Mortification

"Who wants to hear some metal? Who wants to hear some Jesus Christ metal?" are the words that apparently greet you at Mortification shows. Mortification main man Steve Rowe has seen a lot - ten years of lifting riffs that Sepultura threw away, over a million records sold, bouts with cancer, a revolving door line-up - but he still hasn't written a song that secular metal fans won't laugh at. If it's not the sub-par song construction, it's the "lyrical genius" behind the likes of "Dead Man Walking," "Martyrs," "Mephibosheth" and "God Rulz." I've tried to be open-minded about Mortification over the years - hey, anyone who beats terminal cancer twice deserves a shot - but face facts, Mortification suck. This live album will do nothing to change that opinion, although it's more bearable than usual when the music gets broken up by Rowe's unintentionally hilarious stage banter.