FSC Norway - June 2023 - Mortemia ft. Ambre Vourvahis - The Hourglass
Representing Norway in June 2023 is a New Artist for Norway in FSC, Sirenia-Morten Veland’s solo project called Mortemia this time featuring Metal singer Ambre Vourvahis on guest vocals. Here is some more information about them.
Mortemia is a music project created by Morten Veland, the founder of the Gothic/Symphonic Metal bands Sirenia and Tristania. At the age of 14 years he began saving to buy his first electric guitar. He would lock himself up and practice every day and night. Musically he was inspired by Guns N' Roses's ‘Appetite For Destruction’ and Alice Cooper's ‘Trash’ to make a career out of music and afterwards by f.ex. The Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim, and The Mission.
In 1992 he entered the music scene when he was just 15 years. He and bandmate Kenneth Olsson, who would later form Tristania, formed Uzi Suicide. This period inspired his songwriting into a darker and gloomier musical feel. Fragments of Uzi Suicide turned into Tristania. In 1995 he co-founded Tristania and at 19 signed his first record deal. He released 2 albums & couple EP's with the band. Tristania became one of the leading acts in the genre.
After Tristania, in 2001 he formed his own band Sirenia which over the years have become a powerhouse in Symphonic Metal. Parallel to his work with Sirenia he began writing music which did not fit into Sirenia’s current musical concept and so he decided to create Mortemia, a solo-project on the side. He signed a contract with Napalm Records in 2009 and the first Mortemia-album, ‘Misere Mortem’, came in 2010. For the next 10 years he focused on Sirenia.
During the pandemic years (2019-21) he got time to focus on Mortemia again and started to make music. The result was an EP in 2022 called “The Pandemic Pandemonium Sessions” released for digital download. His music was now slightly less dark than before and featured different guest vocalists. Songs were f.ex. "The Enigmatic Sequel" (ft. Madeleine Liljestam), "Death Turns a Blind Eye" (ft. Marcela Bovio), and “Adrenalize” (ft. Caternina Nix).
In 2023 he released what he called "The Covid Aftermath Sessions", a sequel-project with songs like “Frozen” (ft. Federica Lanna), “The Endless Shore” (ft. Ulli Perhonen), and also the melodic Symphonic Rock/Metal song called “The Hourglass” (ft. Ambre Vourvahis). This is the song chosen by the Norwegian jury as the Norwegian entry here in FSC June 2023.
Ambre Vourvahis is a beautiful and talented half Greek, half French singer currently residing in Germany who comes from a background of singing in choirs and musicals. She joined as new vocalist of the famous German Symphonic Metal band Xandria in 2022. She collaborated with Morten Veland on Mortemia’s new song “The Hourglass” in 2023 singing the vocals on that track. She loves music and looks forward to the journey continuing in the coming years.
Morten Veland is a talented and prolific songwriter within Metal music and we will without doubt hear more from him both with Sirenia and Mortemia in the years to come.
The Norwegian entry for FSC June 2023, called “The Hourglass”, is a melodic Symphonic Rock/Metal song performed by Mortemia and with Ambre Vourvahis on beautiful guest vocals. The Norwegian jury is happy to enter Mortemia in the FSC for Norway.
Below are the lyrics in English. Hope you’ll enjoy the Norwegian entry for June 2023!
Mortemia ft. Ambre Vourvahis - The Hourglass
I stare into the hourglass
On a dark midwinter day
Year by year
The time slipped away
My thoughts drift back to distant times
And to faded memories
Back to mystic paths
And buried dreams
On a bleak horizon
And a deeper kind of sleep
Midwinter snow still falling
The lure of death keeps calling
I stare into the hourglass
Here in my darkest hour
My heart and soul devoured
Eternity, my time will come
All this time
I waited at the edge of sanity
For you to come along
And set me free
As time passed by day by day
I waited all my life away
As all my sanity led astray
Confine winter’s hide
Ever since you passed away
Midwinter snow still falling
The lure of death keeps calling
I stare into the hourglass
Here in my darkest hour
My heart and soul devoured
Eternity, my time will come
I waited at the ever elusive afterlife
At worst, you pass through here
And faded out of sight
Midwinter snow still falling
The lure of death keeps calling
I stare into the hourglass
Here in my darkest hour
My heart and soul devoured
Eternity, my time will come
Midwinter snow still falling
The lure of death keeps calling
I stare into the hourglass
Here in my darkest hour
My heart and soul devoured
Eternity, my time will come
-M
FSC Norway I wish everyone in our FSC Community
