Spiritus Mortis

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Spiritus Mortis
General information
origin Alavus , Finland
Genre (s) Doom metal
founding 1987 as Rigor Mortis
Website http://www.spiritusmortis.com/
Current occupation
E-bass , initially also vocals
Teemu Maijala
Jussi Maijala
Jarkko "Sepi" Seppälä
Electric guitar
 Kari "Hakomae Blackmore" Lavila
singing
 Sami "Albert Witchfinder" Hynninen
former members
initially drums, later electric guitar, flute , keyboard
Veli-Pekka "VP" Rapo
singing
 Tomi Murtomäki
singing
 Vesa Lampi
Drums
 Veli-Matti Yli-Mäyry

Spiritus Mortis is a Finnish doom metal band from Alavus , which was founded in 1987 under the name Rigor Mortis .

history

The band was founded in the late summer of 1987 under the name Rigor Mortis by the brothers Teemu (electric bass, vocals) and Jussi Maijala (electric guitar). Veli-Pekka "VP" Rapo joined as drummer. His assignment was initially only planned temporarily, but he remained permanently in the band. Since there was a US band of the same name , the group was renamed Spiritus Mortis.

The first demos and concerts followed. Towards the end of the 1990s, the group's activity almost came to a standstill, as the members had to devote themselves to military service , study or work. During this period Tomi Murtomäki was briefly part of the line-up as a singer so that Teemu Maijala could concentrate exclusively on playing the bass. At the beginning of 2000 Vesa Lampi joined as a new singer. The band then went to the studio to record the 2000 demo . Because Vapo was actually mainly a guitarist, he switched to the electric guitar (he also occasionally played the keyboard and flute) before Veli-Matti Yli-Mäyry joined as the new drummer at the end of the year. At the beginning of 2001 the next demo appeared with Forward to the Battle . In the early summer of the year, the group was offered a recording contract for the first time, but it did not materialize. Instead, the band recorded the next demo in 2002, Hot Summer of Love , which was distributed to the music press. Still without a contract, Spiritus Mortis went into the studio in January 2003 to record their debut album. During this time, Yli-Mäyry announced that this would be the last recording with him as a member. After various drummers had auditioned in the spring, Jarkko "Sepi" Seppälä was chosen for this post. After a few test recordings had been sent to various labels, the band received offers from two labels in the summer of 2003. A recording contract was then signed with Rage of Achilles , which in January 2004 released the self-titled debut album. In October of that year, the label dissolved, so that Spiritus Mortis was again without a contract. In the same year, the group was seen on the Doom Shall Rise . With the help of Tom Phillips of While Heaven Wept , the band reached a recording contract with the Greek label Black Lotus Records , which released their second album, Fallen, in March 2006. After that Rapo moved to Stadingrad , which meant that rehearsals with the band were no longer possible. After the album was released, Rapo was replaced in early 2006 by Kari "Hakomae Blackmore" Lavila. In the winter of the same year, Black Lotus Records also ceased its activity. In spring 2007 Lampi got out. To celebrate the band's 20th anniversary, Murtomäki temporarily returned to the band to go on tour with them. This was the first long tour in the band's history. After the appearance of various split releases, Sami Hynninen was hired as the new singer in January 2009. In addition, a record deal was signed with Firebox Records , which released the album The God Behind the God in May of that year . Shortly before, the single When the Wind Howled with a Human Voice was released with Waiting for the Sun as the B-side . In the same year the band held various concerts both in Finland and in other parts of Europe . In 2016 the next album followed with The Year Is One .

style

According to Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia , many have said that Spiritus Mortis was Finland's first doom metal band. The debut album contains both slow Doom Metal and faster traditional Heavy Metal . David Perri wrote in the book The Collector's Guide of Heavy Metal Volume 4: The '00s about the album that it is about the Chinese Democracy of Doom Metal, because they worked on it for 15 years. The music is in the post- Dio Black Sabbath style of the 1980s. The group avoids creating Sabbath Bloody Sabbath from scratch, which makes it unique in the Doom Metal world. Martin Popoff noted in the same book about traps that Spiritus Mortis is known as the first doom metal or stoner rock band in Finland. The song material is comparable to that of Candlemass , with an eccentric singing that can be classified between Messiah Marcolin (ex-Candlemass) and Denis Belanger ( Voivod ). The songs sound crunchy and authentic. In an interview with Andreas Schiffmann from Rock Hard , Kari Lavila stated that the band likes to incorporate guests from outside the genre into their songs. In The Year Is One, for example, a keyboardist can be heard who is more into blues and jazz than doom metal. A previous issue, Schiffmann reviewed The Year Is One . The album combines the melancholy basic style of the band "with the obligatory references to the rather rocky reading of the forefathers Pentagram and surprising knees to the epic phase of Black Sabbath with Tony Martin and Ronnie James Dio". Even if the content of the album is rather conservative, it manages to sound fresh.

In his review for the debut album Detlef Dengler wrote from Metal Hammer , that it is metal band Doom at Spiritus Mortis not classical, which are either on one side to Saint Vitus , Black Sabbath, Pentagram and Trouble or otherwise of Candlemass or Solitude Aeturnus orientation . The music is mostly slow, but occasionally the speed is increased so that one almost approaches Power Metal . The singing is strong and clear. In a later edition, Dengler discussed falling and found the music to sound uncompromising and passionate. In addition to influences from Black Sabbath, influences from Trouble, Count Raven and Deep Purple would also shine through. The music seems traditional, but the group avoids sounding old-fashioned. Instead, she makes the songs as varied as possible by using different influences. In another issue, Andreas Schöwe ​​reviewed The God Behind the God . The publications are qualitatively comparable to those of Candlemass. The now new song reminds of Messiah Marcolin's. Musically, they move between doom metal, classic heavy metal and rock music of the 1970s. Curved Horizon and the theme song would be more reminiscent of Saint Vitus and The Obsessed , while Heavy Drinker sounds like the song Fairies Wear Boots from the early Black Sabbath. Perpetual Motion is faster, swinging and more rock-heavy, almost settled in Heavy Metal. The Man of Steel and Death Bride would have vocals reminiscent of Chris Boltendahl 's.

Discography

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Eduardo Rivadavia: Spiritus Mortis. Allmusic , accessed July 30, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b History of SM. spiritusmortis.com, accessed July 30, 2017 .
  3. ↑ DOOM SHALL RISE II .heiliger-vitus.de , accessed on July 30, 2017 .
  4. ↑ a b Andreas Schiffmann: Spiritus Mortis . I throw up darkness. In: Rock Hard . No. 356 , January 2017, p. 99 .
  5. ↑ Martin Popoff , David Perri: The Collector's Guide of Heavy Metal Volume 4: The '00s . Collectors Guide Ltd, Burlington, Ontario, Canada 2011, ISBN 978-1-926592-20-6 , pp. 465 .
  6. ^ Andreas Schiffmann: Spiritus Mortis . The Year Is One. In: Rock Hard . No. 355 , December 2016, p. 108 .
  7. ↑ Detlef Dengler: Spiritus Mortis . Spiritus Mortis. In: Metal Hammer . April 2004, p. 102 .
  8. ↑ Detlef Dengler: Spiritus Mortis . Falling. In: Metal Hammer . May 2006, p. 110 .
  9. ^ Andreas Schöwe: Spiritus Mortis . The God Behind the God. In: Metal Hammer . July 2009, p. 110 .