MORPHINE KILLER – Just about two years removed, from Morphine Killer’s 2009 back-to-back EP releases of Unapologetic and Nightmares… and their first full-length album Sickening is unleashed. Morphine Killer has self produced each release thus far, all released on their very own Final Breath Records. If I’ve said it once, I shall never stop saying: the do-it-yourself ingenuity of Eski and Belle Roka, combined with the music genius and production expertise of Eski and the premier vocals that both musicians bestow are what will catapult this Metal duo to great heights one day… very soon.
I look back on the time when I happened to cross paths with this band and it has served me right ever since. A Metal band that gravitates towards a never ending improvement approach, from album to album, instead of levitating, will continuously create music that will stand out. This is the Metal mindset and work ethic of Morphine Killer. What Eski has accomplished with his multi-instrumental and multi-tasking talents on Sickening is nothing short of stunning. Then again, after becoming so absorbed by this bands first two EP’s, I should have expected an album like Sickening to sound this strong and mature.
Eski recently summed it up best to me: “If you have something to prove, you’ll have an edge to your sound. Each new CD is the next chapter of Morphine Killer”. How true are those words from Eski. Sickening is without doubt, a brand new listen into dark lyrical themes which are carried aloft by edgy Metal vibes. This is what shakes loose any status quo cobwebs within my ears. The Metal of Morphine Killer is real, street and non-contained.
There are Metal bands that want to be cool and accepted, while forgetting about song writing, production and substance. Then there’s Morphine Killer, where the music ingredients and chemistry within the band mean something. Eski states: “The biggest benefit is that it’s just the two of us and we’re constantly evolving which breeds continuity”. We’re most proud of this album production wise, we feel we’ve come into our own vocally on this new album”.
The 2010 Morphine Killer single Throw It All Away has made it’s home on Sickening and it already made it’s mark on Metal Odyssey’s “Top Ten Songs of 2010” list, (posted on December 24, 2010). Belle Roka’s vocals on Throw It All Away, It’s Too Late, Crack The Whip and Sacreligious Celebration makes for a legitimate reminder to me, that she can sing like a Classic Rock diva. Morphine Killer’s wild card strength lies in their approach to Heavy Music diversity. Both Belle and Eski are not bashful in bestowing what Rock genres have influenced their creativity and talents. From Grindcore to Classic Rock, there are many Metal nuances to be heard on Sickening.
An Air Of Disrespect and Time To Destroy are blasting reminders that Morphine Killer will grind it out, shred and deliver their brand of Extreme Metal. This song is a formidable statement that Morphine Killer can get pissed off and put some potent rage into their Metal and vocals. The instrumental New Industry is a swirl of macabre sound, courtesy of some ominous keyboards that swirl about and engulf the atmosphere with chilling vibes. Eski remarked: We introduced keyboards on Sickening more often than in the past. It’s another layer of excitement, another wall of sound versus the guitar, bass and drums.”
When speaking to Eski on what the lyrical thought process was behind Sickening, Eski stated: “People want problems solved, but they want someone else to solve them. In our everyday lives, it really has become a real sickening display of how we say one thing and do another. We can’t write happy songs just because it’s what everyone wants to hear, we write how we feel. There is a real beauty about something being so strange, mysterious and scary, we just want to help show that”.
Morphine Killer has released a killer album with Sickening… certainly one of the best in Metal releases this year.
MORPHINE KILLER:
Belle Roka – vocals & keyboards
Eski – vocals, guitar, bass & drums
Track Listing For SICKENING:
Another Day In The Flames
Crack The Whip
Sacrilegious Celebration
An Air Of Disrespect
It’s Too Late
The Breeding Ground
Time To Destroy
Throw It All Away
New Industry
* Sickening album cover designed by: Bobby Rodriguez.
* For more info on MORPHINE KILLER, click the links below:
MORPHINE KILLER – Official Website
MORPHINE KILLER – Myspace music
IF THE FUTURE OF HEAVY MUSIC IS IN THE HANDS OF BANDS LIKE MORPHINE KILLER, THEN I CAN SLEEP WELL AT NIGHT. – Stone
LONG LIVE MORPHINE KILLER.
Stone.
