MARTORN

As a melodic black/epic death metal band with international members, Martorn stands for admiration, loyalty, and healing. The lyrics follow suit with symbolic imagery of strenuous growth, ephemeral beauty, and inevitable decay. Lead singer/keyboardist/lyricist Emma Michaelsen (The Rhythm Coffin) and guitarist/bassist Art Bertik (Despite Loyalty, Strangled By Strangulation, Groamville) are a dynamic duo. Together, they create melodic death metal with cryptic lyrics and haunting melodies. Guest musicians featured on tracks include drummer Ben Durfee (Dysphotic, Coma Recovery, Cassovita) and Grammy Award-winning violinist, Alyson Montez.

 

As Michaelsen hails from Stockholm, Sweden, and Bertik hails from Los Angeles, U.S.A., they literally had to cross oceans to make their music happen. With help from Entelodon Records, The Decibel Foundry recording studio and Rogue Planet Mastering, Martorn already has 3 singles and an EP. Each song explores the duality of resilience and despair. The music is bittersweet, like Pandora's box, full of darkness, yet redeemed by hope. But even the hopefulness is tempered by morbidity, because it's only the potential for progress, not a guarantee of it. The growls and gutterals are a dead giveaway for deep-rooted anger and frustration.

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Michaelsen and Bertik met in 2015 after her live performance with The Rhythm Coffin in Hollywood, California. They have been collaborating on creating music together in between all their other projects, ever since. Their songs embody the epic atmosphere of black metal, the raw rage of death metal, and the emotional sorrow of melodic metal. Their music exemplifies the paradox of resilience and adversity. Martorn is deep, heavy, melancholy music, of delicate introspection and ironclad willpower.

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-Cheryl Lynn-