Australian metalcore heroes of the noughties I Killed The Prom Queen have made a triumphant return to the musical stage with Beloved, their first studio album in eight years and follow-up to Music For The Recently Deceased.
The band members were somewhat neglected for several years whilst guitarist and clean vocalist Jona Weinhofen dedicated most of his time to alternative band, Bring Me The Horizon. However, after leaving the British group in 2012, the South Australian committed himself to I Killed The Prom Queen, and his focused shifted to the writing and recording of Beloved.
Before the album’s official release, the band streamed it online – a trend that many alternative artists have been following. Weinhofen has kept a close eye on the responses.
“It has been generally really positive, which is awesome – especially because there’s going to be a lot of new people listening to this record.”
Despite their fame and glory in the past, after taking an extended hiatus, I Killed The Prom Queen are now faced with the challenge of relaunching their name to the international stage as well as a new, younger demographic.
Nonetheless, Weinhofen is very pleased with the feedback so far. “We have read and been told by a bunch of people already that this record could be labelled ‘Album Of The Year’, and it’s only early February, so that’s a pretty massive compliment.”
After supporting and helping many other bands rise to success, I Killed The Prom Queen are now having the favour returned to them.
“We’re really lucky to be close friends with bands like Parkway Drive and The Amity Affliction. These bands continued to boom, and so now we’re sort of relying on bands like that to share our music with their fans.”
“We’re really lucky to be close friends with bands like Parkway Drive and The Amity Affliction”The camaraderie between these artists extends beyond merely online social networking. The humble Weinhofen adds, “We’ve been lucky to tour with both of those bands when we announced our reformation, but we acknowledge that we have a fair bit of work ahead of us in terms of building our name back up there.”
However, the guitarist is confident that him and his band mates can make this transition. “We have a really loyal fanbase that have stuck with us over the past eight years and beyond, but I just I guess it’s up to the people now to decide whether or not they enjoy the record.”
The Aussie musicians recorded Beloved in Gothenburg, Sweden – a worldwide hub for metal and in particular, melodic death metal. The guitarist draws on his experiences in the Scandinavian region.
“I’ve actually been a huge fan of Sweden and their culture for many years, and I think one of the things that drew me to the country was the fact that some of my favourite bands emerged out of there when I was growing up.”
With many groups recording in the same studio, Weinhofen entered the hub hoping to be inspired.
“I love everything about Sweden. They’ve got fantastic art and culture, as well as really interesting history – especially the Viking era,” the open-minded musician reveals. “They just seem to be very forward-thinking people.”
Bjorn ‘Speed’ Strid of Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork assisted I Killed The Prom Queen with the recording process as well as lending his vocals to parts of the record.
“That was a milestone for me personally because Soilwork are forefathers of our band’s influences.”
When I Killed The Prom Queen were bursting into the Australian music scene, the band crossed paths with Soilwork.
“I was lucky enough to become friends with Bjorn over the years through touring and bumping into each other in various parts of the world. We were actually lucky enough to support them on their first Adelaide show ever in 2003.”
Strid provided a helpful hand to the band who hadn’t recorded together in many years. “He came in and produced vocals with us, showing us different techniques as well as tracking a lot of the clean melodic vocals with me.”
During the recording process, Strid featured on the track ‘Calvert Street’. “His guest vocals were simply a bonus that came along with everything he had done for us. I think his vocals are perfect for the song that we chose and it definitely has a bit of a Soilwork flavour to it.”
“That was a milestone for me personally because Soilwork are forefathers of our band’s influences”With the production of a massive album, I Killed The Prom Queen need to rehearse some of the new material ahead of scheduled live shows. This can prove logistically difficult, as Weinhofen lives in Adelaide whilst the rest of the band is located in Melbourne.
“It just takes a little more planning when it comes to things like rehearsing, but it can be difficult if there’s some sort of last minute activities that have happened. If worst came to worst though, I could always jump on a cheap flight.”
In particular, I Killed The Prom Queen are rehearsing for the annual Soundwave festival.
“What better platform is there to launch the album than being a part of Soundwave? Getting to play with 90-odd amazing bands with a festival crowd and atmosphere in the summertime – we couldn’t have asked for a better setup for the record release.”
The guitarist is no stranger to the music festival, having performed a number of times with different bands.
“I first played Soundwave back in ‘08 with Bleeding Through [who have since retired] and then in 2010 with Bring Me The Horizon.”
With a bunch of memorable experiences lined up, this year might just take the cake. “To be able to go back and play it a third time with the original band that I started fresh out of high school is a pretty cool feat for me.”
Soundwave isn’t the only tour that the band has in mind for 2014. Weinhofen says, “We’re planning a headline tour as well. It’s in the very early stages, but we’re talking to a few bands about coming over from overseas to tour with us.”
With extensive touring overseas planned before they return for a full-blown Australian run of dates, it’s safe to say that I Killed The Prom Queen are back and ready to make their mark on 2014.
I Killed the Prom Queen Soundwave 2014 Sidewaves
supporting A Day To Remember
TUESDAY 25 FEBRUARY – SYDNEY, UNSW ROUNDHOUSE – Licensed All Ages
www.ticketek.com.au
THURSDAY 27 FEBRUARY – MELBOURNE, THE FORUM – 18+
www.ticketmaster.com.au
Also performing at:
Soundwave 2014 Dates, Tickets
Saturday 22nd February – Brisbane, RNA Showgrounds
Sunday 23rd February – Sydney, Olympic Park
Friday 28th February – Melbourne, Flemington Racecourse
Saturday 1st March – Adelaide, Bonython Park
Monday 3rd March – Perth, Claremont Showgrounds
Tickets on sale via: soundwavefestival.com, oztix.com.au & other outlets
