Teensmag 5/2001

This interview is a translation of the german original which is taken from the teenager magazine "Teensmag" (www.teensmag.net).

How would you define your music to people who don't know very much about your particular style?

Steve: Foremost I would define it as Heavy Metal, but the more extreme type. We mainly play Death Metal, Classic Metal, Thrash Metal and Hardcore.

Lincoln: Aggressive! Pretty aggressive and loud.

How did you come to play such music?

Steve: I started listening to metal at the age of eight. My brother listened to Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. I started to love such music because of him, as a teenager I listen to Iron Maiden. I drifted away from the church as I didn't really fit in. But someone from our church gave me a CD of a Christian metal band called "Resurrection Band", also known as REZ Band. This was my step back towards the church and back towards my Christian faith. The mix of a Christian message and metal just fascinated me. It didn't really fit in the church because Heavy Metal is a subculture and I also wanted to tell non-Christians about Jesus Christ. So I used music, which I loved, mixed with the Christian message and made it my life mission.

Adam: Back in the 80th my father played in a rock band called Rosanna's Riders. So I grew up with Metal.

Lincoln: His father is the oldest drummer in the world and can even play louder than him!

Adam: Yes, I think I inherited my talent from him.

Lincoln: Through my brother I got to listen to Petra. When my friends started to listen to harder music like Deliverance, I got fascinated with the guitar sound which was played faster and more complicated. I then started to buy those albums myself.

A few people think that there has to be something wrong if someone likes this type of music.

Lincoln: You have to be a bit weird if you like metal. A lot of people are weird; lots of people are doing sports instead of what we do.

Steve: Heavy Metal is sport. The people are jumping around, which is hard work. A few people from the church say that metal is satanic music. But I think that the Christian message is the strongest message of the world. One of the best methods to spread it is using powerful music. With our music we can reach people who are unreachable for others, because we are out of the same subculture.

Which reactions does your music provoke?

Steve: A lot of Satanists are cursing us because they think metal is their music. Also a lot of Christians don't have very nice reactions; they don't understand that we can reach people with our music. A lot of Satanists even respect us.

Do you have contact with secular bands?

Steve: Of course, we play at secular festivals. We have personal contact with some bands, primarily bands at the Nuclear Blast label. In Melbourne we are playing with secular bands at clubs all the time.

Steve, you had leukaemia, what did you learn from what you went through?

Steve: Mainly that I can trust in God and that I'm closer to him now. With leukaemia you are always at a point where you are almost dying. The doctors gave me just two hours to live twice. Somehow it is the worst but also the best thing which ever happened to me. So I learned, like the bible says, that life can disappear like a vapor. I should have died at the age of 33, now I'm 36. To be as near to death as I was gives me the power to travel the world and to speak about my faith with others. I know that my life is, compared with eternity, very short.

You are travelling much, aren't you?

Steve: Yeah, we meet people all over the world who accept Jesus Christ as their saviour or who came closer to God because of Mortification. For example: A man from South Africa said that he went inside a CD shop and bought one of our CD's, just because the CD looked pretty cool and because it was Metal. At home he noticed that it was a Christian band. He read the salvation prayer and the note that said he should contact a local church. Now he has been an active Christian in a Baptist church for one year. Mostly, the people at our concerts don't get converted, but we sow the message. Hundreds of people (or maybe thousands) decided to follow Jesus because of Mortification.

Adam, you have been in the band for one year now, at the time you joined you were 15. How did you meet Steve?

Adam: When I was a baby and my parents were out, Steve and his wife used to baby sit me. I started playing drums at the age of four.

Do you had any problems in the band because of your age?

Adam: Once in a club in Australia they wouldn't let me go in until Steve came and he told them that I'm the drummer in the band.

When worshipping God what music do you sing and listen to?

Steve: I listen to worship and praise songs. I really like the music of Iona and we also listen to Glenn Kaiser and we listen to Christian radio frequently.

Adam: Besides Metal I love listening to an Australian pop band.

Lincoln: Like Steve, I also listen to Iona sometimes. I also like praise and worship. My favourite band is the Heavy-Metal band Living Sacrifice.

Do you have a closing message for the TeensMag reader?

Steve: Start searching for a nice church if you aren't already in one. Try to live after God's will, a life to his honour.

Lincoln: If you did something wrong it isn't the end of this world.

Adam: When I joined the band my life was out of order, though I had Christian parents. The words of Steve had a strong influence on my life. Try to find someone that you can talk to or read our lyrics.

Interview taken by Daniela Roth and Aaron Wernli