Luna Mortis, formerly The Ottoman Empire, was an American heavy metal band based in Madison,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. The band was formed in late 2001 in

Monroe, Wisconsin Monroe is a city in Green County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 10,661 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered by the town of Monroe to the north and the town of Clarno to the south. It is nicknamed the "C ...

as The Ottoman Empire. In 2006, the band self-released their debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, '' Way of the Blade''. In June 2007, Luna Mortis played the first Flight of the Valkyries female-fronted metal festival in St. Paul, MN under their original name, The Ottoman Empire. In 2008, the band self-released an EP, '' The Answer: Does Not Exist''. That same year, the band changed their name to Luna Mortis and signed a recording contract with

Century Media A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A ...

. On February 10, 2009, the band released their debut for Century Media, '' The Absence'', which was recorded in 2008 at the Audio Hammer Studios and produced by Jason Suecof. In June 2009, the band returned to St. Paul (now as Luna Mortis) for the festival's third installment. Luna Mortis was dropped by Century Media Records in December 2009. On February 15, 2010, Brian Koenig announced on Luna Mortis' MySpace page that the band had been dissolved and the members would be going their separate ways. On February 11, 2013, The band announced through their Facebook profile that the band would be reuniting in 2013, planning festival appearances and new material. However, after only two shows as a reunited band, the members decided once again to part ways. In 2015, vocalist Mary Zimmer joined the band White Empress, a new project created by former Cradle of Filth guitarist

Paul Allender Paul James Allender (born 17 November 1970) is an English guitarist, best known for his work with the English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. He was a longtime member with stints in the band from 1992 to 1995 and then again from 1999 to 2014 ...

. Around the same time, guitarist Brian Koenig joined the band Lords of the Trident. Mary later became the singer for a band called Santa Marta.

Musical style

Luna Mortis' musical style is often described as a mixture of different genres. Among the genres used to describe Luna Mortis are

melodic death metal Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavines ...

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...

progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...

, and

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

. The band's vocal style is characterized by Mary Zimmer's use of both clean vocals and growled vocals. Brian Koenig, the band's principal songwriter, states some of his influences were

Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 in Boston, Massachusetts. The band comprises John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), Mike Portnoy (drums), James LaBrie (vocals) and Jordan Rudess (keyboards). Dream Theat ...

Joe Satriani Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American rock music, rock guitarist, composer, and songwriter. Early in hi ...

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen (; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, on 30 June 1963) is a Swedish-American guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical metal, neoclassical playing style in heavy metal music, heavy metal, and has ...

, and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

. Mary Zimmer states some of her influences were

At the Gates At the Gates is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. The band was a major progenitor of Gothenburg-style melodic death metal alongside In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. Prior to their first disbandment in 1996, At ...

and

Carcass Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to: * Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc. *Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being, also c ...

Members

Final lineup

* Mary Zimmer –

Vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

* Brian Koenig –

Guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

* Cory Scheider – Guitar * Jacob Bare –

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

* Erik Madsen –

Drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Previous members

*Todd Olson -

*Brad Lupo -

*Paul Kline -

*Nick Conti -

*Zack Zweifel -

*Dusty Weis -

Session members

*Frank Grullon -

(Sessions only) *Brian Loomis – drum kit on '' Way of the Blade''

Live members

*Chad Novell -

*Adam Maltby -

Discography

* ''Twice Demo'' (2002) * '' Curse of the Sun EP'' (2004) * '' Way of the Blade'' (2006) * '' The Answer: Does Not Exist EP'' (2008) * '' The Absence'' (2009) Works prior to ''The Absence'' were released under the band's former name, The Ottoman Empire.

References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 2001 Musical groups disestablished in 2010 Musical groups from Wisconsin Heavy metal musical groups from Wisconsin Century Media Records artists