Sunday, February 25, 2018

Krillin

Photograph courtesy of Santa Anna @ Tangent Gallery, Detroit


Some bands you’ll see go the extra mile. They’re trying something new. They are something new. But Krillin is going the extra quadrant…galactic quadrant, that is. You’ll encounter this band, or more accurately, you’ll be aggressively tranquilized by their ceremonially ferocious form of communication (psychedelic surf-rock hybrids of heavy metal and far out noise experimentation), and you might notice that they appear to be 5-6’-tall biped organism with a few human-like appendages. 

But this is beyond what you would think is performance art. It’s something closer to the immersive experiences of New Detroit’s Princess Dragonmom. The only thing is, Krillin really isn’t from this Detroit, even if majority of Krillin sightings are reported here...

If you like science fiction and fantasy with your rock music, then Krillin is the next concert you have to catch. If you also like distortion and the thrill of unpredictability, check and check… If you want a sonic experience that’s also a feast for the eyes…? Then, yes, Krillin!  

And while you're own personal encounter might have taken the form of the exchange of band-to-audience-member, the story of The Krillin Crew and how they came to not only their current physical manifestations, but also to their means of music fronting their galactic mischief, is a long and twisted one...

The story of The Void (on guitar), Leyline (on bass), Captain Earwig (on guitar) and Solar Scum (on drums), goes way beyond imagination.

These multidimensional extraterrestrials from the Underspace will be on display during this weekend’s Hamtramck Music Fest. (Saturday at the Korner Bar)  

Before our next close encounter with these wanted criminals, I wanted to get the story behind how they wound up stirring up a rogue wave of chaos across the cosmos.


It begins in the deep desolate space of a dark star cluster. This is where the Krillin Crew were sentenced to life in solitary confinement at a high security disciplinary penitentiary “for criminals who continuously cause trouble.” This comes from a recent commlink established between Deep Cutz and the authorities investigating/pursuing the Krillin Crew. Because, you see, they eventually broke out, after numerous attempts, and hijacked a spacecraft “for a grand getaway,” leaving a trail of chaos and wreckage of smoke and ashes. 

From there, they crash landed on the nearest inhabitable life source, The Pink Moon. There, the Krillin Crew began scavenging supplies and information for their next heist. Their hunt took them to ancient treasures hidden in the palace of Princess Demanda and Prince Negligence (who were, at that point, soon to be married and crowned King/Queen of the Pink Moon). They found a relic, there, said to possess lost ancient powers—so of course they realized it would hold a high value on the deep space black market.

Their plot involved disguising themselves as the wedding band for Demanda and Negligence’s reception. Distracted by the party, the disguised “band” made it to the treasure room, filled their pockets and made a hasty getaway after the musical tumult of their eventual performance.

From there they hit the space road…. As supplies ran low, they stopped at a local Cantina, located in the floating skull of a space pig that was killed long ago during the Intergalactic Wars of 3020. This was just one stop along the way, of course… (Solar Scum made sure to expertly pick-pocket nearly everyone in attendance). From there they set down on a nearby planet and that’s where things really got weird!

“Captain Earwig Twitch began to glitch…” reports say. An abominable Cyclops emerged from inside his body, ripping away the guitarists flesh and growing large, very large, so large in fact that the rest of the planet began to crush and crater under its weight. Things went from bad to worse when revengers of the Pink Moon, including King Negligence, showed up to settle a score. “In a last ditch effort, Leyline used her powers to cave in that dimension and open up a portal to a new one.”

They landed on a swamp planet. Captain Earwig Twitch, along with The Void and Leyline, each had their DNA scrambled and mutated, to where The Captain now resembled a giant bug. Solar Scum, meanwhile, landed further away on that same planet, into the depths of its tar pits, climbing out with her skin melted off; a living skeleton. The Void, already being a parasitic lifeform, transferred from his original Murder Bird’s body and took on The Captain’s for himself. That left Leyline and Solar Scum to do their best to subdue the frantic Murder Bird while The Captain fought The Void for control of his body. After the intense scuffle, The Void submitted and retreated into his Murder Bird body.

Their high stakes mischief and misadventures would lead them to the other side of the universe, where they encountered a blood cult attempting to summon their god, The Space Skull. Their dangerous entanglement with this cult would lead to the revealing of Solar Scum’s youngest brother, Dillinger Scum, and resulted in their own explosive annihilation. But their journey continued across the afterlife, battling duel grim reapers to get through another portal hole, unknowingly pursued by the vengeful Dillinger Scum, who would eventually alert the Space Police to their new location upon a planet ravaged by nuclear war. An attempt at executing all four crew members failed, and now they’ve been spent to a top secret Intergalactic Government facility to be examined……..

Currently, they’re hiding out “in the Underspace,” creating recordings and looking forward to their next landing, after the Hamtramck Music Fest, which would be April 14 at the Russell Industrial Center.


Photographed by Noah Elliott Morrison for Detroit Metro Times January 2018


More from the dossiers on Krillin

Solar Scum the drummer of Krillin is a cat humanoid assassin from the cat eye nebula. She specializes in close combat weaponry such as knives, swords, axes as well as ancient dark magic passed down by her feline ancestors. 

The Void guitarist of Krillin is a possessed parasitic life form currently residing in the body of a interstellar beast called the Murder Bird. A bored spirit from the underworld he's here to make mischief and find a stronger body to host.

Captain Earwig Twitch guitarist of Krillin pilots the ship. His body adapts to his environment and periodically twitches, glitching out and causing random transformations to his limbs. Beware of his venomous pinsers, razor sharp wings and ultrasonic screech!

Leyline bassist of Krillin is the last known alien species of her kind on the run from the space government which plans to experiment and use her power. Joined the crew to hideout from the law, she possess control of different elements as well as an ability to open portals to different dimensions in space time. 


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