Country of origin: Norway Location: Notodden, Vestfold og Telemark (early); Oslo (later) Status: Active Formed in: 1992 Genre: Darkwave/Dungeon Synth, Electronic/Industrial Rock Lyrical themes: Fantasy, Depression, Anger Current label: Omnipresence Years active: 1992-present Mortiis was formerly the bassist and primary lyricist for Emperor in the early '90s. He formed this band the day after he parted ways with Emperor because he wasn't into black metal anymore. Mortiis' music is generally seen as being divided into three distinct eras: darkwave/dungeon synth on all '90s releases, darkwave/synthpop on The Smell of Rain and industrial rock from The Grudge onwards. In 2020, Spirit of Rebellion saw a return to the darkwave style, now commonly referred to as dungeon synth. Joined Emperor 1991. Fired from Emperor on grounds of a "bad attitude" late 1992. Formed Mortiis next day. Planned recordings in Transylvania 1993. That did not happen. Released several solo albums in the 90´ies & weirding out the music industry with his prosthetic mask. Oh those yonder days of media hypocrisy. Became band. Band died. Broke ribs, dreams and industry shackles, but remained free.