Crushing hooks and genre-bending theatrics are set to incriminate Ice Nine Kills' latest masterpiece as nothing short of legendary.
Do ya like Ice Nine Kills?
Ice Nine Kills is that band. The one you've heard of for years, always on the blurry horizon of your periphery as you flicked through music magazines or checked out the New Releases section on iTunes. Coincidentally, they're also the band you absolutely kick yourself over when you finally listen to them and realise how asleep you'd been until now.
With this electric follow-up to 2018's The Silver Scream, Welcome to Horrorwood: The Silver Scream 2 is a track-by-track banger of a record that puts a gun to your head and demands a repeat. And another. (And another).
All the songs are inspired by staple slasher flicks, from American Psycho to Hostel, with the narrative fleshed out further with the help of their best music videos to date. Once again, the boys transcend the laughable confines of "genre" to provide an experience like absolutely no other.
Opening salvo Welcome to Horrorwood is the only track that isn't based on an existing film. Setting the scene with its darkly dramatic musical theatre swagger, it's a classic INK belter dripping with witty double entendres, campy sound effects, and a mischievous charm as it draws you in and promises a bloody good time.
Rash Decision has held a top spot in my heart since my first listen. There is a distinct bouncy, almost dancelike quality to the tempo and instrumentals (specifically during the verses) which seems a fond nod to Ice Nine Kills' beginnings in ska-punk. Paying homage to the 2002 flick Cabin Fever, it's no surprise that these flourishes scream early 00s dance metal. This nostalgic quality is reminiscent of Let's Bury The Hatchet...In Your Head (Predator Becomes The Prey, 2014) for its piercing melodics, harsh gutturals, and impressive high notes. Oh, and Spencer is incapable of writing a bad chorus. It's just a fact by this point.
The first thing that struck me about Assault & Batteries is that delightful bass line, dark and down-tuned and trebly. The whole track vibrates with a devilish playfulness, perfectly evoking its source material Child's Play, and much like a Russian doll, it reveals a new layer of detail with each listen. INK's creativity knows no bounds, with the chorus melody itself a play on the Toys R Us jingle. These ingenious touches articulate the band's commitment not only to their music and fanbase but to penning an authentic and loving tribute to horror.
Shower Scene, containing Spencer's self-proclaimed "favourite chorus [he has] ever written", is a three-minute movie in itself. By conflating poppy, melodic vocals with a killer breakdown, INK proves themselves masters of intertextual prowess. The incorporation of the famous Psycho theme is so fluid, it's almost unbelievable. Sure, the verse melody holds a resemblance to PATD's "Emperor's New Clothes", but I think really there is no question as to who did it better.
Hint: not Brendon.
Ah, Funeral Derangements. Much like Nadia and Spencer in the utterly manic music video, FD is a fucking dirty track. Heavier than almost anything INK has ever done (see: Take Your Pick), it suddenly roundhouse-kicks you in the face with a gorgeous, almost operatic chorus. One of the things I love about this whole album is the incorporation of composite choral vocals from Ricky, Joe, Dan, and Patrick alike.
This element truly shines here, as Spencer's voice is backed up by what sounds like a haunting church choir melding into one ominous entity, complementing the menacing drums rumbling beneath.
PS: Not only is "The wrath of God lays beneath this soil" the most brutal pre-breakdown I've ever heard, but the way Spencer delivers those alliterative o/ou sounds ("souls have spoiled /...beneath this soil) is such satisfying proof that these lyrics are pure, deliberate poetry.
I was insanely excited when I realised that Rainy Day was a nod to the film incarnation of my favourite video game franchise, Resident Evil. The digital millennium bug-esque elements harken back to the late 90s- which just so happens to be when the first game was released by gaming studio Capcom.
I know the song is intended as an homage to the RE movies rather than the games, but this was a detailed and dedicated nod to its origins, one I greatly appreciated as a fan of all things Resi.
Literature and theatre stand out as dominant influences in Hip To Be Scared, a track that served as our first taste of Horrorwood back in July2022.
With shades of Marlowe's soul-flogging Dr Faustus ("to Hell is where I go") and a tightly choreographed music video best befitting a Broadway stage, the song is a microcosm of 1980s New York City; the home of showbiz, and the setting of American Psycho. Jacoby and Spencer's voices have eerily similar registers here, so much so that the YouTube commenters had a field day when arguing which section Shaddix was actually singing. It was as much of a joy to witness the bickering as it was to witness the beginning of a new era for my new favourite band.
Take Your Pick broke new ground for Ice Nine Kills.
We all know Spencer, Joe, Ricky & Dan can hold their own when it comes to the screams. Pair them with Corpsegrinder, however, and you have a truly maniacal deathcore track. It is jaw-dropping in every sense; aggressively heavy, expertly performed, and surprising us by experimenting with some old-school rap rock elements in the final chorus. If anything, Take Your Pick is a huge, blood-soaked middle finger/pick axe to all those who doubt INK's ability to finesse any genre they see fit.
The Box is, start to finish, a sublime piece of writing, mixed to showcase the stunning melody, guitar hooks and motifs with no single instrument ever overwhelming the balance. The satisfying arena rock chorus does wonders to highlight Ricky and Dan’s guitar harmonies, and Spencer’s vocal range has never sounded more impressive. Soaring, melodic, and spliced through with Hellraiser-specific soundbites, it's no wonder that The Box has featured on everyone's Top 3 list since the record's release.
Continuing Horrorwood's killer streak of guest features, pop punk-infused F.L.Y is bursting with pitch-perfect harmonies thanks to Senses Fail's Buddy Nielson. He and Spencer are a formidable duo, this track having come hot on the heels of SF's recent single, 'Death by Water', for which Spencer performed guest vocals. Their voices bring out a delicate, crisp clarity in one another's, aerating the already catchy melody for some true riotous fun. It's one of those deeply pleasing, inimitable tracks that feels both fresh and familiar.
Wurst Vacation is both the goofiest song I've ever heard and the coolest. There is something so genius, so ballsy, so admirably self-confident about starting a song with "Ein, zwei, drei, DIE!" and I absolutely dare you not to love it.
Tipping their hats to Rammstein and their cohorts, Wurst Vacation gets its hands dirty with industrial German metal and adds touches of acid-house disco.
Bizarre? Yes.
Catchiest hook on the record? Definitely.
One of the most hotly anticipated songs on Horrorwood (and for good reason), Ex Mørtis is not only a blisteringly badass ode to Evil Dead but made a blistering Nightmare On The Ninth merch drop.
Co-written by Charlie Scene from rap metal group Hollywood Undead, Ex Mørtis is a rollicking, rumbling, Tim Burtonian cabaret-of-the-damned masterpiece. It’s a spooky 50s jazz lounge number with dark piano keys and trumpets padding out the verses, Spencer crooning silkily over them before the chorus plummets us “way below”. Be still, our undead hearts; INK knows the room they‘re playing to, and we love them for it.
All good things come to an end. Thankfully, Farewell II Flesh is the bittersweet and honey-soaked bloodbath of a finale that we deserve.
Fading in softly with bees buzzing over a sombre piano melody, F2F is the closest thing to a ballad on the record. There are so many facets here to unpick; it's both tender and vicious, foreboding yet comforting as the intensity ebbs and flows. The pacing is what makes this track so unique. Rather than a song about a film, Farewell is a masterful piece of storytelling in itself. The lyrics shine brilliantly against a backdrop of immersive instrumentation - and much like the Candyman himself, that 'Flight of the Bumblebees' guitar/piano duet is already the stuff of legends.
Ending abruptly, you sit there for a moment to take in the silence.
Then, you start right back from the top with Opening Night....
Sit back, relax, and have your lawyer on speed dial. The show's already begun.
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By Jasmine Gould-Wilson
Stream Welcome To Horrorwood (and all of Ice Nine Kills' work) on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube!