The Deth Of A Legend

On June 2^nd 2013 the world sadly lost Mick Morris, most known for his time as the bassist for Eighteen Visions and xClearx.  Mick had also served time in Bleeding Through (recording ‘Portrait Of The Goddess’) as well as being a founding member of the small Misfits tribute band Die Die My Darling.

Now what’s to follow is MY own opinion, so don’t get your panties in a twist if you don’t agree, heck let me know if you don’t and why not.
In the genre of metalcore he had no peers, yet he has gone relatively unknown and in effect has become so underrated.

Without Mick I am more than 100% sure that what is “in” today in the world of hard rock music would be VERY different, there would be no Black Veil Brides, nor would there be any Motionless In White.  Mick (and 18V) helped create not only a sound but just as importantly they created a look which has not only now became the template of literally every band out there, but it’s also become something of a larger, more commercially accepted look.

As Mick joined 18V, the term and phrase of “Fashoncore” (or “xfashioncorex” if your awesome and Militant) was just starting to build steam, the term basically described how they wore the black skinny jeans and the tight graphic tee’s and had the styled, coloured hair, they were seen as pretty boys of metal and did Mick fit in with it all!
For his first show the band dressed up in drag, an act that for any other band at the time would have seemed so wrong and out of this world; for 18V and Mick, it seemed normal and almost natural.

Mick’s first release with 18V was on the (sarcastically titled) ‘Best Of Eighteen Visions’ released in 2001, it was a collection of previous 18V tracks re-recorded along with one new track, “Motionless And White”.  This album showed how different Mick was to previous bassist Javier Van Huss; the tracks were heavier, more stylised (like the band) and was just more balls to the wall, and a lot of people attribute this to the inclusion of Mick.  Then the new track “Motionless And White”, a piece of art, lyrically one of James Hart’s (singer) best, and overall just an amazing sounding track that foreshadowed what was to come on the next release, ‘Vanity’.

On ‘Vanity’ we got an incredible sounding effort and is my own personal favourite, with each track being something different and the album as a whole including possibly every genre of music possible.  The progression was there, and as recording continued, the progression continued with the next step, ‘Obsession’ being just as massive as a leap that was there with before and after Mick had joined.
After a decade 18 recorded their last album, the self-titled Arena Rawk inspired album, was when I personally feel Mick was a home, watching live shows back he seems so in his element, and this was greatly enhanced with his appearance, starting to wear more make-up and dye his hair regularly and dressing ‘glamier’.
This was the Mick Morris that inspired so many young musicians, including the ones mentioned at the beginning, and this was the Mick Morris that most will think of.

After the end of 18Visions, Mick stayed close to music, touring as a guitar tech for Hatebreed among other music related jobs.

It wasn’t until last year that he entered the element of ‘band’ again, forming Minerva, who went on to play multiple shows in Mick’s home town Salt Lake City.

In the last months of his life it was clear via his Twitter and Instagram pages that he was bummed out at times, and was really reflecting on his time in 18V along with his time with his son and wife.

In the end, the world lost an amazing man, someone who I never knew or even met, but was fortunate enough to get to email for a time last December, and I feel so bad for his friends, his former band mates and most importantly his family.



Rest In Peace Mick ‘MickDeth’ Morris