Mors Syphilitica
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Mors Syphilitica was an American
gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...
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ethereal Ethereal may refer to: * Ethereal (horse), a horse that won Australia's Caulfield Cup as well as Melbourne Cup in 2001 * Ethereal (musician), American rapper and record producer * Ethereal wave, or simply ethereal, a subgenre of dark wave music * W ...
band formed in 1995 in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
by
Lisa Hammer Lisa Hammer (née Houle; born April 4, 1967, in Salem, Massachusetts, U.S.) is an American filmmaker, actress, composer and singer.Azra Medea (World Of Fandom), 1997, Dark GothicAn Intricate Portrait of Lisa and Eric Hammer Accessed July 8, 2014, ...
(''née'' Houle) and Eric Hammer after the breakup of their prior band Requiem in White. Their music combined often-surreal lyrics with unusual instruments such as
mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...
and
banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...
, as well more conventional instruments like
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 ...
. Lisa Hammer's operatic vocals gave Mors Syphilitica's music a distinctive powerful, sweeping quality. On record, all of the instruments were played by Eric Hammer; in concert, they were accompanied by live drummers and bass players. Their first, self-titled 12" single (consisting of the song "Whispers in the House of Truth" backed with a cover of "The Damned Don't Cry" by Visage) on Sacrum Torch had a limited but successful release of 300 copies. Their three subsequent full-length albums were released by Sacrum Torch; the last album, ''Feather and Fate'', was distributed by
Projekt Records Projekt Records is an independent record label established by Sam Rosenthal in 1983, the label focuses on darkwave, ambient, shoegaze, gothic rock, ethereal, dream-pop, and dark cabaret releases. History Projekt was founded in 1983 by Sam ...
, which gave Mors Syphilitica access to a much wider audience. It received a four-star rating from
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, which described it as "at once contemporary and timeless." The band did not conduct many interviews, preferring that their music spoke for itself rather than warranting explanation.


Discography


Albums

*''Mors Syphilitica'' (1996, Sacrum Torch) *''Primrose'' (1998, Sacrum Torch) *''Feather and Fate'' (2001, Sacrum Torch/Projekt)


Singles

*''Mors Syphilitica'' 12-inch single (1996, Sacrum Torch)


References

Rock music groups from New York (state) American gothic rock groups Projekt Records artists Musical groups from New York City Ethereal wave musical groups {{US-rock-band-stub