track ‘Leather Ropes’ and you immediately began to feel the atmosphere change; with dark and in many ways almost sinister lyrics played out brilliantly by Colegrove and an underlying beat delivered by Lyon with razor sharp precision, this was a track that took you by the throat and held you there. Sadly it appeared that gremlins may have come out to play as Lyon’s laptop suffered a catastrophic failure bringing their set to a rather abrupt end after only two tracks. However if ‘Leather Ropes’ is a taste of what is to come from this outstanding duo then the future of Lichtbeuger is looking very desirable indeed.

While appropriately murky house music played, the stage was slowly transformed, two large banners bearing the familiar shield of Mortiis adorning each side. Tonight’s performance was to be a “re-imagining” of Mortiis’s 1994 sophomore album Ånden Som Gjorde Opprør, [The Spirit Who Rebelled] from his Era I period of music. For Auckland Mortiis fans this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, Mortiis himself admitting in a recent interview that it has taken him many years to come to the point of embracing his past in order to once again perform this era of his music live.

As the lights dropped the almost capacity crowd whopped with delight; the screen behind the stage springing to life with a beautiful circular emblem of a dragon which only intensified their delight. Moments later, emerging from the shadows like a creature from another realm Mortiis appeared before all, the distinctive hook nose of his infamous mask evoking images of familiar folklores.

Without a word he began to play, fans immediately in awe of his presence in the room.

Beginning with ‘En Mørk Horisont’ [A Dark Horizon] Mortiis transported the entire venue to another time and place, where wizards and dragons ruled their domains. Completely instrumental the music was accompanied by exquisite charcoal drawings projected onto the back screen, each one a marker point in this musical journey. While Mortiis may not have spoken once throughout the set, he still connected with several people in the audience, his eyes settling on one fan at a time as he held them with a rather intense gaze.

Small pauses allowed the crowd to show their appreciation, Mortiis acknowledging them with a simple tilt of the head.

Flowing into the second piece ‘Visjoner Av En Eldgammel Fremtid’ [Vision Of An Ancient Future] and the room moved as one, the tribalistic beat driving them forward on this quest that they themselves now felt part of. All too soon however it came to an end, Mortiis stepping back from his keyboard, the shroud between the two worlds once again fitting back into place as the room returned to the present day.  Thunderous applause echoed around the room, Mortiis quietly acknowledging the fans with a simple bow and a wave before once again slipping into the shadows from whence he came.

Were you there at Whammy! Bar for this awe-inspiring dungeon-synth showcase? Or have you seen Mortiis live some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Mortiis Setlist:

1. En Mørk Horisont
2. Visjoner Av En Eldgammel Fremtid

Lichtbeuger Setlist:

1. Nazi
2. Leather Ropes

Hieronymus Bosch Setlist

1. The Serpent And The Rainbow
2. Musicbox

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