This. This is what it all comes down to. You work hard in a rewardless scene for decades making little to no money, bootlegged to no end, copied and poorly replicated by many for it to come down to this. I can handle all of that. It’s the nature of “influence” in the music scene, we play what we like and listen to. But THIS is friggin’ horseshit. Fashion company Avalone premiered their new Fall/Winter Collection of Dark sportswear inspired by ’90s death metal bands. Anyone notice any similarities here? Pricks…
Now first off, I appreciate everyone that has brought this one to my attention. Do I think it’s ridiculous? Yes I do. Am I fuming mad? Not really. It’s kinda funny. Am I considering a lawsuit? Maybe. Probably not. Do I think this hurts our brand? Hard to tell. Am I concerned that some douche bag spoiled rich millennial kid is “pretending” to be “tough” by wearing a cheap rip off of our logo on his overpriced rags masquerading as fashion? Not really. I think our “real” fans know what to do if you see one of these dicks wearing this. Am I asking you to incite violence? Certainly not 😉 I would hope you’d sit down and have a talk with that young confused potential metalhead. Talk to them about what a “poser” is. Talk to them about respect. Educate them on what our scene means and why it’s important to preserve that and teach them of who started this crap and where they got their influences as well.
The beauty in the morbidity of our scene is not in the color black. It’s not your denim battle vest with the really obscure bootleg “Nihilist” patch. It’s not your “tree branch” logo shirt. It is the the bond among metalheads, the respect for our music’s past, the love of the music and the people who give their lives to make it usually with very little to no reward. The fact that some company thinks that they can package that essence, that they can sell that ideal, is just gross and downright hysterical to me.
The cold hard truth is that this is just a trend. This is just people trying to take a short cut to fit in or worse just trying to look “hard” when they are anything but. The people that would buy this crap are about as tough as a blade of grass or perhaps some wet cotton fibers. I’m positive that there’s not a one of them that has had a genuine moment in their life. I’m assuming that this will be like those Jenner people wearing an Iron Maiden shirt when they probably have no idea who they are. They buy things because “hey, neat skull guy” and I can sorta get that but if you wear something on your body you are saying “this is something that I support” and you should damn well know what it is at the very least. Otherwise you are a sham. A fool. A facade. A trend following douche pickle. A poser. Fuck you!
If you are at all interested in the “real” Mortician logo shirts by all means put food on our table by buying one from us. Click any of our shirt images on this page or the link below to grab one, it would be really cool of you. Buy one for that younger cousin of yours that is maybe considering some trendy “Hot Topic” stuff like this and teach them of who we are, why we are, and what this whole scene is about. Give them a CDR of some of our crap and teach them if they like it to buy it and support the scene so more stuff like that comes out. Teach them that this is the way to ensure that you support an individual and not a corporation. You’ll be like a Jehova’s Witness for metal or something 😉 Maybe we can be called “Ozzy’s Witnesses”. “Hi, I’d like to take a moment to talk to you about the power of metal and our prince of darkness, Ozzy Osbourne.”
We’ve always sold the majority of our merch ourselves and when you buy a shirt from us you are in fact paying a musician’s bills. You are buying our family’s dinner. The sad truth of all of this is that this company Avalone will most likely make WAY more money than we’ve ever made off of an image and lifestyle that we’ve dedicated our lives to, put our blood into, and worked for for decades to promote. You’re a sham Avalone, a plagiarizing pale imitation and we all know it.
Grab your own “real” Mortician shirt and support the actual band that has supported the underground death metal scene for decades instead of some trendy bullshit rich boy’s waste matter. Check out the links below to see what we’ve got for you and support the actual band members directly. Come on man… I’m really hoping for steak tonight buy a hoodie dude 😛
Sincerely, thanks to those of you that do support the scene and buy merch from us. You have no idea how important you are to the scene and to it’s future. \m/
Dude, that’s fucking shit of them to do. I feel the same way about all this modern metal shit, honestly. They all borrow shit from death metal and water it down. Like this Djent shit or whatever and “deathcore”. I’m only 24 years old, but I’m old school in many ways, ESPECIALLY when it comes to metal and brutality in music. 80’s and mostly 90’s stuff is nearly all I’ll listen to in death metal, unless it’s something that sounds old school or it’s new material by a band that’s been around since the 80’s or 90’s. Fuck new shit. You know why? Because it’s all mostly mainstream and pussyfied. The minute something goes mainstream, it’s shit. Too many people have a say-so and it becomes a race to the top and a goal of money too much, rather than quality. People just pump out shit as fast as they can instead of making it good quality, ESPECIALLY in rap music, which I actually enjoy, but mainly for the beats. Modern day rappers are pathetic motherfuckers who are truly making our youngsters dipshit retarded bastards. Anyway, I totally agree with you and I totally wanna pick up a Mortician shirt and hopefully poster if you get them made. I’m unemployed right now and my girl takes care of me so I gotta figure out when she can grab me some Mortician merch, but I’ll for sure get something from you guys eventually. I love the band, and Primitive Brutality as well. You get THE most brutal fucking guitar sounds and play the most catchy, brutal shit ever. You and Trey Azagthoth are my favorite guitar players period. Ever. Nobody else can accomplish such groovy, dark, brutal, sick fucking madness on a stringed instrument. I only hope someday I’ll come close to creating my own madness as brutal as you and Trey. I’d love to talk with you sometime or meet you, I have so many random questions regarding your hardware you use and things about the Mortician albums and stuff. Anyway, I think I’ve made this comment long enough, so I’ll end it by saying keep it brutal, and like you said, the real Mortician fans know what you’re about and won’t be buying that fuckin’ stupid ass bullshit. Take care, brother. Can’t wait for the new Mortician album!
Thanks a bunch man for all the kind words there! Good to see a young guy doing metal and life “right”. I feel privlidged to have grown up in the 70’s and 80’s. It was an amazing time right before it all got fucked up 😉 Thanks again for the awesome words man and stay brutal!!!
No problem. And I’ll definitely stay brutal, cause soft ass metalcore shit is fuckin’ lame. I only listen to legends. Morbid Angel, Gorguts, Mortician, Primitive Brutality, Goretrade, Celtic Frost, Devourment, all bands that I consider to be legends of brutality. Heaviest shit on the planet.
That’s some pretty lame ass shit, but something like this always pops up. I guess they figure since you’re “obscure” that they can ripp you off with repercussions. I really do hope I see someone wearing this so that I can educate them. By the way, I saw you guys for the first time at Wetlands in NYC in 94 and was hooked. I was mostly in to classic metal and hardcore at the time, but that show flipped me in to a full on death/black metal fan.
Sorry for the delay man. Thanks for the killer comments! I loved playing Wetlands back in “the day”! Those were great times. Glad we helped to convert you 😛 Stay brutal man!!! \m/
A mention that the original artist who designed Morticians Logo, Andrew Gardner, is still doing all types of Morbid art. He’s a personal friend since the early 80s. I can’t wait to get his reaction on this
Hey Bill, sorry for the delay on the comments. Dude, that’d be killer! I’m not 100% sure I met the dude and if I did was very long ago as the logo was developed right before I joined the band and we recorded the first 7″s. It’s a strong logo I’ve always been proud to make metal under it! I think also on a side note that the people using the logo have abandoned the concept. The guy did reach out but honestly it’s too late after the fact. Would have probably been like “sure whatever” if they asked because we’re kinda weird like that but… Anyway Bill, thanks for mentioning the original artist “Andrew Gardner”!
Goddamn that sucks! I grew up listening to mortician!