“How’s this for an establishing shot?“
Ice Nine Kills have been around in the metalcore scene for just about as long as I’ve been listening. Though I didn’t discover them until their 2014 album, The Predator Becomes the Pray, once I heard “The Fastest Way to a Girl’s Heart is Through Her Ribcage” I was immediately intrigued on what they had to offer. I eventually found my way to seeing them open for Motionless in White on the Beyond the Barricade tour, upon which I realized they were leaning on the edge of core stardom, and all they needed was one more push.
Well, they certainly got less of a push and more of a shove when Fearless Records snagged them up in 2015. INK went on to release what seemed to be their first massive album, Every Trick in the Book. The album offered a fresh perspective on core music, straying away from the usual personalized lyrics and themes, and venturing into a more theatrical/cinematic route… and it was fucking brilliant.
Each song was a representation of a piece of horror literature, with songs like: “Communion of the Cursed” showcasing The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty, “The Nature of the Beast” representing George Orwell’s Animal Farm, and many other iconic works of literature. I knew they were onto something truly remarkable with this album, and so I had hoped they would continue down this route and perfect this new style. Sure enough, my hopes were confirmed when they announced The Silver Scream would be released in 2018.
This time around, The Silver Scream would be representing classic horror films like: Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and many more. They honed in on the theatrical/cinematic atmospheres first introduced in Every Trick in the Book and made an album that blew away many of their fans. Having a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree in Film, horror being my favorite genre, everything about this album was right up my alley. Tracks like “Stabbing in the Dark”, ”IT is the End”, and ”Rocking the Boat” surely set my standards high to a point where I don’t think they could ever be beaten.
Speculation conquered the thoughts of INK fans for years after The Silver Scream. What would come next? Would they do a sequel? Will they venture back into themes more commonly used by other bands in the scene? How in the world are they going to top The Silver Scream? Speculation was silenced, and many hopes were answered when it was announced that the sequel album was true. The new album would be called The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood.
Upon beginning The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood, I knew my standards were set ridiculously high, but I ventured in with as open a mind as possible. “Opening Night” begins with an ominous ambience, and a voiceover by Carson Beck. The short voiceover raises the curtains on the album, and the short film series INK have been portraying in their music videos.
And now, we pass through the gates with no return. “Welcome to Horrorwood” starts soft, somber, and cinematic with Spencer Charnas singing accompanied by soft guitars, pianos, and other elements to build the tension (“Sit back for the sequel of your dreams”). You know its going to get heavy at any moment, and then… “where anyone would kill for a call BACK,” the heaviness hits you like a brick wall at a 1,000mph. And holy fucking, shit this song is MASSIVE. The chorus in particularly is so incredibly huge I’m very surprised they didn’t release this as a single. “Welcome to Horrorwood‘s” theme is of the cutthroat mentality of Hollywood, and it is perfectly represented (“The only place it pays to be a hack! Be a hack. Welcome back!”). I cannot get enough of this track, though it doesn’t represent any specific horror film, it’s still just as immaculate as any track here that does.
We dive deeper into track three, “A Rash Decision” (“A fevers in the air, who will be spared?”). It seems this track is a representation of Eli Roth’s 2002 film Cabin Fever. “The only peace is a place inside my mind,” and even there you won’t be safe with such an infectious melody. We are riding on a high and transition to “Assault & Batteries”, clearly based on Don Mancini’s Child’s Play from 1988. This track was the second single released for the album, and it set the tone for everyone that INK was not going to hold back this time. The band brilliantly repurposed a melody from a Toys R Us commercial in the 80s, “I don’t want to grow up I’m a Toys R Us kid” to “You won’t ever grow up you won’t make it past six”. Brilliant, I would have not known this little easter egg if not for Music Shed’s review on YouTube. And that makes me wonder just how many Easter Eggs and little nuances will go unnoticed?
We’re four for four now, surely the next track will be a dud? But how could a song about a film as legendary as Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 classic Psycho be a dud? “The Shower Scene” opens with Charnas playing the role of Norman Bates (“She’s crazy I must confess, its always me cleaning up her mess”). Yet again Ice Nine Kills strike a critical blow to the brain with this psychotic track. (“I can’t come clean, you got caught up INN between. I can’t come clean, you can’t escape the shower scene!”) The famous dissonant chords from the film make their appearance during the breakdown too, if it didn’t that would just be sacrilege.
“Sometimes dead is better” and if “Funeral Derangements” is the reward, then I completely agree. The final single from the album, this track taunts the living with the resuscitation of the dead, just like Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Not only do we get yet another perfect chorus, but we get the heaviest breakdown I’ve heard so far on this beast of an album (“The flesh is living but the souls have spoiled, the wrath of God lay beneath this soil!”) Next up is ”Rainy Day”, the third single from the album, and very obviously showcasing Shinji Mikami and Tokuro Fujiwara’s Resident Evil. Such a fun track with its synths, groove, and chorus makes me feel like a kid playing Resident Evil, or an adult playing as Nemesis on Dead By Daylight.
“Hip to Be Scared” (based on American Psycho), the first single along with the album announcement was a phenomenal choice by the band. When I first heard this track, I apparently listened to it 100 times in just two days. An addictive chorus that gets in your head and a bipolar feel that almost seems like Patrick Bateman himself; the 80s style breakdown that is so ridiculous, yet it’s all so flawless and brilliantly arranged. They cleverly use Jacoby Shaddix’ feature and fit him into the role as Paul Allen too, which adds some extra dynamics to a song teeming at all seems with it. This song is so much fucking fun, and it definitely sets the tone for the entire album in terms of heaviness, catchiness, and how far they dive into the cinematic elements from each film. A perfect choice for the first single.
We’re a little over halfway through our journey of The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood and I cannot find a flaw, there is literally nothing I would change. Every aspect of this album so far is working extremely well, and I can tell the replay value of this album will be extraordinary. “Take Your Pick” (My Bloody Valentine, 1981) is easily INK’s heaviest track to date, but it could be no less when featuring the legendary Corpsegrinder from Cannibal Corpse (“’Cause roses are red and violets are blue, they’ll need your dental records to identify you.”) All of the ”Merry Axe-Mas” fans are going to drool over the brutality of this track.
We break into the puzzle of ”The Box”, based on Clive Barker’s Hellraiser series. Atreyu’s Brandon Saller takes the helm with the chorus on this track, such a hellish earworm that blurs the lines between pleasure and pain (just kidding, it’s all pleasure). Fit For a King’s Ryan Kirby has some screamed sections on this track that are so low and heavy I almost could not recognize his voice (“The Sadists, the sinners, the absent of heart, On his command they’ll tear your soul apart!”). INK keeps the ball rolling with Buddy Nielsen of Senses Fail on “F.L.Y.” (The Fly, 1986), the second this song kicks off it (appropriately) almost sounds like a Senses Fail track. I love the back and forth between Nielsen and Charnas on this song, it adds a dynamic that really keeps the track on an ascent. Rather than just an Ice Nine Kills song, this one sounds more like both bands took their sounds and mashed it together as their own science experiment.
The final stretch now, when I listen to “Wurst Vacation” I can’t help but think what a Till Lindemann feature would sound like. This song is fucking fun, a representation of the not-so-fun, yet iconic film Hostel by none other then Eli Roth. Charnas screams in German in some of this song, and it has an industrial tinge to it that makes it super different for the band, yet incredibly enjoyable (“INKED in our flesh forever. A day to dismember.”) Now we dive into the only song that I can see splitting the fan base, “Ex-Mortis” (Evil Dead series). Ice Nine Kills prove their musical ability to branch out into new territories and still make phenomenal music with this one. It’s a bit goofy, it’s a bit groovy, its exactly the vibe of Evil Dead, and it is such a fun track that will possess your brain for quite some time (“Now you’ll choke on your words, swallow this… groovy”).
Last, but definitely not the least, “Farewell II Flesh” based on the legendary Candyman. Immediately I knew this was Candyman when I hear the bees buzzing in the intro. I was a bit skeptical coming into this track, thinking it would not be as good of a grand finale as “IT is the End”. Oh how wrong I was… Not only is this track better in every way, it closes the album in such a way that stings me to the bone. Sporting a hook that is simply to die for, this is my favorite track Ice Nine Kills have ever made (“The mirror, the mirror, I’m always inside. Wave Farewell II Flesh its your time to die.”)
Ice Nine Kills not only murdered my expectations in such a wonderous manner, they took themselves into uncharted territory as a band. The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood is undoubtedly the best album I have heard this year, and quite possibly one of the best/most complete albums of the decade thus far. I could not find a single con or flaw in this brutal, yet beautiful masterpiece. And so the wait begins, I can only pray that this is only Act II and we still have an entire grand finale album ahead of us. All horror films need a sequel, but the real test is if they can survive the trilogy. Consider this a challenge Ice Nine Kills… good luck and happy hunting.
The Silver Scream 2: Welcome To Horrorwood is available today via Fearless Records, and you can purchase or stream the record here.
10/10