Ice Nine Kills - The Silver Scream (2018)Release ID: 9835
HA!! You didn't think I would forget which music video my alt-rock-loving brother recommended I watch and listen that made interested in this band, did you?! Well I'll tell you now before we go deep into this review. That video is "Stabbing in the Dark"! I care more about the music than the videos, so I skipped the video and went onto the song which is incredible! There's also a recent acoustic version featuring Matt Heafy from Trivium whom I think would fit better in the originally heavy version. Anyway, enough personal talk, let's get going with the review!
Ice Nine Kills' previous album Every Trick in the Book gave the band more success than they ever had in previous albums, taking classic dark literature and revamping into modern metalcore. Now the kings of theatrical metalcore are back, with The Silver Scream, an offering of songs based on horror films. This approach is more challenging and easier at the same time. Movies have a more clearly distinct tone than novels because the music can really fit well with the visuals, almost enough that it should've been those movies' soundtracks. This might be less of a challenge for Ice Nine Kills, but that's good because it's easier for people who are more familiar with films than novels to see the band's love for films. So with this delicately balance of talent and skill, did Ice Nine Kills achieve this? The Silver Scream! Coming...right now!!
"The American Nightmare", based on A Nightmare on Elm Street, opens the album with advise about sleep in a radio broadcast, waking you up in a hospital after a long coma following that encounter with Carrie at the end of the first part of this story (from my review for Every Trick in the Book). During the insistent drum beat with smooth vocals by Spencer Charnas, you notice a doctor looking over you. When the loud fast guitar riff and screaming vocals come in, the doctor reveals himself to be Freddy Krueger! The high-speed beat, hooks, and vocals alternating between Charnas and Justin DeBlieck create an otherworldly vibe as Krueger chases you through the hospital maze. Another strong solid album start! You outrun that deranged killer and escaped the hospital. Once your memory gets clearer, you realize it's FRIDAY THE 13TH!!! ("Thank God It's Friday") That's right, it's October 13, 2017! The song continues the tempo and execution in epic chaotic atmosphere, as you end up in a summer camp and get chased through there by Jason Voorhees, until you fall down a gorge and get knocked out. Then you get waken up by a clock ticking and bells in an insane asylum on Halloween ("Stabbing In The Dark"), where you learn that there's a violent villain out to kill patients in the asylum until he finds his target. After the music transits from soft and beautiful to a brutal onslaught of growling vocals, intricate guitars, and heavy drums, you realize...YOU'RE NEXT!! You get chased again by Michael Myers, but you outrun him and escape the asylum. After that, you find out that you're in Texas, but you don't know that someone's spying on you (hint: the camera shutter effect that starts "Savages"). This song, "Savages" is less obvious in the horror inspiration, but if you're a true horror film fan, you might get that this is based on The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Once again in the loud intensity, you get chased around Texas by Leatherface, but then you trip on a rock and knock yourself out.
You wake up, all chained up in a large bathroom with another man (Randy Strohmeyer of Finch). Despite the chaos of the song "The Jig is Up", based on Saw, it's actually the weakest point of the album, with a lot of elements mixed together like a jigsaw puzzle without any focus on actual strength. At least they captured the atmosphere of Saw successfully. The Jigsaw Killer orders you and the other guy to battle to the death, and the winner gets to escape. Fortunately, the other guy is a master hacker and assassin, so he hacked into the system, takes Jigsaw's remote and shocks him with the remote, and escapes with you. "A Grave Mistake" is a tender emotional power ballad based on The Crow. In a plot twist, the guy tagging along with you reveals himself to be Eric Draven who is revived to find the murderer of his wife and avenge her. He offers you to help him, and you accept it on the condition that you protect from anymore attackers. You reach the Atlantic coast of Texas and sail away on a boat. "Rocking the Boat", based on Jaws, features original member Jeremy Schwartz, name-drops all of the band previous albums and The Burning EP, and has a killer metalcore breakdown. A murderous shark attacks the boat you're sailing on, but fortunately your assassin partner, who is a professional shark hunter, blows the shark up with an RPG. You both decide to return to the coast and travel to the Rocky Mountains where you find the remote Overlook Hotel. "Enjoy Your Slay", based on The Shining, was originally released a year before the rest of the album, featuring film director Stanley Kubrick's grandson Sam Kubrick. But then you both find out that one of the residents, Jack Torrance is trying to find his family to kill them and is killing other residents. Jack kills your assassin partner and chases you out of the hotel in an early December snowstorm. Fortunately, you have some snow clothes and put them on before heading out in the freezing cold, misleading Jack who didn't care about what he's wearing and ends up freezing solid. You climb down the Rocky Mountains and continue your journey.
You end up in a town of outcasts each waving high their "Freak Flag" which, based on the Rob Zombie-directed film The Devil's Rejects, is the simplest song here, but still a good Revolution anthem. The catchy powerful chorus empowers the audience to sing their lungs out. Love at first listen! The Devil's Rejects is more of a gothic horror film, causing this song to be a nice break from the slasher destruction. But then slaying the matriarchy is Edward Scissorhands (Tony Lovato of Mest) (the emotionally beautiful "The World in My Hands"). He decides to tag along to protect you. Then you both find out it's Christmas! "Merry Axe-Mas" is based on Silent Night, Deadly Night, and filled with jingling bells, hard fast music, growling vocals, and heavy guitar riffs, in contrast the upbeat melodic chorus, as Edward fights "Killer Santa" but ends up losing that fight. You run off before Killer Santa could have the chance to find you. You're stuck hiding in a dark alley alone until someone bites you, it's a werewolf girl (singer/actress Chelsea Talmadge)! "Love Bites" is the actual ballad of the album based on An American Werewolf In London, with a nice catchy chorus. Then the full moon appears and you turn into a werewolf, forming a werewolf duo, you and the wolverine girl. You are now ready for the final horror...
The final song is the chaotic crown of disturbing glory, "IT is the End", and I think you already know what it's based on. It has many elements but they're used much better and features a few final guest vocalists, Peter "JR" Wasilewski and Buddy Schaub of Less Than Jake and Will Salazar of Fenix TX. It is indeed the craziest and most horrific of the album, and I love it! You notice a boy named Georgie talking to a Pennywise the clown in the sewer drain. Pennywise bites Georgie's arm and drags him into the sewer, and you and the werewolf girl tag along with them. You find an underground sewer circus arena, where you are surrounded by all the villains from the scenario of this review and the previous one; the Animal Farm rebellion, Dracula, the cannibal zombies from the plane wreck, the angry mob of Romeo and Juliet's feuding families, the war soldiers, Carrie, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Leatherface, the Jigsaw Killer, Jack Torrance, Killer Santa, and Pennywise. Throughout the epic ska-metalcore chaos, you and the werewolf girl end in a brutal battle against all of those villains, and during the climatic post-chorus finale, the only villains that haven't been slain are Dracula, Carrie, Killer Santa, and Pennywise. Killer Santa stabs you and the werewolf girl each through the heart, reverting both of you back to normal. While the now normal girl bleeds to death, you're still alive but still bleeding. Pennywise bites your limbs off, Dracula drinks your running blood, and to finish you off, Carrie mentally stops your still beating heart. You lost your life and the villains prevail... Then you wake up in a movie theater. That two-review scenario was all just a nightmare, and you slept through a horror film. You start heading towards the theater exit, glad that the nightmare was over...OR WAS IT?!? (see front cover)
Well that was an epic scenario I've just made in this review and the previous one, but this album is epic as well! The Silver Scream has everything to define the sound of Ice Nine Kills, and it continues building up the elements from Every Trick in the Book into a monstrous feast. The Silver Scream is way more of a complete horror soundtrack than just an album. If you love Ice Nine Kills, heavy metal, and/or horror films, this album is definitely for you, though I'm not into the latter subject. Enjoy this slay!
Favorites: "Thank God It's Friday", "Stabbing in the Dark", "Rocking the Boat", "Freak Flag", "Merry Axe-Mas", "IT is the End"
