Morlocks (Swedish band)

History

Morlocks put out their first demo cassette, They're Not Human, in 1991, mixing electronic body music with ambient sounds. The group split up in 1993 but got back together in 1997 with a new lineup. In 1998, they released the demo Through the Waking World, which showcased a varied sound that included guitar-driven electronic music, medieval-style pieces, orchestral elements, and synth-pop. That demo earned them a contract with Nangijala Records. Their debut album for the label, ...For Your Pleasure?, arrived in 2001 and featured several reworked tracks from the earlier demo. After playing shows at various Swedish clubs, creative disagreements over the band's direction and album production led to another breakup. The single "Non Trigger Man" came out in 2002, and then the band dissolved.

Shortly after, main composer, lead vocalist, and founding member Johann Strauss (the stage name of Johan Fridh) revived the group. He brought in Logos, a keyboardist from the recently disbanded death metal band Nightshade, and Innocentius Rabiatus (formerly known as VigilAnte, ex-guitarist of the gothic rock act Dark Side, Cowboys). This new lineup pushed the sound toward industrial rock and metal with orchestral backing. In 2010, Morlocks performed at the Parkbühne Wuhlheide venue during Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig, Germany, at the ElektroStat Festival in Oslo, Norway, and toured Finland in the summer alongside the Finnish gothic metal band Vergil. In 2011, they self-released the album The Outlaw of Fives, which shifted thematically toward Steampunk aesthetics and Discordian philosophy.

That same year, the German industrial rock band KMFDM reached out after hearing some of Morlocks' demo recordings. This led to a collaboration: a Morlocks mix of the track "Krank" appeared on the "Amnesia" single (Metropolis Records) in 2012. The song "The Mess You Made" was co-written by Sascha Konietzko and Morlocks and featured on KMFDM's 2013 album Kunst, with Strauss on lead vocals and guitars by Innocentius Rabiatus and Jules Hodgson. After signing with the German label Echozone in 2012, The Outlaw of Fives was re-released and distributed across Europe.