Polish band Mortuum was formed in 1995 in the city of Lubaczow, in the south-east of Poland. They started in 1993 under the name Mortuus and made two demos of death/thrash metal, ‘Autodestruckja’ and ‘Narodziny’. However they had to change their name for the simple reason that there already was a similarly-named band, so they chose to call themselves ‘Mortuum’. Not only the name but also the line-up changed, since only the two guitarists, Robert Palczynki and Daniel Jaworski, remained onboard; the later switched from the guitar to the microphone. A few months later they recruited new members: Waldemar Sochan (guitar), Jark Trubacz (bass) and Marcin Jarmuz (synth). The addition of keyboards clearly gave a new dimension to their sound, as witnessed on their 1996 demo ‘For Those Who Left’. Their melodic death metal spiced up with heavy metal parts catched the attention of polish label Ceremony Records who gave them their first deal and re-released the tape in a professional manner.The demo got good reviews in polish fanzines, and that just encouraged them to rehearse even more and elaborate subtile arrangements for the making of the (tape-only again) album ‘Servant and Darkness’, released in 1997 on another polish label, Grind Records. That album demonstrated drastic changes in their style: a mix of death, black and doom metal magnified by female vocals (by the then newly-recruited Elbieta Witesko) and violin parts (played by guest musician Ana Wiesko) that brang the emotions to the firmament. Unfortunately the band members parted ways shortly after for unknown reasons. They did, however, add their own decisive stone to the fortress of the polish extreme underground scene of the 90s.UNOFFICIAL PAGE
