Karma Killer

"Karma Killer"
Song by Cyclefly
from the album Crave
Working title:	Karma Killer
Recorded:	2000
Released:	April 8, 2002
Format:	Digital, CD
Length:	2:46
Live debut:	July, 2000
Writer:	Declan O'Shea, Ciaran O'Shea, Nono Presta, Christian Montagne, Jean-Michel Cavallo
Producer:	Colin Richardson
Label:	Radioactive Records, MCA Records
Crave tracklist
No Stress Karma Killer (feat. Chester Bennington) Selophane Fixtures Crave Drive Crowns Lost Opinion King For A Day Fallen Wishes Bulletproof Tales From The Fishbowl

"Karma Killer" is the second track on the album Crave by Cyclefly.

Background

"Karma Killer" was written and demoed in May 2000, two months after Cyclefly toured with Bush. The band spent 3 weeks at the Beethoven Street Studios in London, England, where they recorded 4 demos. Sasha Puttnam, who at the time was a touring member of Bush, helped with the arrangements.

The album version was recorded at Parkage Studios in East Sussex, England, with producer Colin Richardson, but Chester's vocals were recorded in Los Angeles with the rest of the band in the same week "One Step Closer" was released as a single (release date was September 28, 2000).

Chester had seen Cyclefly live at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California, in the summer of 1999 and was impressed with their performance. He kept in contact with the band and was more than willing to help when they asked him to sing on the song. On a December 7, 2001 issue of Kerrang!, Declan O'Shea says: "I've known Chester and his wife from the time of our first album. Around that time we played LA toilets alot, and Chester came to a fair few of our gigs before things started for the band. When we were making our new album, he came over, and it only took a few hour to record his backing vocals. His gritty voice made things much better. Then we went out drinking!"

On the cover of a "No Stress" promo CD there's a Chester Bennington quote which reads "Cyclefly is one of my favourite bands and their new record is the best I've heard in a long time. If you don't like it, YOU SUCK!"

From a March 16, 2002 Billboard article: "Having Chester Bennington from Linkin Park singing on the song is incredible," MCA marketing director Sig Sigworth says. "It lends credibility to [Cyclefly]."

About the meaning of the song, the band said: "it's about giving bad karma, blaming every one else for it. not realizing it always comes from ourselves."

Although the album Crave was mixed by David Bianco, a new mix of "Karma Killer" was created by Bill Appleberry for the single release, which never happened due to the band leaving their record label.

The Bill Appleberry version was later uploaded to Cyclefly's official MySpace page.

Versions

Note: Only the date of the very first release of each version is listed.

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Karma Killer	Greetings From Santa Monica Tales From The Fishbowl Crave	2:46	2000	April 8, 2002	Features vocals by Chester Bennington.
Karma Killer		2:47	2000	2002	Bill Appleberry mix. Different drum track. Different vocal parts. Louder bass. Uploaded to Cyclefly's official MySpace page.
Karma Killer			2000		Without Chester Bennington. Unreleased.

Live

"Karma Killer" was first played live in July 2000 during a series of acoustic shows at The Meeting Place in Midleton, County Cork, Ireland.

The electric version of the song was debuted on July 22, 2000 at the Annex in Cork, Ireland.

In September 2001, Cyclefly opened two shows for Linkin Park in Europe. One on September 23, 2001 at the Palladium in Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany; and the other on September 24, 2001 at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. Chester Bennington came out during Cyclefly's set to perform "Karma Killer" with the band at both dates. These were the only times the song was performed with Chester.

"Karma Killer" was a staple on the setlist of Cyclefly's Crave tour and was most likely played until their final show, which took place on June 10, 2002 at Camden Underworld, a live music venue located below (in the basement) of the World's End pub in Camden Town, London, England.

Ciaran O'Shea usually sang Chester's parts when Cyclefly performed "Karma Killer" live.

Personnel

Cyclefly

• Declan O'Shea - vocals
• Ciaran O'Shea - guitar
• NoNo Presta - guitar
• Christian Montagne - bass
• Jean-Michel Cavallo - drums

Additional musicians

• Chester Bennington - vocals (track 2)
• Sasha Puttnam - strings, organ (track 11), arrangement (tracks 2, 7)

Technical personnel

• Robert Flynt - photography
• Sasha Jankovic - engineer
• Alan Sanderson - engineer
• Ian Blanch - engineer
• Jeff Rothschild - engineer
• Ciaran O'Shea - programming
• David Bianco - mixing
• Bill Appleberry - producer (tracks 1, 4, 5), engineer
• Colin Richardson - producer
• Tobias Miller - producer (tracks 1, 4, 5), engineer

Lyrics

Album Version

I scream through the morning
I'm kicking the twilight as she comes
Time waits, ever dawning
Spooning the thickness out and feeding our open mouths

The price you pay is always
Too high / or too familiar
Sunshine / karma killer

Time waits ever dawning
When you're following the animals around / (around)
I scream through the morning
Feeding our open mouths and spooning the thickness out

The price you pay is always
Too high / or too familiar
Sunshine / karma killer
Too high / or too familiar
Sunshine / karma killer

My eyes are weary now
My eyes (my eyes are weary) are weary
My eyes are weary now

Too high / or too familiar
Sunshine / karma killer
Too high / or too familiar
Sunshine / karma killer
Karma killer
Karma killer
Karma killer

Will I ever miss you?
Will I ever miss you?
Will I ever miss you?
Will I ever miss you?

Gallery

• 

  Album

• 

  Album Sampler

• 

  UK Promo

• 

  Tentative artwork

• 

  Tentative artwork

• 

  Tentative artwork

• 

  Tentative artwork

• 

  Tentative artwork

• 

  Tentative artwork

• 

  Greetings From Santa Monica

• 

  No Stress promo CD with Chester Bennington quote

References

• Linkin Park Singer Guests On Cyclefly's Next Album | Idobi Network
• DL Cyclefly - Page 2 - Other Band Downloads - Linkin Park Live - Page 2
• Interview with Christian of Cyclefly
• Cyclefly
• Billboard - Google Books
• LP WithYou: Articles: Kerrang- December 7th 2001
• pushmeaway.com - Wayback Machine