OK, my label wants me to write you a little story to go with our new album, so here we go. Once upon a time…just kidding…In the summer of 2004 I was sitting in a studio in sunny Florida (while you were probably getting drenched in rainy Europe – ha!) and started to write songs, and record riffs, hooks, melodies, not yet really sure at that moment what I was going to do with them, I just felt inspired, and kept working. When I got tired I took a break, and had a walk on the beach, sat underneath a palm tree for a while, sipping a pina colada, watching beautiful bikini-clad girls walk by (OK, I'll stop this shit now, because you're gonna get mad and give the album a lousy review…). So back to the air-conditioned bunker, also known as the studio, for more writing and recording. After a while I realized I had subconsciously been writing songs which would be very suitable for a today version of KILLING MACHINE, the band I had formed years ago, but had given up on after the first album. At first I called some of my old partners in crime who had recorded the self-titled debut album with me, but soon realized I wanted to get a completely new line-up together and make a fresh start… after all… it's 2005 now! (2006 by the time you read this…). I wanted a band dedicated to this shit, with guys living, breathing and playing metal as a way of life, not as a hobby, or a side-project.

Hey, why not call some of my favorite players, see what they're up to, send them some of the rough stuff I already had in the can…First the vocalist. So I called JAMES RIVERA. Can you think of a greater pair of lungs, a more dedicated metal-head? Anyway, we exchanged email, spoke on the phone, and I sent him some demos on which he recorded the vocals faster than you can say… huh… distant thunder. And those tracks came alive, the vocals parts were exactly what I'd wanted, dreamt about, hell I couldn't have sung them any better if I’d been blessed with a singing voice – this is what I wanted. OK, so some people say JAMES spreads himself a bit thin, but I think those are just vicious rumors! Now for the rhythm section… DAVE ELLEFSON, had worked with JAMES, having produced HELSTAR, and he was already with me in TEMPLE OF BRUTALITY, my other, more extreme band, so what better choice than DAVE to pluck the bass? It took a bit longer before we were able to plant someone on the drum stool, but it was worth it, cause we ended up with JIMMY DeGRASSO, a fabulous drummer, with a great sense of humor as a bonus. So far so good, and even better, we got the legendary BILL METOYER to produce the record with us. So pretty soon we were hanging out in METOYER'S Studio in Los Angeles, and the music is sounding "absofuckinglutely" great, and we're also having a blast when we’re not working… (Nobody knows L.A. better than BILL…). Back in the studio I'm piling on the guitar parts, and it's becoming clear that this is going to be an "old-skool" metal album with a 21st Century sound, when suddenly it dawns on me that it would be great to have a second guitarist with whom I could trade licks…you know, bit like PRIEST and MAIDEN... Enter the one and only Mr. JUAN GARCIA, a magnificent player, a wonderful human being, a true friend. Voila, JUAN was the missing link!

We hope you will enjoy listening to METALMORPHOSIS as much as we enjoyed making it. 'Nuff said, let the music speak for itself.

PETER SCHEITHAUER
KILLING MACHINE