I Killed the Prom Queen

Emerging from the early-2000s Australian metalcore wave, I Killed the Prom Queen formed in Adelaide around Jona Weinhofen and JJ Peters, writing music that blended hardcore, melodic metalcore and traces of Swedish melodic death metal. The band quickly became part of the local heavy scene alongside acts like Parkway Drive, releasing a split with them in 2003 and the album When Goodbye Means Forever... the same year. Line-up changes, particularly on vocals—from Michael Crafter to Ed Butcher and later Jamie Hope—marked their history without altering the core sound: fast riffs, dark harmonies and a mix of abrasive screams and more melodic passages. Music for the Recently Deceased arrived in 2006, followed by a split in 2007 and a farewell tour in 2008 documented on the live release Sleepless Nights and City Lights that year. Reformed in 2011, I Killed the Prom Queen resumed touring across Australia, Europe, Japan and the U.S., sharing bills with Bleeding Through, Killswitch Engage and Bring Me the Horizon— a band Jona Weinhofen would later join. Their third album, Beloved, was released in 2014. After another hiatus in 2016, I Killed the Prom Queen announced a return to the stage in 2025 with an anniversary tour focused on their early-years repertoire.