The year 1994 + The 3rd and the Mortal = classic album |
January 25th, 2007
contributed by |
Clearly one of the forerunners of the ‘atmospheric’ metal scene, if there ever was one, is Norway’s The 3rd and the Mortal. Norway has never had a shortage of highly experimental metal bands and The 3rd and the Mortal were no different. Their debut album “Tears Laid in Earth” pushed about all the boundaries you could think of at the time. The album wasn’t afraid to tenderly explore all corners of melancholy and held no limits to the amount sparse effected clean guitar and meandering leads as they saw fit. To top it all off, The 3rd and the Mortal were one of the first bands in the European scene with a female vocalist (many bands including The Gathering claim them as an influence). While the bands early material was often described as ‘doom metal,’ it’s clear their approach was more from the Pink Floyd direction than any classic metal bands.
Today, most rock and metal fans may not even be aware of The 3rd and the Mortal or their classic “Tears Laid in Earth” album, but things were different in 1994. In 1994 if you were to stumble upon a fan of the general atmospheric/gothic/experimental/doom metal scene (myself included), they would undoubtedly by listening to Anathema ‘Serenades’, Tiamat ‘Wildhoney,’ Paradise Lost ‘Icon’, Cemetary ‘Godless Beauty’, Katatonia ‘Dance of December Souls’, Opeth ‘Orchid’, My Dying Bride ‘Turn Loose the Swans’, Amorphis ‘Tales from the Thousand Lakes’, and.. The 3rd and the Mortal ‘Tears Laid in Earth’. They were among the top for fans of Scandinavian underground metal.
I consider ‘Tears Laid in Earth’ to capture a certain sound that is easily identifiable with the mid 90s Scandinavian metal scene that is rare to find today. The variety of influences melting together and the “live” feeling of the playing and production give an intensely earthy feeling is hard to come by nowadays. More than anything, this song makes me incredibly nostalgic. There are some albums you just don’t want people to forget, and this is one of them.
Why so Lonely (Download)
The 3rd and the Mortal (Artist)
Purchase CD
January 29th, 2007
at 11:12 am
Odd, I always thought this band was A. more in the “darkwave” sort of vein and B. around in the mid-80’s to early-90’s. I don’t know why. In fact, I’m now wondering just why the hell I had such an inaccurate notion in the first place!? I had no idea they were still active and associated more with this particular niche. So weird…
January 29th, 2007
at 12:01 pm
Maybe you were thinking of “This Mortal Coil”?
April 27th, 2009
at 7:58 am
I’m probably very late here, but again, this one is an awesome suggestion !
Hooked onto this band from the past one week. Brilliant music. Weird and melancholic. For me, it sounds like a very dark version of The Gathering