CDReviews

MrKill – The Day of Reckoning

Black-Roos Entertainment    Playing time: 26 min     Release: July 31st 2020

What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster
comes from afar? To whom will you run for help?
Where will you leave your riches?
Isaiah 10:3

 

MrKill is an Australian Melodic Death Metal band formed in 2017 whose debut EP “The Day of Reckoning” will be released on July 31st, 2020.

There are so many versions about the end of the world: from natural disasters such as asteroids or the flood to political confrontations causing a nuclear war and fantastic ideas of zombie apocalypse. Humanity cannot predict what it is going to be like and when it will happen, but The Bible says that the Day of Reckoning will come sooner or later. The Bible exists for more than 3000 years (the first five books of the Old Testament were created by Moses about 1600 years before Christ was born) and people can still find answers to many questions in it, which is a sign of its high relevance. It is probably why many musicians and filmmakers refer to the book and its citations in their creations. In 1987, “Day of Reckoning” was first used as the name of the album by doom metal band Pentagram. The same name was given to Diecast’s album in 2001 and Destruction’s album in 2011. However, MrKill have their unique interpretation of the Day of Reckoning.

“The world divided in equal parts, annihilation tearing us apart”, – MrKill suggests that the last which humans see on the Planet Earth will be scenes of a horrible war. In the New International Version of Bible, a question is asked about the Day of Reckoning: “To whom will you run for help?” (Isaiah 10:3). MrKill seems to know the answer: “Nowhere to run, no-one to call”. The apocalypse is already here: “Hope escapes humanity”, – as it is claimed in the first song of the EP, “Annihilation”. “For they are all the same” is repeated several times in the song, which highlights that ordinary citizens, the majority of the planet’s population, are all the same soldiers without a name for the “Powers That Be”.

The second song, “Hatred”, starts with powerful guitar riffs and drums. While listening to the rhythm guitar and vocals of Justin Ks together with the bass of Baltion Radi, you imagine yourself headbanging in the crowd of a rock festival, letting all the negative emotions out. Scott Henderson’s virtuoso guitar solo brings you back to the battlefield where you follow the main character, observing horrible scenes of the war. In my opinion, “Hatred” is the darkest and the most diverse track of the EP, which also makes it the best.

Guitar solos seem to be a feature of MrKill – they can be found in “Valiant amusement” and “Oblivion” as well. With the sound of Xines’s drums, you clearly imagine the picture of the bloody battlefield flooded with exploding bombs and soldiers who lost their hope for anything. Justin Ks’s brutal growling is well fetched out by female choir throughout “Oblivion” which creates a special mood of sorrow for victims of the last battle on planet Earth.

Intro and outro were a good idea for the EP. Four songs are framed by a mysterious short intro that walks you onto the battlefield and a calm piano elegy which leaves you with thoughts to yourself: is it the end? Is the battle over and am I still alive? The composition of the EP, music that goes in line with its name, stories created in songs and deep reflections give me the right to rate it 10/10. MrKill’s “Day of Reckoning” is an EP that you want to be an album.

  • 10/10
    Bewertung / rating - 10/10
10/10

GastmitarbeiterInnen / guest contributions

Regular guest contributors e.g. Melanie Kircher, Tatjana Tattis Murschel, Grit Kabiersch, Marina Minkler, Jasmine Frey, Maria Levin, Elvira Visser, Nina Ratavaara, John Wisniewski