Mortal (band)

American Christian industrial/dance band

Mortal

Also known as| Mortal Wish
Origin| Loma Linda, California, US
Genres| Industrial metal,[1] industrial dance, Christian rock
Years active| 1988–1996
2002
Past members| Jerome Fontamillas
Jyro Xhan
Ed Benrock
Troy Yasuda
Strobe

Mortal was a Christian industrial/dance band fronted by Jerome Fontamillas and Jyro Xhan. Both members went on to found the alternative rock group Fold Zandura, and for a time were members of both bands simultaneously. The band is known for its lyrical intelligence, incorporating advanced theology with what has been billed as "Industrial Praise and Worship."[2] According to CCM Magazine "Mortal has had a much greater influence... on industrial music than its modest output would suggest."[3]

## Background

[edit]

Led by the duo Jerome Fontamillas and Jyro Xhan, Mortal was one of the first Christian bands to play industrial metal.[4] While not actually the first to do so, Mortal enjoyed significant success, and, along with other early contemporaries such as Circle of Dust and Argyle Park, 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.[5] They shortened their name, signed a record deal with Intense Records and released their first album Lusis in 1992, produced by Terry Scott Taylor[5] and Allan Aguirre of Scaterd Few.[citation needed] It was well received by the critics, with CCM Magazine dubbing Lusis the "strongest debut project to enter the Christian market in years."[6] The second album Fathom (1993) was Mortal's most guitar-driven, and became one of the band's most popular releases.[7] 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,[3] and a grunge sound on 1994's Wake,[8] as well as with a dance-based meditational sound on their follow-up, Pura.[9]

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 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."[10] The duo formed Fold Zandura 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 compilation called Godspeed. It featured 13 album songs and two non-album songs.

In 2000, Jerome joined Switchfoot 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, 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

[edit]

Last Known Lineup

* Jerome Fontamillas \- Bass, vocals
* Jyro Xhan \- Guitar, vocals

Former

* Ed Benrock - Drums (1994–1995), formerly of Lifesavers Underground
* Troy Yasuda - Guitar (1994–1996)

Live and session

* Jeff Bellew (The Crucified, Stavesacre) - Guitars (1993)[11][12]
* Bryan Gray (The Blamed, ex-Left Out) - Bass (1993)[11][12]
* Jim Chaffin (The Crucified, Deliverance, The Blamed) - Drums (1993)[13]

## Discography

[edit]

* 1992: Lusis (Intense Records, Reviews: Cross Rhythms,[14] CCM Magazine[6])
* 1993: Fathom (Intense Records, Review: Cross Rhythms[8])
* 1993: Intense Live Series Vol. 5 (Intense Records)
* 1994: Wake (Intense Records, Cross Rhythms,[8] CCM Magazine[3])
* 1995: Pura (Intense Records, Review: Cross Rhythms[9])
* 1996: Mortal (5 Minute Walk, Reviews: The Lighthouse, CCM Magazine[15])
* 1998: Godspeed (KMG Records, compilation, Review: HM Magazine[16])
* 2002: Nu-En-Jin (Tooth & Nail Records, Reviews: Cross Rhythms,[17] The Phantom Tollbooth, Allmusic, HM Magazine[18])

## Charts

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Year  | Album  | Chart  | Peak

|
|
|

1993  | Fathom | Top Contemporary Christian | 32[19]
1994  | Wake | Top Contemporary Christian | 21[20]

## References

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1. ^ Van Pelt, Doug. "a new rock and blog: HM No. 55". HM Magazine. Archived from the original on 2010-12-30. Retrieved 2010-12-18. "...we were covering more industrial metal (like Circle of Dust, Klank, Under Midnight, Mortal, etc)..."
2. ^ Berman, Ed. "Review: Mortal by Mortal". The Lighthouse Electronic Magazine. Archived from the original on July 12, 2000.
3. ^ a b c Brown, Bruce A (January 1995). "Album Reviews / Wake". CCM Magazine. 17 (7): 54. ISSN 1524-7848.
4. ^ Lahtonen, Jussi (2005-10-25). "White Metal". Sue Rock Punk Metal Zine (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
5. ^ a b Bush, John. "allmusic ((( Mortal > Overview )))". Allmusic.
6. ^ a b Newcomb, Brian Quincy (March 1992). "Reviews / Lusis". CCM Magazine. 14 (9): 23–33\. ISSN 1524-7848.23-33&rft.date=1992-03&rft.issn=1524-7848&rft.aulast=Newcomb&rft.aufirst=Brian+Quincy&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Mortal+(band)" class="Z3988">
7. ^ Figgis, Alex (1999-10-01). "Mortal". Cross Rhythms. Open Publishing. Retrieved 2007-10-13. "Nothing rivals such true genre classics as 'Neplusultra", 'Rift' or the phenomenal 'Bright Wings'. Truly a musical milestone any industrial dance/rock/metal fan would appreciate."
8. ^ a b c Figgis, Alex (October 1999). "Mortal - Lusis/Fathom". Cross Rhythms (53).
9. ^ a b Jonathan, Evans (June 1996). "Mortal - Pura". Cross Rhythms (33).
10. ^ Thompson, John J. (Spring 1994). "Too Young To Die: An Interview With Mortal". True Tunes News. 6 (11): 18.
11. ^ a b Salomon, Mark (January 31, 2015). "Mark Salomon Part 3". Urban Achiever Podcast. Interviewed by Billy Power. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
12. ^ a b Gray, Bryan (June 12, 2019). "Bryan Gray of The Blamed". As The Story Grows Podcast. Interviewed by Bryan Patton. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
13. ^ Marihugh, Josh (September 5, 1999). "The Blamed - Forever". The Phantom Tollbooth. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
14. ^ Arkley, Ian (October 1992). "Mortal - Lusis". Cross Rhythms (12).
15. ^ Brown, Bruce A. (April 1996). "Reviews / Mortal Mortal". CCM Magazine. 18 (10): 71–72\. ISSN 1524-7848.71-72&rft.date=1996-04&rft.issn=1524-7848&rft.aulast=Brown&rft.aufirst=Bruce+A.&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Mortal+(band)" class="Z3988">
16. ^ McGovern, Brian Vincent (January–February 1999). "Album Reviews: Mortal Godspeed". HM Magazine (75): 64. ISSN 1066-6923.
17. ^ Cummings, Tony (November 2003). "Mortal - Nu-En-Jin". Cross Rhythms (77).
18. ^ (The) Kern County Kid (September–October 2002). "Reviews: Nu-En-Jin". HM Magazine (97): 66. ISSN 1066-6923.
19. ^ "Fathom". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
20. ^ "Wake". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-02-20.

### Further reading

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* "Mortal". 7ball (5). March–April 1996.
* Argyrakis, Andy (March–April 2001). "Mortal Reunion". HM Magazine (88): 51. ISSN 1066-6923.

## External links

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* Mortal/Fold Zandura discography, including the Mortal/Fold Zandura info file, the oldest Mortal/Fold Zandura fan site, by John Turpin
* The Sock Heaven BitTorrent Tracker, which provides downloads of Mortal's early work as Mortal Wish, plus demo work and a live show, via BitTorrent
* Mortal/Fold Zandura fan site that features full lyrics (including those for Mortal Wish's work) and concert photos

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States

Artists|

* MusicBrainz