Band Spotlight: Kill Cheerleader

By Scott Danshaw


Now this band may be the greatest rock band you’ve never heard and I need to change that. You may be asking “Scotty D, why are you spotlighting a band that broke up almost 20 years ago?” Good question,the guitarist/vocalist of Kill Cheerleader, Anthony Bleed, has this new band called ACIIDZ and they’re doing a set of Kill Cheerleader songs at Bovine Sex Club in Toronto on 12/6/2025.

Now ACIIDZ is a great band in their own right and to me is a spiritual successor of some sort to Kill Cheerleader but that’s not even the point. Kill Cheerleader was once said to be the “greatest rock band since Guns N Roses” by Lemmy Kilmeister of Motörhead. This band takes the attitude & energy of early New York punk & the riffs and style akin to 1980’s sunset strip bands and dropped it in early 2000s Toronto. Their only studio album “All Hail” is 12 tracks and comes in at 38:12 and takes you on a fucking ride! I don’t wanna completely spoil it so I’m just gonna mention a few of my personal favorites but trust me this record is all killer, no filler.

    •    Sell Your Soul-Starting off with the album opener, a 3 minute and 12 second rocker that sets the tone for a night of partying and debauchery with a catchy chorus that pleads you to “SELL YOUR SOUL” and trust me my friends by the end of track one it will be sold and you will be hooked.

    •    Deathboy- Probably the most punk song on this record and I mean that in the most fucking Dead Boys way possible. It’s sleazy, the lyrics are dark, and it has this harmonized guitar solo that gives off evil Thin Lizzy vibes. It’s a rock song about wanting to eliminate the haters and those who’ve done you wrong in a brutal fashion with a bridge that asks the question, “Will it still be so funny when I kill everybody?” Who hasnt felt this way?

    •    Go Away- My favorite song on the record and it’s such a ballad in the best way. Is it about love or drugs? In my opinion, the answer is yes. Whether it’s drugs or love you can feel that addiction and withdrawal. It’s a song about pain & heartache and it builds in such a beautiful way starting with acoustic guitar until about 1:05 then the drums come in followed by the bass and this ripping guitar solo reminiscent of something you’d hear from G’n’R. The chorus sings “Dissolve the Pain you’ve been killing for me. I don’t know where. Go away, I won't tell. Damn my head, damn these chemicals. Just go away!” This is that song you can put on in your darkest times and just feel it, and it feels so good in the worst way.

    •    Find Your Own Way Home - Another rocker that is just riff city and badassary. It starts with a ripping lead guitar hook and doesnt stop. The lyrics are about not needing someone that abandoned you and as the title tells them “find your own way home” because you’re done catering and letting them hold you back. Guitar solos and a rock n roll attitude that says “Fuck you” with a middle finger high in the air.

    •    Don’t Call Me Baby, Baby - If there is a song on here that is tied with “Go Away” as numero uno for me it is this one. This band with the riffs it’s literally everything that made me fall in love with rock n roll as a kid. I think it has the best guitar work on the whole record in fact. Lyrically it’s a song about getting caught fooling around behind your partners back and telling them it didnt mean anything and you still wanna work it out and they’re just absolutely over it saying “Don’t call me baby, baby”. I mean we’ve all been there on one side or the other…right? The line that sticks with me in this one is “I’ll hold your hand maybe, but I don’t want your heart. I gave you everything, now you’re tearing us apart…” that shit is as cold as ice. 

To sum things up this is one of my absolute favorite bands of all time and I suggest you check out this record AND their new band ACIIDZ. If you’re in the Toronto area December 6th go to Bovine Sex Club & see ACIIDZ play these Kill Cheerleader songs for what may be the last time ever…


https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kill-cheerleaderaciidztumbleequator-tickets-1867369485399 


https://yeahrightrecords.bandcamp.com/album/all-hail 


https://aciidz.bandcamp.com/music


https://www.instagram.com/p/DQK9jzQDV_x/?igsh=MTJveHhsbXJuN3BiNA==

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