MORTIFICATION leader Steve Rowe checks in with the following update:

"Hi everybody. Happy early Christmas greetings to you all from the huge team of one person here at Rowe Productions. HaHa! Hope that you all have a blessed time celebrating Jesus' birthday.

I have been busy with Mortification commitments as usual. I have completed all the pre-production for the new album. This month I will be recording all the bass guitar tracks and doing the first proper run at the vocal parts. I will add to these in March when we record the body of the album. I have built a strong foundation for the recordings with Warren Hammond, the engineer at Penny Drop Studio where we are recording the new Mort opus.

For the first time in 18 years Mort is finally getting some attention in the Mediterranean. As already mentioned last month, I did an interview with Kerrang! Spain that should be available this month. I also just completed an interview with Rock Hard Italy. This is major media in these countries. The interviews have mainly been in relation to the Live Humanitarian DVD that is out now on Nuclear Blast Records.

Sales of the DVD continue to be strong and it is getting some killer reviews! Please take a minute to check out the 10 out of 10 review on the Metal In Oz website by clicking this link.

Metal In Oz is a mainstream metal site and the DVD is reviewed by a non-Christian headbanger!

I have had both my short scale Fender bass guitars modified to create a brutal new sound for the new recordings. The short scale basses are helping greatly with my lack of balance (due to paraplegia) and my loss of eyesight following all the cancer madness 10 years ago. They have been fitted with Badass bridges, one with Schaller machine heads and one with a Bartolini pickup. They are sounding nice and brutal, big and aggressive!

So the costs are rising. If you wish to keep this true Jesus Metal machine producing quality recordings that strongly represent the Christian faith, you can send support through PayPal to info@roweproductions.com.

Medical bills are also very high at the moment. I am in need of ankle braces to assist in walking. I have been taking some nasty falls lately. I can't afford to break an arm while recording - oopps! The medical stuff is endless and expensive but, with all the media doors opening up for me, this true headbanging mission needs to continue. The Good News must be told in these evil days. I am actually very well, all things considered. I simply have a lot of body damage from almost dying twice from cancer 10 and 11 years ago.

I was a bit of a kamikaze when I was a kid, doing all sorts of stunts on skateboards, BMX bikes, jumping off roofs and on trampolines and in pools. My son Leighton is just like I was. Yes, he has inherited my crazy gene!"