Mors Syphilitica is a Gothic rock

Gothic rock

Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...

/Ethereal

Ethereal Wave

Ethereal Wave, also called ethereal darkwave in Europe and ethereal goth or simply ethereal in the US, is a term that describes a subgenre of Dark Wave music...

 band formed in 1995 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 by Lisa Hammer

Lisa Hammer

Lisa Hammer is a filmmaker, actress, composer and singer and is the sister of director James Merendino...

 (née Houle) and Eric Hammer

Doc Hammer

Eric A. "Doc" Hammer is an American musician, actor, film and television writer, voice actor, and painter. He performed in the gothic rock bands Requiem in White from 1985 to 1995 and Mors Syphilitica from 1995 to 2002, both with his then-wife Lisa Hammer...

 after the breakup of Requiem in White. Their music combines often-surreal lyrics with unusual instruments such as the mandolin

Mandolin

A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...

 and banjo

Banjo

In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

, as well more conventional instruments such as the guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

. Lisa's operatic vocals give Mors Syphilitica's music a distinctive powerful, sweeping quality. On record, all of the instruments were played by Eric; while live, they were accompanied by live drum and bass players.

Their first EP, which was released on Sacrum Torch, had a very limited release of 300 copies, and proved a great success. Their subsequent recordings were distributed at first by Sacrum Torch, then were picked up by Projekt Records

Projekt Records

This is the article for the record label. You might be looking for Pro-jekt, ProjeKct, Project Pitchfork, or Projekt RevolutionProjekt is a Brooklyn, New York-based independent record label specializing in gothic rock, ambient, ethereal, darkwave, shoegaze, dream-pop, and dark cabaret created by...

for their last album, which gave Mors Syphilitica access to a much wider audience.

The band did not conduct many interviews, preferring that their music would speak for itself rather than warrant explanation.

Discography

• 12-inch vinyl EP, Sacrum Torch, 1996
• Mors Syphilitica, Sacrum Torch, 1996
• Primrose, Sacrum Torch, 1998
• Feather and Fate, Sacrum Torch/Projekt, 2001