Although the lineup of the Adelaide-formed act I Killed the Prom Queen proved to be relatively unstable, the band remained a key name on the Australian metalcore scene for well over a decade. Formed in 2000 by guitarist Jona Weinhofen, drummer JJ Peters, vocalist Austin H., and bassist Ben Engel, only Weinhofen and Peters remained from this initial incarnation by the time When Goodbye Means Forever -- their Killswitch Engage and Shadows Fall-inspired 2003 debut full-length -- was issued. Fully on board for that album's sessions were Michael Crafter on lead vocals, Kevin Cameron on guitar, and Sean Kennedy on bass. Their follow-up, Music for the Recently Deceased, hit stores in the U.S. in July 2006, and after they inked a deal with Metal Blade Records, the label issued the record in North America that November. The release ultimately featured the Hunt for Ida Wave's Ed Butcher on vocals, following Crafter's departure during the album's recording. When Butcher also left the group in early 2007, other vocalists -- such as Heavens Lost's Colin Jeffs and Mourning Tide's Tyrone Ross -- helped them fulfill immediate touring commitments. However, a combination of being unable to settle on a permanent frontman and Weinhofen's decision to join their tour mates at the time, California's Bleeding Through, led to an announcement that I Killed the Prom Queen was to split. A 2008 farewell tour of Australia was arranged, for which Crafter temporarily returned, and the group subsequently remained inactive in the ensuing years. In May 2011 they reunited for another national tour, finding stability when ex-Red Shore member Jamie Hope joined on lead vocals and Weinhofen returned to the fold. Summer 2012 brought their first new material in six years, when the track "Memento Vivere" appeared as an online stream. The following year, long-serving member JJ Peters left the band to focus on his already established Deez Nuts project and was replaced by the former Confession drummer, Shane O'Brien. Shortly afterwards I Killed the Prom Queen announced that they would soon start work on a third studio album. Sean Kennedy was replaced on bass by ex-Day of Contempt frontman Ben Coyte before the band headed to Sweden where Fredrick Nordström -- producer of Music for the Recently Deceased -- assisted Weinhofen, Cameron, Hope, Coyte, and O'Brien with the recording of the February 2014-released Beloved. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia & James Wilkinson, Rovi

UNIFY Gathering 2017

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