So it’s been the better part of a year since we’ve been
inactive, and I feel kind of bad of keeping everyone in the dark about
what’s going on. The Killing is on an indefinite hiatus. When
Mike returned from his honeymoon last July, we had a meeting and
decided to disband The Killing for the time being. Wipe the slate
clean. Many factors brought us to this, and I will try and address
most of them.   

The members: Ever since the departure of Dave Harris in August 2006,
the band was never the same, one by one key players kept on dropping
off. Dave was unhappy with himself in the group and wanted to move
away; weeks later, bassist, Bryan Grimes got married bought a house
and wanted to start a family; in January 2007, drummer, Darren Wilson
abruptly stopped liking metal, stopped showing up for rehearsal and
shows, and decided to move to Florida to be a club DJ; and in April of
2008, Keyboardist, Mike Hickey left feeling unworthy with his
contributions and wanted to accompany and support his fiancé to
Rhode Island. I never judged them for their reasons; I was just bummed
not to rock out on the same stage with them anymore. That being said,
we found new members to fill the bass, drumming, and vocal duties. All
great musicians in their own right, but it was really hard to maintain
that Killing vibe, and I feel you shouldn’t have to force that
shit. There were times and incidents with the new members that
tarnished what The Killing established. Also, I felt it was hard to
see eye to eye in creating new music with the latest incarnation of
the band. 

The album: Our most recent effort, “Severance”,
also know under the previous working-title “Anticipating the Eschaton”, was like
our “Chinese Democracy”, in the sense that we worked on it
for close to 5 years! It ended up being an 8-track full length (from 11),
clocking in at 45 minutes of really good metal, and it’s a shame
that is still has yet to be officially released. There were a handful
of labels that showed interest in picking us up and releasing the
record, but the deals offered were unreasonable. So we decided to
attempt to release it ourselves, oh wait, we’re poor bastards!
So release dates kept on getting pushed back, and pushed back. And I
felt like a tool ever couple months, coming on here giving some
bullshit excuse why the record isn’t out yet. This CD should
have been released no later that the fall of 2005. If that
happened we would be at a very different place right now since at that
time, a lot of good things were happening for us and we were firing on
all cylinders. Not to mention we recorded it and re-recorded it 3
times (that being the fault of myself and Cassel). 

Me: I took shitty jobs and worked horrible hours to
enable me to be in a full time band. I sacrificed and tainted
important relationships, loosing nights of sleep, in order for the band
to exist. I felt it was well worth it... and knew what it took. I was
never worried about how much money we were making, all I just wanted
to play and create music that struck nerves in people. Attitudes of
new members were sometimes getting corny and lame, contradicting what
The Killing built itself on. It also seemed everyone had something more important to
them on their plate. The band’s slow downward spiral, aside from
things going on with me, put me in a constant state of melancholy.  

Individually we all got along, but the intangible vibe was not
there (to me). Today you can find bassist, Zach Haney playing guitar in
Through the Noise. I myself have been writing non-stop and have
started a solo project entitled Fistcane, which I will be playing all
instruments, and featuring many close friends including former Killing vocalist
Dave Harris and At Rest bassist, Charlie Bussacca. If and when The
Killing returns to a full time band, Cassel and I will definitely be
involved (as we always have been). If any of the other members will be
in the mix??? That is totally up in the air right now. Thanks for
hanging with us through all these years, keep it up.

Throughout the past decade or so, metal music has grown exponentially, spawning a number of subcategories within the broad genre. However, it seems that with all the niches within metal, the true standouts come when the various styles of metal are successfully fused together. When a band can transcend the boundaries within a tight-knit genre, it shows room for growth and an aspiration for a greater creation. This combination of styles and individual, eclectic influences have been force fed through amplifiers and aggressive playing, thus resulting in the devastating sound entitled: The Killing.

The Killing is a six-piece metal band from the suburbs of Philadelphia in Southern New Jersey. Shortly after forming in 2002, The Killing recorded their first offering, What is Yet to Come, resulting in a dark mixture of metal and hardcore. After solidifying their line-up, The Killing exploded onto the scene in February of 2003, immediately gaining a name for themselves in response to their extremely energetic live performance as well as their musicianship. What is Yet to Come was released in August of 2003 on their independent record label, End All Music, and received an abundance of positive reviews and feedback.

Into late 2003, The Killing continued their campaign to heavily promote their debut release. The band's captivating and inspirational live performances were dually rewarded and recognized with slots on New Jersey Metal & Hardcore festival in 2003 and then Hellfest 2004. Aside from these festivals, The Killing has shared the stage with an impressive list of national touring acts early in their career, including Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Between the Buried and Me, Children of Bodom, A Life Once Lost, and Through the Eyes of the Dead.

Going into the summer of 2004, The Killing focused on writing new material for a full length release. Many songs were recorded during pre-production sessions, three of which appear on the EP entitled Exhibit A. The songs on Exhibit A displays a great leap in The Killing's musical evolution and maturation with well orchestrated songs that are faster and more technical than its predecessor. Exhibit A was released in November of 2004, again, by End All Music and was meant to give fans a sense of where the band was going.

As with What is Yet to Come, the Exhibit A (ep) was supported with intensity and bravado. The band was relentless. In the spring of 2005 they embarked on the "Eye of the Liger" tour with Chimaira and Trivium, impressing and energizing thousands each night. After the tour, the band decided to dedicate all their time on the next record. After all the instrumentation was tracked, vocalist Dave Harris decided to leave the group, followed by bassist, Bryan Grimes, both for personal and commitment reasons. Frustrated, The Killing re-recorded the whole record from scratch and gained new bassist Zach Haney and vocalist Jason Ashbock which breathed new musical life into the group. Ironically after finishing the recording process for the second time, the band parted ways with longtime drummer Darren Wilson, replacing him with Leon Burmylo. Now, after a year and half of setbacks, The Killing is a fine tuned machine on the brink of releasing their most devastating masterpiece to date, Anticipating the Eschaton. With all the new additions to the band, on top of the three founding members, The Killing is set up to do some sonic damage of biblical proportions. On the guitar forefront are Marc Eisenmann and Mike Cassel. Considering they have been writing music together for over a decade, it is no surprise that they compose some of the most potent guitar riffs ever written by a band from the area. And on top of everything is the eerie presence of the synth work of Mike Hickey, which some credit to The Killing's unique flavor. When listening to songs from Anticipation the Eschaton you can feel the passion, energy, aggression, and even dedication that was painstakingly put into it. There are few bands in today's heavy metal world that treat their creations as art while still maintaining their dignity. Bottom line, The Killing stands out from their peers by stepping up on all levels. The band always leaves their heart on the stage, no matter how big the crowd and always takes a professional sense of pride in how they deliver themselves. Musicianship. Pride. Integrity. The Killing.