Mors Syphilitica

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Mors Syphilitica is a darkwave/gothic band formed in 1995 in New York City by Lisa Hammer (née Houle) and Eric Hammer after the breakup of Requiem in White. Their music combines often-surreal lyrics with unusual instruments such as the mandolin and banjo, and also the guitar. Lisa's operatic vocals give Mors Syphilitica's music a distinctively 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 hundred copies, and proved a great success. Their subsequent recordings were distributed at first by Sacrum Torch, then were picked up by Projekt Records for their last album, which gave Mors Syphilitica access to a much wider audience.

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