Artist Spotlight is a segment that we started to introduce our listeners to some deserving up and coming artists/ bands. They have made an impact on us for all of the right reasons. We think they kick ass and we hope you do too! Today, we’d like to shine the spotlight on New York City rockers KILLCODE!
KILLCODE is a five piece American based rock band that hails from New York City. Their unique sound and style has been described as Southern infused Rock/ Metal with melodic, hard edged vocals. KILLCODE’s songs are hooky supercharged anthems with big guitars and driving rhythms that pumps a shot of adrenaline into your system the moment you hear them.
KILLCODE, founded by vocalist/frontman Tom Morrissey and guitarist Chas, laid down the KILLCODE foundation with a couple of tracks they recorded at their home studio. After listening back, they knew they were on to something big! Next up would be recruiting long time musical companion Erric Bonesmith on bass guitar and Rob Noxious on the drums to complete their rhythm section. With all members coming from established projects prior to KILLCODE, the band quickly raised eyebrows and landed on bills with the likes of Godsmack & Sevendust. KILLCODE also provided main support to Brett Scallions on the Re Fueled East Coast tour.
To date, the band have released ‘To Die For’, a six song EP, a second six song EP, ‘Taking it All’ and the self titled album KILLCODE. Both E.Ps charted well nationally and gained the band critical acclaim worldwide. The album charted in the #2 position for a week on BILLBOARD’s Mid-Atlantic Heatseekers Charts. The song “Breaking Away,” off of ‘Taking It All’, was featured in the inspirational documentary, ‘DRESSED’, directed by David Swajeski and starring fashion designer Nari Manivong and “6am Again”, which appears on both their debut EP, “To Die For” and the self titled full length album, has been featured on The Howard Stern Show on Sirius/XM.
KILLCODE then decided to add a second guitarist by welcoming DC Gonzalez. DC, known as lead guitarist for the rock band Panzie, has proven to more than just fit in, his style complements what KILLCODE already had going on and it reinvigorated the band as they headed into the studio with producer Joey Zampella in 2016 (best known as guitarist for legendary bands Life of Agony, Carnivore, and Stereomud) to record “The Answer”, KILLCODE’s latest and current release.
KILLCODE has enjoyed an ever growing fan base both nationally and internationally, they continue to headline and sellout prominent marquee venues including New York City’s Irving Plaza, Gramercy Theater and Bowery Ballroom as well as tremendously successful support gigs at Roseland Ballroom and Sony Playstation Theater. Their Tristate area success was complemented by successful shows at the Dunkin Donuts Arena in New Hampshire, Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts and The Viper Room in Los Angeles.
In 2016 KILLCODE partnered with the Coallier Entertainment Agency to help extend their reach internationally by bringing the band out to perform at prestigious festivals around the world such as Guitare En Scene in France, Bang Your Head Festival in Germany, Hell & Heaven Festival in Mexico and more.
2017-2019 saw the band once again touring around the world, returning to Mexico for the Corona Northside festival, Germany for the Bang Your Head and Rock of Ages festivals as well as spreading the :::CODE::: to new countries such as Switzerland for The Riverside Auarburg Festival, Spain for Rockfest Barcelona, The U.K. for The Hair Metal Heaven and Hard Rock hell Festivals, several club dates in Puerto Rico and direct support for Dee Snider and his Solo band for their USA/East coast dates.
In the beginning of 2020, KILLCODE saw the addition of bass player Bobby Flores after the departure of Erric Bonesmith. Then the world was struck with Covid. Making the most of this downtime, KILLCODE once again teamed up with producer Joey Z (Life of Agony, Carnivore, Stereomud) and spent the downtime recording their upcoming album titled ‘Life, Death, Rock N’ Roll’. While the world was clawing to get back to a sense of normalcy, the band played live stream concerts to continue their passion of performing. They also partnered with NYC-born, LA-based record label Mother West to release the album worldwide in early 2023. KILLCODE are once again looking forward to a worldwide journey of spreading the :::CODE:::: supporting their new record overseas in 2023.
KILLCODE isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. KILLCODE is ready and able to take its rightful place alongside the biggest rock acts out there. This is only the beginning….
::: SPREAD THE CODE :::
We sat down with Tom Morrissey and Bobby Flores from Killcode for a short, but fun Q&A session!
Every superhero or villain has an origin and a band is no different minus the radioactive spiders and secret government experiments. What is the origin of KILLCODE?
Tom: Guitarist Chas and I were in a short-lived previous band together. We found soon after meeting that we shared a common ground and songwriting style, so decided to record a few songs together in his home studio. After hearing what we created, we knew we were onto something awesome. It inspired us to form KILLCODE to reflect our diverse musical influences, while complementing our shared musical tastes; a band that could be heavy yet melodic, song-driven, and both fun and introspective.
We recruited long-time local musical companions Erric Bonesmith (bass guitar) and Rob Noxious (drums) as the rhythm section, as well as Pat Harrington on second guitar. This initial iteration of the band built a passionate local following, quickly booking explosive sold-out shows across NYC and recording several EPs.
A few years later, DC Gonzalez (formerly of fellow NYC band Panzie) stepped in to replace Pat on second guitar. DC’s style naturally complemented KILLCODE’s, reinvigorating the band.
Most recently, Bobby Flores (also a NYC local!) replaced Erric on bass, rounding out the firing-on-all-cylinders band you know today!
Come to a live show to experience each of my band member’s musical superpowers!
Band names can have a meaning or it can be a name pulled out of a hat. What’s the story behind KILLCODE’s name?
Tom: Finding a band name can be fun, but extremely challenging. We wanted an unconventional term that would convey our type of energy! We came across the word “killcode” while playing with a word generator. It’s a military term defined as “the assessment in probability of kill shots.” It aligned perfectly with our goal of delivering fierce performances guaranteed to “leave nothing standing” after every show!
3. What are you currently working on?
Bobby: We’ve recently released our new album “Life, Death, Rock N’ Roll” along with a music video for our single “Let’s Get Back To Rock N’ Roll” this past January (directed by David Swajeski).
Currently we’re gearing up for a busy year of touring, both here and abroad, more music videos, and even more music. We’re already five or six songs into our next new album. We never stop!
2023 will be a year of surprises – both for our fans and ourselves, I’m sure!
4. What was your favorite cartoon growing up?
Bobby: Batman: The Animated Series.
I was obsessed with Batman as a kid, and somewhat still am. Watching it as a kid was amazing but I don’t think I really knew why until I got older. Later in life it became apparent how many adult themes it included. The more I learned about the show, the more I realized how important it was for me growing up.
5. What was the first CD/album that you bought and what was your most recent CD/album purchase?
Bobby: The first album I bought for myself was KISS’s “Psycho Circus”. I remember going to J&R Music World (if you’re from New York, you know what I’m talking about) and I was simply blown away by the cover and seeing KISS. Growing up with my dad playing Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin was one thing, but this is something I discovered myself, which made it more special for me.
My latest purchase was Lamb of God’s “Omens”. I fell off the LOG train for a long time and it popped up on my new music recommendations. It completely blew my mind how amazing it is. I’ve listened to songs from that album at least once a week since its release.
Tom: Believe it or not, although I’m a huge fan of all things rock, I love old school hip hop! My early youth coincided with the birth of hip hop culture in NYC. My first album was Run-DMC’s self-titled debut. The birth of hip hop was my punk rock.
My latest purchase was Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Chronicle – The 20 Greatest Hits.” CCR is one of the greatest bands to ever walk (or should I say rock?) the planet!
Connect With Killcode Online:
FB- https://www.facebook.com/KillcodeOffi…
IG- https://www.instagram.com/_killcode_/…
Website- http://killcode.net/
Twitter- https://twitter.com/_killcode_?lang=en
Tik Tok- https://www.tiktok.com/@_killcode_?_t…
Stream or Download KILLCODE’s new single ‘Let’s Get Back To Rock N’ Roll’ here:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/12UafAQUpZ56uqPjaRN71X
