Mortal was a Christian

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

band fronted by

Jerome Fontamillas Jerome Fontamillas (born June 20, 1967) is an American musician. Fontamillas has played in several bands, notably with industrial rock band Mortal and alternative rock band Fold Zandura, with longtime musical partner Jyro Xhan. Since 2003, he ha ...

and

Jyro Xhan Jyro Xhan is the stage/pen name of Filipino American musician GD La Villa. He lives in California. He is a singer, songwriter, producer, guitarist and keyboard player. He has been in several bands such as Jyradelix, Cush, Juggernautz, but mos ...

. Both members went on to found the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

group

Fold Zandura Fold Zandura is an alternative rock band from California. They released four albums between 1995 and 1999, plus one white 7" vinyl. Each album was released under a different label. The two premier members also founded the industrial band Mortal. ...

, and for a time were members of both bands simultaneously. The band is known for its lyrical intelligence, incorporating advanced

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

with what has been billed as "Industrial Praise and Worship." According to ''

CCM Magazine ''CCM Magazine'' is a twice-monthly online magazine focusing on contemporary Christian music, published by Salem Publishing, a division of Salem Communications. History ''CCM'' was first published in July 1978, as a printed magazine. It has bee ...

'' "Mortal has had a much greater influence... on industrial music than its modest output would suggest."

Background

Led by the duo

and

, Mortal was one of the first Christian bands to play industrial metal. While not actually the first to do so, Mortal enjoyed significant success, and, along with other early contemporaries such as

Circle of Dust Circle of Dust is an industrial music project from New York City created by Klayton, who later became known as Celldweller. The project was active from 1988 to 1998 and then re-started in 2015 after Klayton gained back ownership of his old albu ...

and

Argyle Park Argyle Park was an underground industrial rock supergroup founded in New York City in 1994 and active until 1996. Members of the group reformed under the name AP2 in 1998, and were active under that name until winter 2000. Signed to Christian m ...

, played a notable role in paving the way for future Christian industrial and industrial metal bands. The group began in 1988 as Mortal Wish, and produced a six-song demo with additional members Ray Tongpo and Wilson Peralta. They shortened their name, signed a record deal with Intense Records and released their first album '' Lusis'' in 1992, produced by

Terry Scott Taylor Terry Scott Taylor (born May 24, 1950) is an American songwriter, record producer, writer and founding member of the bands Daniel Amos and The Swirling Eddies (credited as Camarillo Eddy). Taylor is also a member of the roots and alternativ ...

and Allan Aguirre of

Scaterd Few Scaterd Few was a Christian punk band originating from Burbank, California. ''CCM'' magazine described their music as "pure punk for dread people," stating that it was a cross between Janes Addiction and Charlie Mingus. History ''Sin Disease'' e ...

. It was well received by the critics, with ''

'' dubbing ''Lusis'' the "strongest debut project to enter the Christian market in years." The second album ''

Fathom A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems equal to , used especially for measuring the depth of water. The fathom is neither an International Standard (SI) unit, nor an internationally-accepted non-SI unit. Hi ...

'' (1993) was Mortal's most guitar-driven, and became one of the band's most popular releases. The song ”Rift” was rearranged later and a music video was shot for it in 1994. The video dealt with the horrors of child abuse. Mortal later experimented with a live band, and a

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

sound on 1994's '' Wake'', as well as with a

-based meditational sound on their follow-up, ''

Pura Pura may refer to: Places * Pura, Kushtagi, a village in Koppal district, Karnataka, India * Pura, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province, Iran * Pura, Tarlac, a municipality in the Philippines * Pura, Switzerland, a municipality in Ticino, S ...

''. During this time, the band became mired in legal issues involving their label, leading to on-again, off-again attempts to retire the name Mortal. As Jyro would report to ''

True Tunes News ''True Tunes News'' is a magazine which covered alternative Christian music. It was published between 1989 and Winter 1998. Background John J. Thompson founded in 1998 ''True Tunes News'' out of his Wheaton, Illinois Christian record shop, True Tu ...

'' in 1994: "I have peace with the fact that Mortal will permanently quit... There are legal things happening with our label that will end Mortal as a name." The duo formed

partly to get around these issues, partly to carve out a more alternative rock sound. Fold Zandura released one album and three EPs. The Mortal moniker was revived in order to release a self-titled album on 5 Minute Walk Records in 1996. According to the liner notes, three songs were originally Fold Zandura songs. In 1998 they released a best of called ''Godspeed''. It featured 13 album songs and 2 non-album songs. In 2000 Jerome joined

Switchfoot Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drums, percussion), and Jerome Fontamillas (guitar, keyboards, back ...

as a session musician and later joined them full-time. In 2002 Jyro and Jerome released a Mortal reunion album called '' Nu-En-Jin'' with

Tooth & Nail Records Tooth & Nail Records is a Christian rock record label founded by Brandon Ebel in California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington where it is situated today. It is home to many well-known musical acts, including Underoat ...

, featuring an updated industrial sound, consisting mostly of heavily distorted looping electronics. Lyrically, the songs have a very sci-fi flare, with the liner notes detailing the various fictional alternative universes in which they are supposedly set.

Members

Last Known Lineup *

- Bass, vocals *

- Guitar, vocals Former *Ed Benrock - Drums (1994–1995), formerly of

Lifesavers Underground Lifesavers Underground (a.k.a. LSU, and L.S. Underground) was one of many Michael Knott projects. The band formed in 1986 and combined elements of an earlier Knott project called Idle Lovell and LSU's sunnier alter ego Lifesavers. Lifesavers U ...

*Troy Yasuda - Guitar (1994–1996) Live and session * Jeff Bellew (

The Crucified The Crucified is an American Christian hardcore and crossover thrash band from Fresno, California that formed in 1984. Its lineup is vocalist Mark Salomon, guitarist Greg Minier, bassist Jeff Bellew, and drummer Jim Chaffin. The band are considere ...

Stavesacre Stavesacre are an American rock band from Huntington Beach, California formed in 1995. The band is composed of vocalist Mark Salomon, guitarists Jeff Bellew and Ryan Dennee, bassist Dirk Lemmenes and drummer Sam West. Stavesacre has released ...

) - Guitars (1993) *

Bryan Gray Bryan Gray is an American musician that has predominately performed with bands in the punk rock and hardcore punk genre, including and most notably, the Blamed, Blenderhead, Left Out, The Satire, and Rocks in Pink Cement. He also has performed ...

(

The Blamed ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, ex- Left Out) - Bass (1993) *

Jim Chaffin Jim Chaffin is the original drummer for the Crucified and Fasedown and has played with many other acts, such as Deliverance, the Blamed and Left Out. History Jim Chaffin was born in Madera, California and began playing drums at the age of ...

(

Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American survival thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman, and starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox, with the latter two making their feature film debuts. The screenplay was adapt ...

) - Drums (1993)

Discography

*1992: '' Lusis'' (

Intense Records Intense Records was an independent record label whose releases were mostly in the metal genre. Intense was bought out in 1989 by Frontline Records and became an imprint of that company. The bands in their roster were some of the premiere Christia ...

, Reviews:
Cross Rhythms
', ''CCM Magazine'') *1993: ''

'' (Intense Records, Review:
Cross Rhythms
') *1993: '' Intense Live Series Vol. 5'' (Intense Records) *1994: '' Wake'' (Intense Records, ''Cross Rhythms'', ''CCM Magazine'') *1995: ''

'' (Intense Records, Review:
Cross Rhythms
') *1996: ''Mortal'' ( 5 Minute Walk, Reviews
The Lighthouse
''CCM Magazine'') *1998: ''Godspeed'' (

KMG Records KMG (Killen Music Group) Records was a Christian record label. The label was established in 1997 by Buddy Killen as a subunit of the Killen Music Group / Buddy Killen Enterprises and sold in late 1998 to Cal Turner III, who is related to the Cal ...

, compilation, Review:
HM Magazine
') *2002: '' Nu-En-Jin'' (

, Reviews:
Cross Rhythms
',

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

HM Magazine ''HM Magazine'' is a monthly, digital and print on demand publication focusing on hard music and alternative culture of interest to Christians. It is headquartered in Houston, Texas. The magazine states that its goal is to "honestly and accurate ...

'')

Charts

References

External links