Mortification: Dissecting the Goblin - Heaven's Metal

Reprinted by permission from Heaven's Metal Fanzine. Taken from Issue #62.

Steve Rowe is a man on a metal mission. Since his days as a bassist for Lightforce, and as bassist and vocalist for Mortification, Steve has been one of the prominent voices behind 'Jesus Metal', a movement within the scene that exhorts metalheads - and bands alike - to return to the more evangelical roots of Christian metal. His outspoken, no-holds barred personality has garnered friends and foes alike, and as the band forges ahead through mountains and valleys, Steve seems resilient - although not impervious -- to the criticism. Troubles with his health have slowed him down to the point of making touring difficult and reducing it to a handful of shows a year, but one thing in certain: his precarious health has certainly not silenced him.

I was just watching your Grind Planets DVD and I gotta tell you: some parts are just totally hilarious! When you start poking fun at Stryper's In the Beginning... for those of us who got the joke, it's so comical.

I am excited that people are getting to finally see Grind Planets on DVD. A lot of serious work went into the clips and all of us were living on no budget. We were selling well in the US and just starting with Nuclear Blast so those were exciting times. We rehearsed a lot and you can hear our passion for evangelism and the music. It has been such a blessing working with Adam from Soundmass. Without Soundmass, I don't think I could have continued. My eyesight has become too diminished to work the business end of things and was causing stress and more ill health. Soundmass have started the re-issues with Scrolls of the Megilloth, Horde and the Mortification Grind Planets DVD. The Soundmass wholesale and retail distro are awesome and I simply get paid once a month. It has been a timely arrangement since starting it in late '04.

The fact that the humor is self-deprecating just adds to the hilarity of it all. There's one scene in particular that's worth a million bucks: As you prepare to drive away on your tour van, you say, "There's no law against how fast you CAN get to 55", an obvious reference to Robert Sweet's Corvette scene in In the Beginning. And then you pull away slowly, and that poor van is just smoking all over the place!

Really, the van on that Australian tour was so bad... we had bad gear, bad conditions, bad everything basically. But it was the apprenticeship that launched the band. Unfortunately, Jayson did not go on with the band choosing to join Paramaecium, which created new challenges that still exist. Jayson is the best metal drummer in this country and a complete genius. When he needed to be a fool for the camera, he was the best at it as he is with everything he does. I see Mick Carlisle a lot and Jayson and I catch up with on the phone regularly. As for the Stryper references in the video, I am a huge fan of the band but my personal experiences with the group have not been good. Revolution Metalfest in Mexico just put the nail in that coffin which started in '89 when Lightforce supported Stryper here in Melbourne. That's where I learned how not to treat a support band. Fact is, people cannot help rock stardom and when you reach the dizzy heights of fame and fortune that Stryper did in the 80's, management handles everything. That was the case in '89 and '04. A band at that level is able to focus just on what they need to present on stage. With that said I think seeing L.A. rock scene first hand and how ugly it all really can be... being from Australia and into more extreme forms of art, I came up with the whole Grind Planets idea - as in being the opposite of rockstars. I urged the guys at the time to be as crazy as possible in the documentary parts just to show that we can have fun, laugh at ourselves, makes fools of ourselves (Fools for Christ!), while sleeping on floors and playing in hell holes. Stryper's "In the Beginning" video was the perfect thing to do a spoof of. If you study the Stryper video then watch Grind Planets you will get the jokes.

It's been over a decade since I saw Mortification live in concert. It was 1994 I believe, at a small club outside Chicago called The Thirsty Whale - which, by the way, has been demolished and replaced by a gas station/McDonald's joint. I think Phil Gibson had already replaced Jayson on drums. Tell us some of the good memories from that tour. What were the high and low points?

I guess I could go on and on about the low points from the past 16 years but the high points are what makes this train keep on traveling. Everything has always been so tight financially but God has always provided for this ministry. I have a joyful heart, which makes good like a medicine. I find the most extreme and painful situations funny. Sure I voice my opinions strongly but a true teaser knows how to get a reaction. Sometimes people's reaction to what I have done with Mortification hurts, but God has given me the ability to have a laugh and grow a thick skin. Plus people need to realize that often I am pulling their chain just of fun.

Going farther back, I remember the very first time I heard about Mortification. There was a review of the self-titled album on a prominent magazine at the time called The Syndicate, and the reviewer basically ripped the CD to shreds, but not because of the musicianship or the talent, but because he considered death metal (or, as he called, 'grindcore') unfit for Christian metal. I wish I could remember his name, since his efforts obviously backfired and his review only served to peak my interest! Do you still encounter that type of opposition, or are those days long gone?

Mortification has to be the most loved and hated band in the universe. People both Christian and non-Christian either loved or hated this band from day one. The things that the Church doesn't understand are easily labeled wrong, inappropriate, or evil. When you hang around a long time and keep reinventing yourself, people always have something to whine about. But hey, I have grown a thick skin and if I was not around no one would have someone to blame for everything because they are having a bad day.

Many consider Scrolls of the Megilloth the band's opus, the highlight of Mortification's career. Some of these same people see the band in a chase to recapture the vibe of that disc ever since. How would you respond to the ever-increasing demand for a record that matches Scrolls in brutality and prowess?

The opening track on Erasing the Goblin called "Razor Back" deals specifically with this issue, saying it how it is but having a 'razor back' to take what comes back at you. It is a ripping death metal track. Every Mortification album has been done for a reason and I enjoy the writing and recording process the most. I like the challenge of reinventing the band. I think that is how we have survived so long. Scrolls is what it is and I am so glad it was ahead of its time. It is not just a death/grind album but has elements of black metal with the screeching vocals and power metal. If you watch Grind Planets, you will see the swords and the chalice on "Raise The Chalice" which is a throwback to power metal and done 3 years before Enslaved and Immortal were doing the sword thing. Death metal bands were not doing screeching vocals at the time and the black metal thing did not hit until '94. With Post Momentary Affliction, I wanted to push more thrash and power metal elements back into the band because if you listen to Break the Curse 1990, you will hear my original music vision. German Thrash like Kreator and Sodom with the riffing power of Judas Priest and a silly edge like Anthrax and D.R.I. Post Momentary Affliction got album of the month in Rock Hard Magazine, the major metal mag in Germany in mid '93, so really for me that is our defining moment. Comparisons were made with the breakaway sound of Pestillence's Testimony of the Ancients, as both are albums not following the endless line of copycat death metal acts. I found this most satisfying because I really dug that Pestilence album when it came out in '91 because it was so different and interesting to listen to. Bloodworld was a swing at that more tuned-up extreme sound but fell flat production wise. Phil Gibson did a stellar job in '94 not just on the album but also on tour. However, Sherlock is basically an impossible act to follow. Phil Gibson's chaotic style inspired the raw approach to Primitive Rhythm Machine, and again there was the sad fact that Mick Carlisle and Phil did not get to record that record due to commitments more important than Mortification. Playing with Lincoln and Keith was a great era and then Adam Zaff coming along before the World Tour in '01 which is the touring highlight for sure... All 3 guys are really into hardcore as was Phil and being a band and not a solo project I have always wanted the different members to feel that they can express themselves with the art that is in their hearts. Thus, the slamming I have received for albums recorded in the past ten years. Also the fact that I like thrash, power metal and silly riffs has not pleased some people but I have a lot of fans of that stuff, especially younger kids so it has not all been bad. Metal Blade signed us for 2 albums and a live one on the strength or lack thereof of Triumph of Mercy, so I must have been doing something right because I cannot even remember recording that album because I was still so ill. Really, that album is the miracle that it states it is and then Metal Blade! It has been a bizarre and unexpected journey. I love all the albums for what they are and who and what they represent: the Lord Jesus Christ and the men who joined their art with mine to make them happen. Now that Mick Jelinic has been around for a while and has produced and engineered Erasing the Goblin, we have got right into recording a death/grind-orientated record because Mick and Damien are so into the more extreme elements of metal, as was Mike who departed a month before recording was due to start early last year. So the new album is a run back to the early days and although it has taken a huge amount of time to complete is an album the older fans will enjoy. Damien is a machine and so is Mick. I am blown away at the new genius that is Mick Jelinic. He is the best right-hand man I have ever had and what he cannot do cannot be done. His playing on this album and the production and engineering are stellar.

Because of your position as a member and leader of Mortification, you have experienced your share of controversy for things you have said in the press. One of the things that might have put you in hot waters was a statement given on an interview to The Promethean Crusade magazine back in 1999, where you declared, "Death metal is dead. I can't thing of a single death metal band still active here in Australia." In hindsight, and given the popularity of death metal back then and presently, do you wish you hadn't said it?

I do love death metal music. I think that, like what happened with black metal, it just became too many bands doing the same old copycat thing. That is what made death metal die in this country, as has black metal to a large degree. So the dust settles and it is time to try and reinvent those early days. But don't think for one moment that you won't be shocked. All Mortification albums are different and this new one is no exception.

You have also been one of the most prominent bearers of the 'Jesus Metal' flag. In my view, the scene has lost the naiveté of the beginning stages of the movement. Christian metal bands are more accepted by their secular counterparts these days, but is this a result of compromising the message in favor of musical excellence and ambiguous lyrical content? Or is it a matter of maturity, of graduating from 'milk' to 'meat'?

We have always been accepted in the secular market. We did 10 albums with Nuclear Blast (Germany), 3 with Metal Blade (USA) and 4 with Rock Brigade (Brazil). In '94 we supported Napalm Death, Entombed and Sick of It All at the With Full Force Festival in Germany. I had a great chance to talk with those guys -- especially Napalm -- about The Lord. The black metal explosion made it hard for us but things seem generally settled back to how they were in the early days. We have generated some real respect from the mainstream metal scene here over the years.

We always play with secular bands in Australia. We have sold more than any other metal act from this country. Men who stand for Jesus in their lyrics are the meat of what is going on. Any band that does not have a strong Christian message should not be sold in Christian bookstores or play at Christian Festivals. The world needs Jesus and the Christian fans need encouragement in their faith and walk with Christ. It is too easy to say you're a Christian and get easy sales in the Christian market. In the 80's I toured with bands like Whitecross and saw Scott Wenzel lead heaps of people to faith in Jesus. That is what true Christian metal is all about. If you don't have the message you should do the honorable thing and take the hard road like all secular acts do. Don't scam Christians who think they are buying Christian music and get no food. What has happened to The US "Christian" Rock scene is a disease. Bands like Disciple and Narnia are the meat of the Christian Metal scene. That's just my opinion.

Thankfully, there is a new wave of Christian bands out there that are unabashedly bold about their beliefs, with the chops to boot. Some examples include Becoming the Archetype, Frost Like Ashes, Aletheian, The Horsemen of the Apocalypse, to name a few. And speaking specifically about Becoming the Archetype, they named their debut album Terminate Damnation - which is a killer disc, by the way - and that is a testament of the influence that Mortification still has on the scene. Have you had a chance to talk to those guys?

It is so exciting to see young metal bands coming up - Demon Hunter and Becoming The Archetype, especially. I think the new Becoming the Archetype album is very original and the title being a Mortification song was a thrill to see. I am going to make some time to contact those guys. I am so excited about the work of my new friend Christian Rivel of Narnia/ Rivel Records. His music is so much about Jesus and that is where the maturity of the man of God stands - in his ability to stand up in an evil world and say, "I follow Jesus, He is The Only Way and you need Jesus in your life." The selling-out of the Christian message in "Christian" music makes it not Christian and should not be in Christian bookstores or played at Christian festivals.

Now, on to the new album: I understand that planning and pre-production to the album was met with some hurdles.

The devil does not want this album to come out. First, we lost Mike and then it took a lot of demo-ing and reinventing the album with Damien. Months of it! After doing my bass tracks, I ended up in hospital. On the first day of vocal recording I had to reach deep inside to bring back the roar that once was. That night Mick took me to the hospital out near his country property. When I get soaring temperatures and my body breaks down I just break out the humor. Mick and I were at the hospital and I was just making endless jokes about everything. I was in some serious pain but I don't let the devil get me down or stop me. The old Grind Planets anointing lives on! Mick was due to finish mastering on January 23rd but the last two days have been the hottest I can remember. We are in the middle of summer. Yesterday was 46 degrees Celsius, which is about 115 Fahrenheit I think. Bush fires rage in this country in the heat and Mick had to evacuate his kids to the nearest township. He had the car packed with everything, including unmixed masters of the album, just in case he and his wife had to evacuate as well. I was standing in the center of Melbourne about to go to church at 5:00PM on January 22nd talking with Mick on the phone agreeing that the devil was not going to burn this album or Mick's house which has the inbuilt 454 Studio. I was not concerned because I knew that God was with them and Mick is one of those guys who would stand on his roof and fight the fire himself before it took his house. He only just finished building the huge thing early last year. Thankfully, the days have been cooler lately and the wind is blowing the fire away from towns and houses into the bush. We are expecting searing heat again though. Thus, the release of Erasing will now run into March. Please keep us in prayer. The devil just keeps on throwing his weapons, but he cannot kill a vision forged in stone!

Do you plan to release it via Rowe Productions or Soundmass, or are there any talks in progress with possible labels and distributors?

It looks like we have new record and management deals. But nothing is signed just yet. The release is still on schedule. If anything happens against this, I will begin a release on Rowe Productions in February. The new deals are very exciting for the next years of Mortification. It looks like it will all come together in early February.

You have a very close relationship with metal ministries throughout the world, including Alcance Subterraneo in Mexico and Zadoque Community and Projeto Agape in Brazil. What draws your attention to those ministries? Do you see in them the same traits that have been lost in the American and European scenes?

Exousia in Mexico and Antidemon in Brazil are also doing a great work in Jesus Metal Evangelism. They are true warriors of the cross. I wish I had the money to do a premier production of Antidemon and Exousia albums if they were into the idea of working with me in this way. But the battle rages on.

Lastly, the most important question of all: how is your health, and how you're holding up?

My health is not good and money is depleted. But we know one thing is for sure: Jesus wins the war in the end and He already has!