Mortal was a Christian
industrialIndustrial music is an experimental music style, often including electronic music, that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s to describe Industrial Records artists...
/
danceThis article is about dance music in general. You may also be looking for electronic dance music or dance-pop.Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
band fronted by
Jerome FontamillasJerome Earl Fontamillas is a Filipino American musician. Jerome has played in several bands notably with industrial rock band Mortal and Fold Zandura, with long time musical partner Jyro Xhan. He currently plays with alternative rock band Switchfoot as a guitar and keyboard player.In 1985...
and
Jyro XhanJyro Xhan is the stage/pen name of Filipino American musician Jeff 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 most notably Mortal and Fold Zandura. He was the main...
. Both members went on to found the
alternative rockAlternative rock is a genre of rock music that emerged in the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s...
group
Fold ZanduraFold 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. Their songs are "love songs and praise songs"...
, and for a time were members of both bands simultaneously. The band is known for its lyrical intelligence, incorporating advanced
theologyThe term "theology" literally means the study of God, deriving from the Greek word theos, meaning 'God', and the suffix -ology from the Greek word logos meaning "discourse", "theory", or "reasoning"...
with what has been billed as "Industrial Praise and Worship." According to
CCM MagazineCCM Magazine was a monthly magazine published by Salem Publishing, a division of Salem Communications. It was first published in July 1978, and it has always been a Christian music magazine. On January 16, 2008, Salem announced that the April 2008 issue would be the final printed issue of the...
"Mortal has had a much greater influence... on industrial music than its modest output would suggest."
A duo led by
Jerome FontamillasJerome Earl Fontamillas is a Filipino American musician. Jerome has played in several bands notably with industrial rock band Mortal and Fold Zandura, with long time musical partner Jyro Xhan. He currently plays with alternative rock band Switchfoot as a guitar and keyboard player.In 1985...
and
Jyro XhanJyro Xhan is the stage/pen name of Filipino American musician Jeff 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 most notably Mortal and Fold Zandura. He was the main...
, Mortal was one of the first Christian bands to play industrial metal.
Mortal was a Christian
industrialIndustrial music is an experimental music style, often including electronic music, that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s to describe Industrial Records artists...
/
danceThis article is about dance music in general. You may also be looking for electronic dance music or dance-pop.Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
band fronted by
Jerome FontamillasJerome Earl Fontamillas is a Filipino American musician. Jerome has played in several bands notably with industrial rock band Mortal and Fold Zandura, with long time musical partner Jyro Xhan. He currently plays with alternative rock band Switchfoot as a guitar and keyboard player.In 1985...
and
Jyro XhanJyro Xhan is the stage/pen name of Filipino American musician Jeff 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 most notably Mortal and Fold Zandura. He was the main...
. Both members went on to found the
alternative rockAlternative rock is a genre of rock music that emerged in the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s...
group
Fold ZanduraFold 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. Their songs are "love songs and praise songs"...
, and for a time were members of both bands simultaneously. The band is known for its lyrical intelligence, incorporating advanced
theologyThe term "theology" literally means the study of God, deriving from the Greek word theos, meaning 'God', and the suffix -ology from the Greek word logos meaning "discourse", "theory", or "reasoning"...
with what has been billed as "Industrial Praise and Worship." According to
CCM MagazineCCM Magazine was a monthly magazine published by Salem Publishing, a division of Salem Communications. It was first published in July 1978, and it has always been a Christian music magazine. On January 16, 2008, Salem announced that the April 2008 issue would be the final printed issue of the...
"Mortal has had a much greater influence... on industrial music than its modest output would suggest."
Background
A duo led by
Jerome FontamillasJerome Earl Fontamillas is a Filipino American musician. Jerome has played in several bands notably with industrial rock band Mortal and Fold Zandura, with long time musical partner Jyro Xhan. He currently plays with alternative rock band Switchfoot as a guitar and keyboard player.In 1985...
and
Jyro XhanJyro Xhan is the stage/pen name of Filipino American musician Jeff 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 most notably Mortal and Fold Zandura. He was the main...
, Mortal was one of the first Christian bands to play industrial metal. While not actually the first to do so (having been preceded by
DeitiphobiaDeitiphobia is a Christian industrial / electro / techno band from the United States formed in 1990 consisting of the duo of Wally Shaw and Brent Stackhouse. Known originally as Donderfliegen , the band changed names to Deitiphobia in 1991 to better clarify the band's focus on Christianity...
), Mortal enjoyed significant success, and, along with other early contemporaries such as
Circle of DustCircle of Dust was a mid-1990s industrial band created and run by Klayton who is now more widely known for his solo band Celldweller. Circle of Dust was, along with contemporaries Mortal and Deitiphobia, instrumental in bringing industrial metal to the Christian alternative metal scene...
and
Argyle ParkArgyle 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...
, 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.
The band initially played
synthpopSynthpop is a subgenre of pop and electronic music in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It originated during the New Wave era of the late 1970s and to mid-1980s, and it has continued to exist and develop ever since....
but changed to industrial metal around 1991. They shortened their name, signed a record deal with Intense Records and released their first album
Lusis in 1992, produced by
Terry Scott TaylorTerry Scott Taylor is an American songwriter, record producer, writer and founding member of the bands Daniel Amos and the Swirling Eddies . Taylor is also a member of the roots and alternative music group, Lost Dogs. He is now currently based in San Jose, California, USA.Taylor is highly regarded...
and Allan Aguirre of
Scaterd FewScaterd 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.-Sin Disease era:...
. It was well-received by the critics, with
CCM MagazineCCM Magazine was a monthly magazine published by Salem Publishing, a division of Salem Communications. It was first published in July 1978, and it has always been a Christian music magazine. On January 16, 2008, Salem announced that the April 2008 issue would be the final printed issue of the...
dubbing
Lusis the "strongest debut project to enter the Christian market in years." The second album
Fathom (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
grungeGrunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
sound on 1994's
Wake, as well as with a dreamy ambient sound on their follow-up,
Pura.
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 Gyro would report to
True Tunes News-Background:John J. Thompson founded True Tunes News out of his Wheaton, Illinois Christian record shop, True Tunes. The store itself, founded in 1989, was relatively unique because it focused exclusively on alternative Christian music at a time when Christian bookstores wouldn't carry products...
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
Fold ZanduraFold 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. Their songs are "love songs and praise songs"...
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 Walk5 Minute Walk is an independent record label founded by Frank Tate in April, 1995. Their operations were based in Concord, California in the back offices of "The Screem", a live alternate music club operated by Tate. They only carried Christian bandsDryve: Yeah, that was like the first thing...
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
SwitchfootSwitchfoot is an alternative rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman , Tim Foreman , Chad Butler , Jerome Fontamillas , and Drew Shirley .They are known for their energetic live shows , the three guitarists in the line-up often operate...
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 RecordsTooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in the U.S. state of California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington, where it is situated today...
, featuring an updated industrial sound, comprised 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
- Jerome Fontamillas
Jerome Earl Fontamillas is a Filipino American musician. Jerome has played in several bands notably with industrial rock band Mortal and Fold Zandura, with long time musical partner Jyro Xhan. He currently plays with alternative rock band Switchfoot as a guitar and keyboard player.In 1985...
- Bass, vocals
- Jyro Xhan
Jyro Xhan is the stage/pen name of Filipino American musician Jeff 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 most notably Mortal and Fold Zandura. He was the main...
- Guitar, vocals
- Ed Benrock - Drums (1994-1995), formerly of Lifesavers Underground
LSU Is one of many Michael Knott projects and known to be his darkest and heaviest...
- Troy Yahuda - Guitar (1994-1996)
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...
, Reviews: Cross Rhythms, CCM Magazine)
- 1993: Fathom (Intense Records, Review: Cross Rhythms)
- 1993: Intense Live Series Vol. 5 (Intense Records)
- 1994: Wake (Intense Records, Cross Rhythms, CCM Magazine)
- 1995: Pura (Intense Records, Review: Cross Rhythms)
- 1996: Mortal (5 Minute Walk
5 Minute Walk is an independent record label founded by Frank Tate in April, 1995. Their operations were based in Concord, California in the back offices of "The Screem", a live alternate music club operated by Tate. They only carried Christian bandsDryve: Yeah, that was like the first thing...
, Reviews: The Lighthouse, CCM Magazine)
- 1998: Godspeed (KMG Records
KMG 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 Turner of Dollar General stores...
, compilation, Review: HM Magazine)
- 2002: Nu-En-Jin (Tooth & Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in the U.S. state of California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington, where it is situated today...
, Reviews: Cross Rhythms, The Phantom Tollbooth, Allmusic, HM MagazineHM: The Hard Music Magazine is an American bimonthly publication focusing on both Christianity and hard rock. Articles include news, reviews and interviews with Christian artists...
)
Charts
| Year |
Album |
Chart |
Peak |
| 1993 |
Fathom |
Top Contemporary Christian |
32 |
| 1994 |
Wake |
Top Contemporary Christian |
21 |
External links