Født til å herske

Normally when I write a review I have some point or idea in mind that I want to exacerbate with this review by taking advantage of something that the record I'm talking about can give me. That's why this is not a normal review, as I start writing these words there is no plan or idea behind them, I start a journey into the unknown, and for that I have the perfect music, the debut full length the Mortiis, Født til å herske, an album that has fascinated me since the first time I listened to it. The reason why I don't have any prior ideas before writing this is because I particularly find it hard to write about ambient albums with very long pieces as it is the case, Mortiis' music is certainly minimalistic if we compare it to many other works. But I still want to write about this release, because I want to be able to talk about and pay tribute to this great work.

The overture is ominous, simple but powerful melodic lines are mixed in, preceding a medieval yet solemn atmosphere, on this base that the first minute raises, Mortiis starts to build different layers with the keyboards that evolve slowly but permanently. One of my favourite aspects of this album is how it works with very few elements, that's why I have previously described it as minimalist, Mortiis is able to use the same idea but raised on different contexts throughout a song, the intervention of the horns, which gives a bombastic feel to the sound, can happen at different times throughout and depending on the melodic context of the keyboards can result in a different outcome while at the same time getting you used to all these elements to end up sounding familiar.

The song has advanced and you can already hear the first choirs, it is curious how these, having an ecclesiastical origin, adapt so well to Mortiis' music, which itself is also paradoxical in its own nature, because although it is an undoubtedly dark music, it also feels warm and relaxed. Its greatest merit is to be able to draw beautiful but desolate landscapes where one is invaded by a deep loneliness while surrounded by beautiful nature. This unique evocation captures quite well the sound that Mortiis offers in his early period, but in a very clear way in this first album, as it is a single track that carries with it the feeling of a journey through the wastelands he draws.

As I have already said, the resources of this album are very few, but they are the ones required, the kind of sound you find in the first five minutes of the album is what you are going to find for the rest of the long play, but I consider quite important to give the song the opportunity to expand its ideas and the sound universes it creates, It's a slow pacing and can frustrate a restless listener (not me because I've listened to this album so much that from the first few notes I'm jumping from joy) but I think Mortiis does a really good job of keeping a steady and changing rhythm in the slow run. I think that if you are a new listener to this style, you should put a lot of emphasis on appreciating how the piece varies on itself, and by the time you realise it you will notice that in a very short time the song is very different from its initial bars, or maybe you have even been immersed in its world and time has stopped counting for you and now you are like Dante being guided by Virgil, or in this case Mortiis, through unknown lands.

By the time you realise it, the theme has moved on a lot, the medieval aesthetic remains but everything feels darker and gloomier, you hear heavy gargantuan chanting and the wind blowing, stirring even. Then, a voice enters, deep as thunder, a masterful stroke that catches the listener off guard, and adds an occult and grandiloquent feel to the whole scene that has been building from the very first second to that moment, it is still soft and subtle, but it is powerful nevertheless. After that moment the music continues, taking its final steps, fading out with a melodic and cathartic moment, with a silence that comes almost instantly.

Mortiis' style, and more specifically, what he proposes with Født til å herske, is not for everybody, the figure of this author has more symbolic value for his relation with black metal genre and for his role as a pioneer in the dungeon synth style, but I feel that not as many people show enthusiasm for his work as simply respect his figure, and it's because his proposal, although more audible than any black metal album, requires a listener willing to face what he has to offer, a listener who notices the small and subtle details, a listener with imagination. I have a lot of respect for the subjectivity of music, I understand that there are things I may love and others simply can't stand it or are indifferent to it. But when it comes to Født til å herske.... I can only think, that whoever doesn't enjoy this masterpiece of ambient music, it's either because he doesn't want to, or because he simply cannot.

I could go on and on about everything that this work transmits: beauty, melancholy, desolation, epicness... But I think I have already said enough, because if you as a reader have arrived here, it is either because you already know what is hidden behind that iconic cover, or because you are thinking about discovering it, whatever your situation is, the only thing I can tell you in all sincerity, is that you should go and listen to this gem now.

In my last review, I called Mortiis's demo "The Song of a Long Forgotten Ghost" a great start to the then-new dungeon synth genre. In that review, I also stated that Håvard would release his debut album "Født til å herske" just a year later and expanded his sound. Well that was kind of an understatement. If his debut demo brought you into a world of misery, "Født til å herske" will take you out of there and bring you into the true medieval world. If the demo didn't put Mortiis into the spotlight, then this album definitely did.

The album only has one song that is split into two parts. What makes it different from the previous demo, however, is the production. The rough, noisy sound of the demo is now replaced with a more clean and polished sound. The synths also have more of an echo sound on them, so they sound more melodic. The overall atmosphere of the song is less depressing, and has a more sincere tone to it. This atmosphere is a bit stronger in the first part though, as the melodies in that part are more sweet and calming. All of this is combined to make the atmosphere of "Født til å herske" feel more poignant and angelic.

But what makes this album stand out from the demo is the vocals. The vocals are only on the second part of the song, and they don't appear until around the 18 minute mark, but they sound amazing. Håvard's vocals are deep, but the tone of the voice is powerful and grandiloquent. The lyrics are also great, as when translated, it's about a spirit who created a land to rule and look after. The lyrics are descriptive on what the forests look like, and the tone of the lyrics give it more of a cold and bitter feel. The vocals also flow well with the instruments, as they play and long, slow, and sorrowful melody. The execution of this part is amazing, and it remains one of my favorite parts in the entire album.

While this album is slightly shorter than the demo, its execution is better. The production is more pure, and the instruments are in a higher quality. The melodies are more versatile, and the vocals are heavenly. Overall, this album is an absolute masterpiece, and it is a must-have for those who love dungeon synth.

Mortiis is somewhat of a legend in the ambient/darkwave/atmospheric genre and although his early music wasn't metal by a long shot, there are many who would accept his position in our world. His first three releases as a solo artist are all renowned for the same reason: they explore calm and nostalgic vistas in a surprisingly depthy manner considering the man's main instrument is a synthesizer. Some have applied the tag "medieval" to these albums and there does seem to be reason to do so, since the predominant palette ranges between horns, piano or similar keys, classical stringed instruments, some percussion, and electronic choirs, all combining to form a whole of refined, if sombre, grandeur perhaps suitable for the chamber of an ancient lord.

Født til å herske is a full-on 53 minute venture into dark ambient territory that sticks to those parameters I have mentioned above and uses its wide scope to not only build an effective atmosphere but also to produce some actual music of worth. My own experience of ambient music is somewhat limited, as I would guess is that of the common metal fan, so I will elicit some famous examples to show how this piece differs from those. Many metalheads, especially those aware of Mortiis, have probably encountered Burzum's two "prison era" albums and the long ambient pieces that form part of the two albums preceding that period. Burzum's prison era is frankly a waste of time, since the quality of those ambient albums are low even if the atmosphere occasionally hints at something close to Født til å herske, while 'Rundtgåing Av Den Transcendentale Egenhetens Støtte' is far more minimalist than anything that Mortiis ever attempted. The most famous Burzum ambient piece 'Tomhet' is a much closer companion, yet Født til å herske never approaches the mystic or revelatory sharpness of that, opting for a gentler and more detailed approach. Likewise, this album is nothing like any of the attention-grabbing stuff like Abruptum, nor does it opt to include samples as many other ambient projects have.

So, that's a lot of things that Født til å herske isn't, so what actually does it sound like? Well, if you've got your hands on either the Dark Dungeon Music release or the Earache reissue, you would be doing well to start off looking at the album cover. It's a sepia illustration of a very small castle - really just a turret - surrounded by a lake on three sides, on which two white swans are swimming. The music fits that image very well, reminding one of cold halls and echoing corridors once resplendent with glory and now mildewed and deserted. It's as if all the action is over and one has retreated away from the festivity of company and the clamour of battle to this godforsaken place to remember and grow old and forget and finally die alone; glory, action, and companionship have been left behind and life is now only a hollow shell and a memory. In a way, this album acts almost as a story, or the epilogue to a great epic, told after the final event has finished and one can imagine different elements of lonely despondency fitting different parts of the musical narrative.

What makes Født til å herske a successful and celebrated ambient composition is not only the sense of place and atmosphere that it manages to construct, but also the level at which those things are maintained, never allowing the image to slip even as musical sections constantly come and go and the intensity rises and falls. Mortiis may seem to be messing about with his keyboard for an hour, but there are in fact a great number of ideas presented and the pace of progression is quick for such a downbeat and reflective composition. Perhaps the most surprising thing is the apparent memorability of the piece, since one can feel familiar with most of the song after just three or four listens, despite having few repeating parts (themes return with minor variations) and transforming continually during its length. One decision that certainly benefits the listening experience is the unified nature of the music: never does something enter the piece that feels forced or significantly different from what went before, not even the introduction of narration after 45 minutes. Instead, each part evolves gradually from the previous, slowly shifting to eventually take in more moods and instruments than one realizes at first.

As far as ambient music goes, Født til å herske is a very strong album and deserves the recognition that it gets. The structuring and progression of ideas are excellent, avoiding the usual complaints of repetition, simplicity, and unfamiliarity, while some of the musical ideas also have merit beyond mere atmosphere. The atmosphere itself is almost impeccable considering the quality of the instruments being used and should keep the listener riveted from start to finish. There isn't anything particular to complain of unless you dislike the mood of the music, although I might argue that parts of it are too calm and laidback to have as much effect as they should. Nevertheless, a great album in its own right.

Mortiis doesn’t necessarily get a lot of flak from metalheads, but he (I only count Haavard Ellefsen as Mortiis) doesn’t really get much praise, either. I couldn’t care less about his more recent albums, but these oldies take the cake for medieval, classical opuses. You’ll feel right at home in your peasant house, throne room, dungeon cell, or wherever you feel comfortable when it comes to Feudal Europe – a time where crotches really were rotted and shit running down the armor of knights wasn’t just a running gag.

There are two songs here and both are insanely long if you can’t handle tracks that exceed ten minutes. Personally, I don’t go in expecting to pay attention to every little detail. No, this music best serves as background stuff for me, and I’ll happily praise it for doing justice in that department. To others, they can literally stop everything and listen to every second passing. This isn’t an impossible feat for me, either, but I prefer just getting lost in the music rather than hammering it in my head. I can passively take on the haunting choir reigning through the halls, the keys dripping emotion in the chamber, and the atmosphere soothing through the ages.

It’s truly an album you have to hear from start to finish, since: 1) you can’t really just pick a point to skip to and begin moshing while 2) both songs aren’t really meant to make you do that in the fucking first place.

Both songs are very subtle, quiet, somber, and feel the need to lure you in rather than pull you in. It’s the type of sweet smell or tune that, as a listener, you take notice of and wish to seek out. Only when you’re sleeping do these actions begin to come alive, since when you’re awake you’re thinking about all sorts of things. In fact, this is best used as a sleeper album (and not in any negative way). Just shut your eyes, pop on / in the headphones / earbuds, and just sleep to the evocative “dungeon music.” The album sure is dark, but more along the lines of empty and forgotten, rather than sinister and creepy.

Portions are repeated throughout both tracks, but they’re seamless to the ears and carry on as one unified piece. Personally, I find no trouble with hearing the same sections again, since they’re not overdone or overblown. Instead, they keep adding to the layered invigoration that builds and builds. I’m thrust into a land that history has left behind, and there’s nothing it can possibly do to bring my back to the present… unless the album ends, that is.

There are no drums, guitars, or bass– that is the basic band set-up, and this album has none of them. It’s an ambient-tribute album to days of old creates so many emotions with so very little. The main instrument is the keys, obviously, but they’re solemn lines do more justice than almost any keyboardist I’ve heard.

Then again, there is one instance where vocals actually come into play, and it’s smashed between the only annoying segment of the entire album. You’ll notice the build-up in the second song when a bunch of baroque voices exhale off of each other going “OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!” “UOUOUOUOUOUOUOH!” In between these you’ll kind of hear Mortiis himself saying stuff, but it’s highly unnecessary and detracts from the listening experience.

Aside from that, this album fits well as background music. It’s nothing I’d hear if I’m already listening to another band, but when I do get in the mindset, then it’s hard to get me away from it. Thankfully he has a couple more albums in this style, but after that the quality kept diminishing. Got to give this troll some credit, since he knew what the hell he was doing.

Mortiis was born to rule in his castle filled with endless dungeons from which he spews his mind droning tales of a world of creation, time, and imagination. The album title, “Født til å Herske” or “Born to Rule” in English, is about a forlorn king who wanders his own lands which he created. Shaping the world of dark and eloquent themes and landscapes, including his very own tower where he sits and views his creation with pride. Clocking in at 53 minutes, the first of the “Era 1” Mortiis albums sets a remarkably high standard from which few albums have surpassed since. If you can get past the troll image of Mortiis and focus on the core musicianship on the album, you will realize it speaks for itself, and the troll-like image just so happens to complements the atmosphere.

“Født til å Herske” has only one specific song with the same title split up into two parts. As soon as part one opens with the droning of the synthesizer, you are immersed within a musical wall of the so called “dungeon music”. The song has the same general progression, with different droning sounds and melodies including a trumpet and horn around the 11 minute mark which will leave you captivated until the end. It’s actually hard not to get captivated by the music, unless you aren’t a fan of ambient or dark ambient. When you look at the cover, you will be drawn into the world where you are the ruler and creator of your own world. Some may complain and cry repetition, but the song is very complex and varies in nostalgic melody changes throughout the course of the song. The transition between the two parts could have been improvised a bit better on Mortiis’ part, although he did record this entire song at once on his classic Casio keyboard he just learned to play two years earlier.

The second part is fairly similar to the first, but includes vocals towards the end from Mortiis himself. They are subtle and flow neatly with the atmosphere so that they are not too obvious and drawn out, but complement the speed and tone of the song as well. After the vocals fade, the concluding progression keeps you suppressed within the song for the remaining two to three minutes. From there is where the journey within the dungeon will cease. Mortiis will retreat from his throne, out of the dungeon and fog and remove his troll wear.

This album fits well listened to alone at night, but also as an intermission in between the classic Norwegian black metal albums; most preferably Emperor, from which Mortiis was apart of for the self-titled EP. It surprisingly fits well because Mortiis left Emperor to create this very own project which just so happens to sound quite good one after another. This truly is a masterpiece of ambient work. It’s surprising to think that at one time he actually knew how to compose such beautiful and spellbinding ambience. Født til å Herske” will remain the same and each time I hear it I can easily get immersed within the medieval world of creation and imagination. There is hardly anything to complain about. It’s very simple yet complex. The structure of both parts is evenly distributed and the flow is constant. What prevents me from giving this a perfect score is the emotional level which is less apparent in “Født til å Herske” then the albums to follow. Also the fading transition in between the songs could have been organized better. Despite the minor flaws, this is the gateway album which has led me to explore more atmospheric, visual, and ambient styles of music.

I found this under the metal section of the usual music store I go to, I never knew who Mortiis was I was quite curious, judging from the album cover I thought it was some kind of obscure black metal band or something. looking at the back there were 2 tracks, I was thinking "hmmm interesting each track is nearly 30 minutes long". But I was completely shocked when I heard the music, but I wasn't dissapointed, infact I was amazed, though it wasn't what I thought it was, at a certain point of my life I did enjoy Ambient music, and this album actually got me interested in this kind of music once again. I can't say much about 2 tracks really but all I can say is the 2 tracks are equally good and you can hear the dedication in it, though a little bit repetitive, it adds alot to the atmosphericness. the music is very moody and very dark, it's best heard in a cold, dark room (preferably freezing cold, covered with a blanket, most likely in bed.) while sleeping, scaringly I actually I dreamt of being in that castle on the cover of the album while I was asleep! trust me, it's THAT atmospheric.

whether you like Ambient music or not, I warn you, you are missing out on some of the most beautiful music of your life. I am addicted to metal and this album has been a delightful shock, and believe me that doesn't come very often.

When I was at my local record store, I saw this album, but did not know who Mortiis was? The album cover looks cool: with a castle on the front, and on the back some scary dude wielding a battle axe! I called a local metal head and was told this was ambient, dark metal. I am a slight fan of ambient music, so I decided to pick it up. Now I wish I didn't.

This is definitely ambient music. There are only two songs, each lasting about twenty-five minutes in length. In the first song the melody plays the same throughout the whole album. Later it is accompanied by a drone around the five minute mark. The music doesn't change until twelve minutes when a trumpet comes in. Then it goes back to the original melody. It doesn't pick up again until the song is almost over. At the end we get a sense of evil with the bangs on the bass drums. Awesome part but the mood is ruined with little complexity and the song being drawn out.

The second song is very similar to the first. In fact the melody might be the same; just that the trumpet comes in at different times. There is a spoken part at the end of this song, which sounds cool because the drone is going again. I guess I would appreciate this album more if I was a big fan of ambient music.

The reasons why this album is good: There are a lot of good melodies on this album. The use of the drone gives the album a very distinct medieval sound, which is cool. Over all the songs are well written but...

The reasons why this album is bad: First the music is very repetitive. Both songs sound a like, and if you don't look for the time, you might not know which song you are on. Maybe it would have been better if they came up with two or more melodies in stead of just one that they changed randomly. Also I was expecting distorted guitars and black metal screams -which none are available on this album. This album is a gem to fans of ambient/dark sounding music. Other than that, get this album if you find it cheap, which was my big mistake.

Mortiis has been an ambient project I have always enjoyed sitting down to to listen to while relaxing or reflecting the mood inside me with. There is not one thing that can deny this album's emotionally connections and reflective atmospheres. Fodt til a herske is merely an open window to the definition of what the music genre known as ambient should sound. With it's minimal passages that portray a majestic side as well as a very tranquil peaces i can always imagine that same castle displayed on the cover art work.

Unlike most ambient, Fodt Til A Herske is not a repetitive 1-2 sounds. Mortiis truely progresses through the album with the same feeling for the 50 minutes of hypnotic masterpiece before you. The music shows its own words. The music tells its own story. With it's very peaceful messages that carry with them a darker face that cannot be seen with only a few occasional half assed listens as most persue while listening to the music. It may seem calm and tranquil throughout the piece but there is a hidden wrath under there that can be emotionally connected within the passages of the music as mortiis progresses throughout the album.

Along with the darker side there is a more personal feeling within this. It seems that in this release Mortiis was able to connect a darker side of his personality along with many other emotions you feel as each passage comes into its part during the music.

I truely recommend giving this album a listen. Unlike the more industrial side, these albums truely portray a feeling and atmosphere that cannot be matched by any means. A very enigmatic, yet transparent display of true ambient. You can really connect with it despite how cryptic the music seems during the first listen. A true masterpiece.