Kill Cheerleader

After having damaged, destroyed, defaced and practically defecated on stages from Southern Ontario to Southern California, Toronto’s scuzzy glam rockers Kill Cheerleader finally capture their high voltage sound in a convenient digital package ready for mass consumption in the safety of your own home. The quartet are one of the many bands trying to recapture the dangerous glory days of early ’80s club hard rock/metal when bands like Motley Crue and Guns N’ Roses were considered cool and even cutting edge. But KC are one of the few that get it right. Without any hint of irony, they do their thing oblivious to and uninterested in what other people may say or think about them. It’s that sincerity that makes them so worthwhile. The dozen tracks on All Hail are all based around pretty rudimentary riff rock/metal trappings, but the ferocity of the performances and the in-your-face production makes them worth paying attention to. Of course, there are breaks in the ruthlessness in the form of "Go Away,” a power ballad of "Home Sweet Home” proportions and the acoustic "No Lullabies” that recalls Guns N’ Roses’ "Patience.” Not the most original knife in the drawer, but definitely one of the sharpest.