The Killing Tree (sometimes abbreviated as TKT) were a

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

band from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. They were a

side project In popular music, a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band. It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style. Usually these projects emphasize a ...

Tim McIlrath Timothy James McIlrath (born November 3, 1978) is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, songwriter and co-founder of the punk rock band Rise Against. He is vegan and straight edge. Early and personal life McIlr ...

during the early days of

Rise Against Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. The group's current line-up comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist Tim McIlrath, lead guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes. Rooted in hardcor ...

and featured former Rise Against guitarist Todd Mohney and bassist Geoff Reu of Baxter and Holy Roman Empire.

Career

The Killing Tree was formed shortly after

's other band,

, in 1999. The band's main line-up consisted of McIlrath on guitar and vocals, Reu on bass and backing vocals, Mohney on guitar, and Remis on drums. In an interview, Tim McIlrath told the interviewer "I used to play in a band called Baxter with Geoff Reu and Remis, and we always had an itch to do heavier music. After Baxter broke up we would have sporadic, impromptu

jam sessions A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without exte ...

in my basement for a year, with no real intention of starting anything. We actually had a female roommate at the time singing for us for a while! Either way, the songs began to take shape and we realized we needed someone else to complete the chaos, so we enlisted Todd to shred with us, and all the pieces fell into place. After we completed a number of songs we realized that what started out as fun we thought might actually go over well. " McIlrath was concerned that Rise Against's record label,

Fat Wreck Chords Fat Wreck Chords (pronounced "Fat Records") is a San Francisco, California-based independent record label, focused on punk rock. It was started by NOFX lead singer Michael Burkett (better known as Fat Mike) in 1990. The label has released mater ...

would not want him recording with a different band, so all members of The Killing Tree used false identities when performing and recording. In February 2003, the band signed to

Eyeball Records Eyeball Records is an independent record label originally established in NYC out of Apartment 4C on 14th St at Avenue A by Alex Saavedra and Vincent Li. The label later moved to Kearny, New Jersey. Eyeball has released albums by artists such as ...

, who released the band's ''We Sing Sin'' EP in May 2003. The Killing Tree has not had any albums or EPs released since 2003. The Killing Tree has not performed live since 2004 or released any new music since 2006, and the official website has not been updated since August 26, 2006. In an Interview with Punknews.org Tim McIlrath was asked about The Killing Tree's future and said: "I would love to. I would love to right now. I'd love to call those guys and just fucking write a record right now if we could. I think Neil is getting back from Europe today and I'm going to hang out with him later tonight. Todd is out of LA right now doing a bunch of graphic design stuff and Geoff is doing Holy Roman and also doing his masters degree at UIC. For me and Neil to actually have lunch together though, that's like the stars are aligned. It's a fucking miracle. I would love to and I think that I still love the Killing Tree and what we've created. I love the record, it was a lot of fun. But, there's no real mystery to why we're not doing records- it's simply because there's no time. If there was, we'd all be having a lot of fun and writing some new songs or at least playing some shows. But who knows, we tend to do a show every year or so in Chicago somewhere.."

Musical style

The Killing Tree's musical style is typified by longer songs and more prominent

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

and

Swedish death metal Swedish death metal is a death metal music scene developed in Sweden. Many Swedish death metal bands are associated with the melodic death metal movement, thus giving Swedish death metal a different sound from other variations of death metal. U ...

influences, such as

screaming A scream is a loud speech production, vocalization in which air is passed through the vocal cords with greater force than is used in regular or close-distance vocalisation. This can be performed by any creature possessing lungs, including human ...

vocals and aggressive breakdowns, than that of McIlrath's other band, Rise Against. Although the vocals are primarily screamed, many tracks alternate between screaming and clean vocals. The lyrics tend to be darker and have violent themes. They have been described as metalcore,

and

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

, with their style having been compared to acts such as

AFI AFI may refer to: * ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol * Ashton Fletcher Irwin, an Australian drummer * AFI (band), an American rock band ** ''AFI'' (2004 album), a retrospective album by AFI rele ...

At the Drive-In At the Drive-In was an American post-hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1994. The band's most recent line-up consisted of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, vocals), Paul Hinojos (bass), Tony Hajjar (dru ...

and

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

Discography

Studio albums * ''

The Romance of Helen Trent ''The Romance of Helen Trent'' was a radio soap opera which aired on CBS from October 30, 1933 to June 24, 1960 for a total of 7,222 episodes. The show was created by Frank and Anne Hummert, who were among the most prolific producers during the r ...

'' (2002) EPs * ''Bury Me at Make-Out Creek'' (2000) * ''We Sing Sin'' (2003) Compilations * ''Hair: Chicago Punk Cuts'' ("Dressed to Fuck" only) (2006)

Members

(James Kaspar) -

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

(1999-2006) *

Todd Mohney Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. The group's current line-up comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist Tim McIlrath, lead guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes. Rooted in hardcor ...

(Todd Rundgren) -

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

(1999-2006) * Geoff Reu (Jean-Luc Rue) - bass,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

(1999-2006) * Timothy Remis (Botchy Vasquez) -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(2000-2006) ;Previous members * Laura Cahill - co-lead vocals (1999) * Neil Hennessy - drums (1999)

Other appearances

* Emily Schambra (of Holy Roman Empire) - guest vocals on "Dressed To Fuck"

References

External links

Punknews.com ProfileThe Killing Tree Website (Archived)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Killing Tree, The Musical groups from Chicago Musical groups established in 1999 Metalcore musical groups from Illinois American post-hardcore musical groups Musical quartets Musical groups disestablished in 2006 1999 establishments in Illinois