Morlocks (Swedish band)

The first demo cassette They're Not Human, released in 1991, was mostly electronic body music with ambient parts, heavily influenced by cyberpunk and roleplaying games. After two years, the band faded away and was reformed in 1997 with a different lineup. 1998, the demo Through the Waking World was released, this time with a different sound, ranging from guitar based electronic to medieval tunes, orchestral parts and even synthpop. The demo led to a record deal with Nangijala Records, and the debut album ...For Your Pleasure? was released in 2001,^[1] containing several reworked tracks from Through the Waking World. Morlocks performed at many Swedish clubs and got a good reputation for energetic live shows, but internal struggles concerning creative disagreements and how the album was mixed ripped the band apart from within. The single Non Trigger Man was released in 2002, and the band was put to an end.

Main composer, lead vocalist and founding member J.Strauss reformed the band immediately after the split by inviting Logos, keyboardist from the recently disbanded death metal band Nightshade, along with Innocentius Rabiatus (the artist formerly known as VigilAnte), ex-guitarist of gothic rock act Dark Side Cowboys. The trio agreed that all earlier releases were way too musically incoherent, and decided to head for a more heavy, industrial rock/metal sound with bombastic orchestral parts (given the fact the all three have a classical music education). The electronic parts would remain, but play a smaller role than before.

In 2010 they performed at the Parkbühne venue at Wave Gotik Treffen^[2] in Leipzig, Germany as well as the festival ElektroStat^[3] in Oslo, Norway and did a summer tour in Finland along with Finnish gothic metal act Vergil. The album The Outlaw of Fives was eventually self released on CD in 2011 after years of re-recordings, technical issues and long breaks due to a member being abroad for an extended amount of time and the birth of a morlock baby. The lyrics deal with discordianism, political issues, strong anarchistic influences and criticism of several concepts of modern day's society. However, the messages are rarely explicitly spelled out, but instead hidden behind symbolism and analogies, often with tongue-in-cheek play on words.

In 2011, Morlocks was contacted by the German-based industrial rock band KMFDM who had heard some of Morlocks' demo recordings,^[4] and after some correspondence a collaboration was started. First out was a Morlocks Mix^[5] of Krank, appearing on the Amnesia single (Metropolis Records) in 2012. The song The Mess You Made was co-written by Sascha Konietzko and Morlocks and appears on KMFDM's album of 2013, KUNST,^[6] with lead vocals by J.Strauss and guitars by Innocentius Rabiatus and Jules Hodgson.

After a record deal with German label Echozone in 2012, The Outlaw of Fives was re-released and distributed all over Europe.^[7]

In 2013, bass player/vocalist/multi instrumentalist Lamashtu became a part of the ensemble, and there was much rejoicing.

Later the same year, Morlocks appeared on the compilation Their Music, Our Lives, a tribute to the Slovenian band Borghesia, covering their song Young Prisoners.^[8] In 2018, they also recorded a cover version of The Lake (originally released by Swedish black metal pioneers Bathory in 1996), in typical Morlocks neo-classical/industrial style. This cover is for the moment only available on YouTube.

During the pesky global lockdown in 2021, Morlocks (now a trio again) dug up their gear, wiped off the rust, wrote a bunch of new songs to pass the time, summoned the appropriate jinns and recorded their third full length album Praise the Iconoclast.

The album, with Swedish dark electro queen Karin My, Heljarmadr of Grá/Dark Funeral and long time co-conspirator Sascha Konietzko on guest vocals, was finished in the spring of 2023 and almost immediately picked up by US label Metropolis Records for release to the masses in October the same year.^[9]

A video of the song Dicks in Tanks (feat. Heljarmadr) was published on YouTube as a teaser.

Guitarist Reverend Grudge (of Biomekkanik, Machinista and Project Grudge) joined the band as a full member in the fall of 2021, making the band a quartet once again.

In 2024, Morlocks joined KMFDM as a supporting act for seven gigs on the latter's 40th years anniversary tour in the USA.^[10]

• J.Strauss — lead vocals, keyboards, trumpet (1990–present)
• Innocentius Rabiatus — lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards (2003–present)
• Lamashtu — bass, backing vocals (2013–present)
• Reverend Grudge — rhythm guitar (2021–present)

• Н.М.Д. — lead vocals, keyboards (1990–1993)
• L.Turtle — lead vocals, lyrics (1991–1993)
• Napoleon — keyboards, percussion (1991–2002)
• Jenan — lead guitar, backing vocals (1998–2002)
• I van Ish — drums, keyboards (1997–2001)
• Cavenus — lead vocals (2004–2008)
• Kya Wolfwritten — lead vocals (2009–2010)
• Logos — rhythm guitar, backing vocals, keyboards (2003–2015)

• They're Not Human (demo, 1991)
• Through the Waking World (demo, 1998)
• ...For Your Pleasure? (album, Nangijala Records, 2001)
• Non Trigger Man (single, Nangijala Records, 2002)
• The Outlaw of Fives (album, Non Aligned Media/Echozone, 2011)
• Praise the Iconoclast (album, Metropolis Records, 2023)

• Official band website
• Facebook page
• Morlocks on Spotify
• Morlocks on Metropolis Records