Kïll Cheerleadër (previously known as Cheerleader 666) was a Canadian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band whose members formed in 1999 in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Mainly influenced by

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

and heavy metal acts such as

The Stooges The Stooges or Iggy and the Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexande ...

, early era

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

the Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of t ...

Girlschool Girlschool are a British rock band that formed in the new wave of British heavy metal scene in 1978. Frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead, they are the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after more than 40 ...

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music#J, Godmother of Punk", she is regarded as a Pop icon, rock icon and ...

and

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

, they had crafted their own unique, sleazy style of

rock 'n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

, once being described as "a derailed train hitting a Baptist Church". Lemmy from Motörhead described Kill Cheerleader as the "greatest rock n' roll band since Guns N' Roses."

History

The original members of the group were childhood friends who learned their instruments practicing old

and

songs. A band member reportedly said that the name came from miserable high school experiences, saying, "beat up the jocks and kill the cheerleaders". They started off playing shows in Toronto but were soon banned from clubs for their on and off stage antics. They started playing shows in Southern California after being invited by Chris Squire to open dates for his garage punk group, The Tori Cobras. During this tour Squire introduced the band to professional skateboarder, Kris Markovich, landing Kill Cheerleader the opening music track in Markovich's "Hollywood Skateboards" video. After this tour the band became popular among hardcore skateboarders and so-cal punk rockers. After some 8000 demo CDs were sold, a German record label licensed one of their unmixed/unmastered recordings and released it as 7 track LP titled ''

Gutter Days ''Gutter Days'' was a 2003 10" vinyl EP re-release of Kïll Cheerleadër's second demo CD, originally released in 2001. Some CD-R versions of "Gutter Days" included a cover of the Ramones song, " I Just Wanna Have Something to Do". 4 of the 7 so ...

'' which was rereleased on 10" vinyl in 2003. One reviewer called it "the greatest punk n' roll recording ever made... completely redefined excellence in that genre... I am shaken..." (House of Smut). Ky Anto, lead guitarist for

Robin Black Robin Black is a Canadian combat analyst and sports commentator. He formerly competed in mixed martial arts, and previously had a career as a glam rock musician.Heath Jon McCoy, "Loud and proud in leather and feathers: Intergalactic Rock Stars lo ...

once called them "The sound of desperation"...

Nikki Sixx Nikki Sixx (born Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna Jr.; December 11, 1958) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and radio personality, best known as the co-founder, bassist, primary songwriter, and only constant member of the hea ...

called them the "best new band" in his online journal.Newton, Steve (2007)
Kill Cheerleader shrugs off hometown bans
, straight.com, February 22, 2007, retrieved 2011-12-15 ''

SPIN Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' Magazine journalists wrote how they were "blown away" about their live show, and Alternative Press has called them a "band to watch." Rock legend

Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was a British musician. He was the founder, lead vocalist, bassist and primary songwriter of the metal band Motörhead, of which he ...

from

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

invited them to open their UK tour and talked about them on SuicideGirls.com and in ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'', declaring Kïll Cheerleadër as the "greatest

rock n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African American music such as jazz, rhythm and ...

band since

."Kemp, Rob (2006)
Kill Cheerleader
, ''

'', October 2006, p. 50, retrieved December 15, 2011 Their music has been described as "the greatest fusion of Stooges/Guns fuck rock anyone has ever spewed", as well as "taking the energy of early Motorhead while grinding it together with the energy of bands like The Ramones or The Stooges". Critics have also stated that "pre-punk rockers The Stooges, glam stalwarts Motley Crue, and straight-up scumbags Guns N' Roses have their fingerprints all over Kill Cheerleader's sound". Ethan Deth has pointed out that "we have our punk and metal songs but we also have a strong

influence, which we don't ignore". After travelling to the U.S west coast and playing a number of high-profile shows in Los Angeles the band gained a new following for their destructive and fresh take on dirty punk-metal. Their debut album ''

All Hail All Hail may refer to: * ''All Hail'' (Kïll Cheerleadër album) * ''All Hail'' (Norma Jean album) * ''All Hail'' (film) {{dab ...

'' was released in 2004 through Spinerazor Records. The band broke up in 2006 on the eve of a major record deal.Reilly, Phoebe (2008)
Thick as Thieves
, ''

'', September 2008, p. 72-79, retrieved December 15, 2011

Aftermath

Kill Cheerleader split off into many new bands. Ethan Deth (as

Ethan Kath Claudio Paolo Palmieri (born December 25, 1977), known professionally as Ethan Kath, is a Canadian musician. He was the co-founder and songwriter/producer for Crystal Castles and bassist of Kïll Cheerleadër and Die Mannequin. Biography Early ...

) formed successful

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

band

Crystal Castles Crystal Castles was a Canadian electronic music group formed in 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, by songwriter-producer Ethan Kath and singer-songwriter Alice Glass. Crystal Castles was known for their chaotic live shows and lo-fi music, lo-fi melanc ...

and soon drafted in Kill Cheerleader drummer Christoper Chartrand (aka Kriss Rites). Jason Decay started heavy metal band Goat Horn, which achieved success after morphing into

Cauldron A cauldron (or caldron) is a large cookware and bakeware, pot (kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in r ...

. Anthony Bleed (aka Useless aka Cobra) joined Canadian hard rock radio mainstays

Die Mannequin Die Mannequin was a Canadian alternative rock band from Toronto, founded by guitar player and singer Care Failure (born Caroline Slezak Kawa) in 2005. The band toured across Canada several times, opening for Buckcherry, Guns N' Roses, Marilyn ...

and now releases acoustic music as tonyswar. Jimmy Nova formed a rock & roll band called Darlings of Chelsea with a member of Black Halos. Jacki Slaughter leads 80s metal revivalists

Skull Fist Skull Fist is a Canadian heavy metal band formed in Toronto. History Formation, ''Heavier Than Metal'' and ''Head of the Pack'' (2006–2010) Skull Fist was founded in 2006 by guitarist/singer Zach Slaughter in Toronto. The band released ...

who have achieved success in Europe and Japan.

Discography

*2000: ''Demo CD-R'' *2001: ''

'' (CD-R released in 2001, 10" vinyl released in 2003 as ''Cheerleader 666'') *2004: ''

All Hail All Hail may refer to: * ''All Hail'' (Kïll Cheerleadër album) * ''All Hail'' (Norma Jean album) * ''All Hail'' (film) {{dab ...

'' (debut full-length CD as ''Kill Cheerleader'' released on Spinerazor/Corporate Punishment in 2004, re-issued on Sanctuary in 2006, limited vinyl release on Yeah Right Records in 2015.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kill Cheerleader Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups disestablished in 2006 Musical groups from Toronto Canadian heavy metal musical groups Canadian punk rock groups 1999 establishments in Ontario 2006 disestablishments in Ontario Sanctuary Records artists

History

Aftermath

Discography

See also

References