The band was originally formed in 2000. Taking influence from Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, Guns N' Roses, and Hanoi Rocks, Crashdïet built up a cult following with the release of their first demos, several of which were released on their official website via download. In 2002, the band split up, and vocalist Dave Lepard reformed the band with members from the current lineup,[1] while the old members went to play in Repugnant and SubVision. In 2003 Crashdiet released their first self titled EP, though only 500 copies were pressed. In 2004 they got signed to Universal Records after people in the staff saw the band drinking outside a liquor store and was impressed by their Rock n' Roll image. In 2005, the band released their debut album, Rest in Sleaze, and embarked on a Swedish tour in the fall of 2005 to support the album. The album did well overall (debuted at No. 12 on the Swedish album chart) although they were not especially famous outside of Sweden. The band also played at Download Festival in the United Kingdom in 2005, to support the album.[3] The album debuted at No. 12 on the Swedish album chart and Four singles were produced from that album, including "Riot in Everyone", "Breakin' the Chainz", "Knokk 'Em Down" and "It's a Miracle". On January 20, 2006, vocalist Dave Lepard committed suicide at the age of 25, after a bout of depression during which he hid from family and friends. After the death of Lepard, the band decided to end the band and said in an official statement that: ''Crashdïet will definitely not continue as a band. The band consisted of four people and now one of them has left us.'' Several months later they decided to start the band up again after getting support from the Lepard family and fans all over the world, they announced the following statement via their website: ''We feel that we want to carry on the Crashdïet legacy, which will keep Dave's spirit alive for a long long time.. It would be a shame NOT to spread the message across the whole world and let them know what real music should sound like!''