Introducing: The Lovekiller

Germany-based duo The Lovekiller have crafted a melodic rock sound with elements of pop and metal that sees them draw criticism from both sides of the void. But the duo thrives on breaking the rules to “irritate the musical snobs” with a sound they describe as “romantic, dark, honest and touching.”

The Lovekiller is formed of Valery and Alex, who’ve been working together on music for a long time, in the studio, releasing music and playing more than 60 shows across Europe. But they realised they wanted to launch a new project which, despite being based in Germany, is being developed in the UK and the US.

“With time, we realized we wanted to speak to the world through a different kind of music,” they told us. “Something more raw and true to what we felt inside. That led us to start fresh, from a blank page, without looking back. The Lovekiller is our honest, deeply personal story.”

And on the sound they’ve crafted with this new project, they told us: “It’s melodic rock on the edge of alternative indie and pop – heavy guitars, synth textures, and emotional vocals. We’ve spent over a year experimenting in the studio to find a way to merge raw distorted guitars, heavy drums, synth melodies, and expressive vocals.

“And for that, we often get criticised – metalheads say our choruses are ‘too pop,’ and pop fans find our sound ‘too heavy and dark.’ But we love that. We deliberately break the rules of traditional recording to keep irritating musical snobs from all sides.”

Our first taste of this is The Lovekiller’s debut single Dead Butterfly which, unusually, has two different versions: the Love Edition and the Killer Edition. The Killer Version of Dead Butterfly leans more towards the metal lovers, so we’ll start there. It opens up with bouncy synths and an echoey “dead butterfly” ushers in big guitar chords under a little synth. It drops into engaging vocals supported by drums and echoey synths, chugging guitars join in and the pace drops before flying into a big catchy chorus “I climbed so high and now I fall like a dead butterfly, I would fall into your arms, Your dead butterfly.”

A bumbling bass and atmospheric synths see the pace drop as the second verse again lightly builds up to the chorus. Second time around, it drops into light vocals, then booming guitar chords and synths set up a final blast of the chorus.

The Love Version of the track begins with a pulsing synth that continues under deliciously light dreamy vocals. That leads into the same chorus that doesn’t quite have the same powerful edge delivered by the heavy guitars, but it’s equally catchy in this version. It’s a great catchy track in both guises, and it’s up to you which you prefer. But from our perspective, we’ll go with the Killer Version.

On the track, the band told us: “Dead Butterfly is our first official release as The Lovekiller, and we’ve been truly moved by the listeners’ response. We spent over a year working on this single, going through sixteen different versions – from heavy metal to ballads, even something close to a dance track. We were searching for a sound that felt honest – something that felt like us.

“That’s why we decided to release two versions: the Love Edition and the Killer Edition. We wanted to show that every song – just like every person, and every feeling – has many sides. If you listen closely, you’ll understand that pop music can be dark and gritty, while rock can be fragile and soft. Love can be both gentle and fierce. Feelings can revive you – or tear you apart. For us, this track isn’t just a song. It’s an exploration of our inner darkness.”

Dead Butterfly is the first single to be released from The Lovekiller’s upcoming debut album. On what to expect from it, they explained: “We’re currently working on 13 songs – though not all of them will make the final cut, at least 10 will. It’s going to be a deeply personal record, touching on themes that are hard to talk about – things you can only truly express through music. We explore the intimate, the painful, the conflicting – the moments when you don’t have answers, or maybe the answers just don’t exist. We’re aiming to release it at the end of 2025. It’s not just an album – it’s more like a diary. Or even a confession.”

The Lovekillers sound takes inspiration from the likes of HIM, Evanescence, The Rasmus, and Nine Inch Nails. As they explain: “Anything that’s beautifully intense and melancholic. It’s also really cool to hear when people say we’d fit well on stage with acts like RVRIS, Amira Elfeky, or Nothing But Thieves.”

And on what inspires them to write music, they added: “Inspiration is unpredictable – and we don’t rely on it. Music is more like inner pressure for us – something that won’t let us stay silent. It’s our way of speaking about what hurts, and healing through that process. We write about the things we can’t stop thinking about, the things that make our hearts race: fear, loneliness, love, self-destruction.”

The Lovekiller are hard at work in the studio putting the final touches on their debut album. They’ll be releasing four more singles before the album drops, starting with their second single, Devil’s Embrace, which will be out on 16 May and they describe as “a tragic and very personal song about the battle with inner demons.”

We’re enjoying the contrast in The Lovekiller’s sound, from the heavy guitars to the delicious vocals, catchy lyrics and atmospheric synths. And that nicely portrays a band that summarises itself as “The Lovekiller is an ode to deadly love – the kind you can’t live without.”

You can The Lovekiller on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.

We discovered The Lovekiller on Groover – submit your music to GigRadar!

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