Mortem announce new album ‘Ravnsvart’

July 13, 2019 James Weaver

MORTEM have announced a new album!

Titled Ravnsvart, the upcoming album is the long-awaited debut effort from the recently reformed Norwegian legends and is scheduled to be released in September this year.

Formed by Marius Vold & Steinar Sverd Johnsen in 1989, MORTEM was one of the first black metal bands to crawl out of the woodwork in Norway, releasing the highly coveted and brutal Slow Death demo, with Euronymous & Dead of MAYHEM acting as producer and cover artist respectively. After the release of Slow Death, the band was laid to rest with members going on to form and feature in acclaimed titans such as ARCTURUS and THORNS, both of which would become mainstays in the black metal scene and beyond.

In a moment of nostalgia & a desire for something more brutal beyond the current vessel of ARCTURUS, the corpse of MORTEM was revived, & the unholy duo of Marius & Steinar joined forces once more. And so the long-awaited album, titled Ravnsvart, possesses the same raw brutality & spirit as the original incarnation, plus fresh elements all uniquely woven into the fabric of the early sounds of Scandinavian black metal, & crafted into a masterpiece of sinister horror. Joining the duo is Hellhammer from the legendary MAYHEM on drums, plus Tor Stavenes of 1349/SVART LOTUS on bass.

Steinar Sverd Johnsen comments on the reformation, “reviving MORTEM was something we had thought about for a long time. Due to increasing creative differences it was a natural move to drag MORTEM out of the ground, and come together with other brilliant additions to the band, to make something evil, fast, and heavy as hell, borrowing elements from ARCTURUS and BATHORY, it’s old school while being totally unique.”

Alongside the announcement of the long-awaited debut, the band have also revealed the first taster from the upcoming record; the title-track Ravnsvart.

Listen to Ravnsvart here: