Mortiis has issued a statement regarding his infamous mask, which made its return in a short video clip (see below) released earlier this week.

"For years I've been stubbornly telling everyone who wanted me to revive the mask to get f**ked, more or less.
 
“The idea of the mask just rotted away for me, and for a long time it was just this vile thing that I couldn´t relate to. It was someone else, and everyone wanted me to go back to being someone else, so how do you think I'd react to that?
 
“I needed to go full circle. I suppose I had this sort of nihilistic view of the mask for a long time. It just lost all meaning to me. So I eventually worked my way through the disillusionment, hate, indifference and finally back into the reincarnated goodwill towards it.
 
“The return of the mask - at least for it to be part of the equation again - had to happen sooner or later. I guess I just needed to put a lot of stuff in its right place in my mind before I was ready to consider putting it back on. Let's face it, though, I'm a sucker for visual sh*t, so obviously the mask was bound to come back at some point. I just wasn't ready to admit it to myself until now, and certainly not to some entitled ass hat yelling that he wants it back."

Mortiis will be returning to UK shores for a run of seven headline shows in May. The tour kicks off at Newcastle’s Cluny venue on May 23rd and commences at Bristol’s Fleece on May 29th. The tour will follow hot on the heels of the forthcoming release of Mortiis’ new album The Great Deceiver, which is out on March 4th via Omnipresence.

The band comments: ”It’s about time we came back to the UK for some shows. See you in May, you bastards.”

Tour dates:

May
23 - Newcastle, UK - Cluny
24 - Glasgow, UK - Audio
25 - Manchester, UK - Ruby
26 - Birmingham, UK - O2 Institute
27 - Brighton, UK - Haunt
28 - London, UK - Garage
29 - Bristol, UK - Fleece
 
Tickets are on sale now at this location.

In anticipation of Mortiis' upcoming album, The Great Deceiver, the band is offering a free download of "The Shining Lamp Of God" single. Get it here.

Similar to late last year's free download of "Doppleganger”, "The Shining Lamp Of God" download will come complete with a remix by MELT, the track's recently release music video, artwork, screensavers and other bonus graphics.

"We know fans have been waiting a long time for The Great Deceiver, so this is our way of giving them a little extra gift, as well as wetting their appetites for the full album," Mortiis said.
 
Fans have the option to donate if they wish, with funds going to offset the costs of recording and releasing The Great Deceiver.
 
"We are digging deep into our own shallow pockets to finance everything ourselves this time around," Mortiis said. "So, it's certainly not required, but donations are always appreciated!"
 
The new video for “The Shining Lamp Of God” can be seen below. "The Shining Lamp Of God" continues the story that "Doppelganger", released late last year, started. "We made two videos, although they were shot as one," Mortiis said. ""The Shining Lamp of God' is another chapter - same place, same hellhole, just escalated, I suppose. It never really ends…"

Directed by Robyn Van Swank and Nick Plotquin, “The Shining Lamp Of God” is equally rife with graphic images, bringing to life the internal struggles and demons that the song’s lyrics tackle. Whereas “Doppleganger” was conflicted and self-loathing, “The Shining Lamp Of God” metaphorically uses religious symbolism to convey an inner anger toward others’ selfishness so deep that one fails to see their own ego centrist behaviors.
 
Chilling images of physical torture perfectly encapsulate the mental anguish of Mortiis’ music – an incredible fete based on the depth of mental and emotional agony of the lyrics on Mortiis’ album, The Great Deceiver.
 
The disturbing clip leaves lasting impression – which was Mortiis’ goal after years of feeling controlled and confined by the restrictions of a record label. “The old label is history, the shackles are off, and I decided to just sell my record collection in order to finance some videos that we, and nobody else, actually have any control over,” he said. “We pretty much used to be hogtied down in terms of what we were allowed to do and not to do in our videos. I always thought that was ridiculous, like we were some sort of pop band. Ever since that time, I swore I would one day control how my music was used, and if I wanted to show someone getting injected with sewer water, I would.”

“Doppelganger” video: