The early days...
Mortician was founded by Will Rahmer
(bass/vocals) and Matt Sicher (drums) under the name of Casket. They
wrote their first song called Mortician and decided to change the band's
name to that. A rehearsal tape was recorded in December 1989 for
promotional purposes. In February 1990 the same songs were recorded for
our first demo which John McEntee of Incantation played guitar for. John
remained a member of Mortician throughout most of 1990 which coinsided
with Will's singing in Incantation. This demo went on to be pressed up
by Seraphic Decay Records (dick!) and was Brutally Mutilated.
Temporary becomes permanent...
In January 1991 Roger J. Beaujard joined Mortician as a permanent
guitarist. After getting great responses at several shows all around the
North East US, Relapse Records contacted us to record a 7" EP. This
later went on to become the Mortal Massacre 7" and CD EP. Mortician
continued to play various shows and festivals and were getting prepared
to record thier first full-length CD. At this point in the band's
history, we made a critical decision. We had to let Matt Sicher go as
drummer due to his excessive harsh drug use and lack of commitment.
Enter Drum Machine...
In early '92, because of the lack of a drummer, Will and Roger began to
experiment with drum machines. We recorded several private tapes for
our own benefit just to get an idea of what sound we were going to go
for. We had about 15 rehearsal tracks recorded for a full-length project
which was sent to Relapse. 3 of those tracks were taken from that
recording and put on Corporate Death Compilation CD which was released
in 1993.
Failed attempts...
After the compilation came
out, we spent most of our available time trying out drummers, which
never really worked out. We only played a few local shows in our area
with various stand-in drummers. These were the dark years when all hope
was lost and the end seemed near. Individually Will & Roger
experienced many personal ordeals such as jail, fights, work, financial
problems and life's general bullshit. So needless to say not much was
accomplished until summer of 1994. By this time most people thought we
had broken up, but the band was just on hold. Shortly after this break
period ended, Relapse contacted us to record a song for the "Death is
Just the Beginning III" compilation. The song, "Blown to Pieces", was
recorded in August of 1994 with the aid of a drum machine. At this point
we decided to continue using the drum machine as far as recording was
concerned.
A classic born in one night...
Relapse then
approached us about another 7" to let fans know we were back in action.
In September of 1994, we recorded 5 songs which resulted in the "House
by the Cemetery" 7". "House" was released in early 1995 and received a
great response. This led to Relapse asking us to record bonus tracks for
a CD EP release. Before the recording of the bonus tracks we were asked
to record the title track for the home video "Traces of Death III".
This track is completely exclusive to the video and its soundtrack, it
is available nowhere else. In July 1995 the bonus tracks were completed
which included covers of "Scum" by Napalm Death and "Procreation of the
Wicked" by Celtic Frost. The rest of 1995 was spent playing various NYC
shows with stand-in guitarists and Roger playing drums.
The first full length...
In January 1996, the "House by the Cemetery" CD was released. This
marked the beginning of a new era for Mortician as far as coming across
as a serious project. During this time we recorded many rehearsal tapes
for private evaluation in preparation for our full-length CD. At this
time we signed our contract with Relapse for this recording. Around
April 1996 Will & Roger began preparation of songs to be recorded
for the CD. Desmond Tolhurst, a bass player from one of Roger's other
projects, Malignancy , offered to assist in the production and
contribute equipment to the recording of this CD. We readily accepted
his offer, and were looking forward to recording the project digitally.
The only thing missing from "House" was the frequency response found in
digital recordings. We recorded and mixed the CD in July 1996 and were
very please to say the least with the outcome. This CD features 16 songs
dating as far back as 1990 to 1996 that were never released before and 8
songs rerecorded, 3 from the 1st demo, 1 from Mortal Massacre EP and 4
Compilation tracks.
The first tour...
Mortician went
on its first tour with Incantation and Anal Cunt from October 1996 to
mid November from Texas up through the mid west and finished up in
eastern Pennsylvania. Nine shows were played all together and the
response was excellent. At this time Roger was unable to leave the state
due to a legal matter and did not make the tour. At this time Relapse
released "Hacked up for Barbecue" for mail order. At the end of the year
we started recording rehearsal tapes of brand new songs for our next
release which will be completed by October 1997. You can expect even
more of the Mortician brutality on this future release of 20+ songs!
Mortician records for New Line Cinema...
At the very beginning of 1997 we recorded a track titled "Skin Peeler"
for the New Line Cinema release "Gummo" which should be out in the
summer of 1997. The movie is a continuation of the themes set in the
film "Kids".
-Tracklist:
1. Bloodcraving 5:15
2. Embalmed Alive 0:53
3. Cremated 1:37
4. Three On A Meathook 3:08
5. Brutally Mutilated 0:42
6. Deranged Insanity 2:31
7. Cannibal Feast 1:43
8. Blown To Pieces 1:01
9. Fog Of Death 3:15
10. Brutal Disfigurement 1:28
11. Apocalyptic Devastation 3:15
12. Inquisition 1:23
13. Hacked Up For Barbecue 4:21
14. Abolition 0:53
15. Necrocannibal 4:01
16. Ripped In Half 0:26
17. Morbid Butchery 2:03
18. Decapitated 1:04
19. Drilling For Brains 0:52
20. Eaten Alive By Maggots 1:53
21. Witches' Coven 3:21
22. Worms 0:55
23 Annihilation 1:05
24 Mortician 3:22
-Line up:
• Will Rahmer : Bass, Vocals
• Roger J. Beaujard : Guitars, Drum programming.
Label: Relapse Records.
Recorded and mixed July 1996.
Mastered August 1996 at M Work Mastering Studio, Cambridge, MA.
Track 1 intro movie sample from "When A Stranger Calls."
Track 3 intro movie sample from "Three On A Meathook."
Track 7 itro movie sample from "Cannibal Ferox."
Track 9 intro movie sample from "The Fog."
Track 11 intro movie sample from "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior."
Track 13 intro movie sample from "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre".
Track 17 intro movie sample from "Maniac".
Track 20 intro movie sample from the trailer for "Mortuary".
Track 21 intro music from the movie, "Suspiria,"
Track 24 intro movie sample from "Phantasm," and outro movie sample from "Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead."
Co-produced by Mortician.
Cover art by
Wes Benscoter.