by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Mortiis’s new record The Grudge combines elements of metal, darkwave and the second era of industrial music, and delivers this with seething, white-hot rage. Proving more than just another pretty face, his skills with good ol’ doom ’n’ gloom are matched only by his mastery of programming.

Oh yeah, he also dresses up like an evil elf.

The Mirror talked to this Norwegian creature over the phone from a tour stop in Boise, Idaho as he struggled over the noise of a soundcheck.

Mirror: You have such a strong image—do you ever worry about it overshadowing the music?

Mortiis: Not really. Lately I have been pulling off the mask and having photos done without it, and it’s been going over good. People are starting to get it, and I have been pulling off the mask for the last song of our set, just to fuck with people’s minds. We are putting out signals about what might happen in the future. It doesn’t mean that the mask will be off all the time, but it does mean that we will expand our possibilities, like Alice Cooper or something.

M: When did you come up with the idea with the mask?

Mortiis: Well, my background is in black metal [Mortiis was a member of black metal legends Emperor], being a hardcore Kiss fan, and I was really getting into Lord of the Rings. All of those things combined and just created this character, Mortiis.

M: Before a show, do you ever say, “Aw fuck, now I have to put on the mask”?

Mortiis: I do that every day. I can now get it on in about half an hour, but it’s still kind of a hassle. It drains so much energy out of you, because it produces a lot of heat and you can’t really breathe or see properly, and you can’t hear that well with the ears on. I can’t wait to get the thing off after we play. I’ll just rip it off right away.

M: Have you had any strange fans approach you?

Mortiis: Yeah, I’ve signed human skulls. I thought that was pretty cool.

M: The darkwave and industrial genres seem to be going through a bit of a resurgence now.

Mortiis: I haven’t really noticed that, as I just concentrate on what I do. In the mid-’90s, it started coming back, and since then I thought it has been ignored a little bit, but if it were to come back, that would be cool. I’m the kind of guy who gets into things really late. Recently I got into Led Zeppelin and Johnny Cash, so that shows you how behind the times I am.

M: There is a ton of misinformation on the Internet about you, like that you live in a castle and that your prosthetics are actually cosmetic surgery. Are there any lies that stick out for you?

Mortiis: Well, the one that really bothers me is that I killed my mother. That just disturbed me and made me wonder why someone would write that. I started collecting all of the lies and put them on my Web site, until I just got bored with it. The reality is, I just live in a small town in Norway with my wife. I’m just a small town kind of guy, and I’ve always been a small town kind of guy.

With Danzig, Chimaira, Behemoth and Himsa at le medley on Saturday, Oct. 15, 6:30 p.m., $30, all ages

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