ALBUM REVIEW: Ice Nine Kills – The Silver Scream 2: Welcome To Horrorwood
Photo Credit: Cory Osbourne
Ice Nine Kills have a great gift for making metalcore into a piece of theatre, but it’s not for the faint-hearted. The Silver Scream 2: Welcome To Horrorwood pays tribute to 13 of the most gruesome stories to have been shown on the big screen. Visiting horror cinema classics in the form of Hostel, American Psycho, Cabin Fever, My Bloody Valentine and more may leave you asking “What’s your favourite scary movie?”
Opening Night… is a spoken introduction explaining what we are about to hear – these records were previously suppressed and now brought to light. The first real track, Welcome To Horrorwood, brings listeners straight into the world of horror they have created. Asking the rather ominous question “Are you more bad than good?” this song makes great use of gang vocals and contains a gripping guitar solo. Setting the scene for the rest of the album and the bar rather high.
Jumping straight into the second track, A Rash Decision thrusts one of the catchiest choruses on the album – like a knife to the brain. Assault & Batteries could be described as one of the more surreal tracks on the album. Based on the Childs Play franchise, this song mixes a well-known toy shop jingle and chilling children’s voices to great effect. As if all that wasn’t enough, there is also a brilliant breakdown to behold.
No homage to horror would be complete without The Shower Scene, a classic if ever there was. It all gets very stabby in this Psycho inspired slower track. The next few songs run seamlessly into each other, as Ice Nine Kills make knocking out superb track after track sound effortless.
Funeral Derangements is a Pet Semetary inspired track. One of the heaviest on the album, its addictive chorus and visceral verses makes for a crushing song. Rainy Day is Resident Evil inspired and Hip To Be Scared features Papa Roach’s Jacoby Shaddix – the album’s American Psycho inspired lead single, which reached one million plays on Spotify in its first week of release.
Then it happens. Just when fans may think the album could not get any better it takes a swipe at that notion with Take Your Pick, a track featuring none other than Cannibal Corpse‘s George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher, bringing an even heavier sound with him and creating a brutally screamed chorus. The next few songs bring with them even more guests, in the form of Brandon Saller and Ryan Kirby on The Box and Buddy Nielsen on F.L.Y. Although the features on these tracks are pleasing, they pale a little in comparison to Corpsegrinder.
The final few tracks are a great example of holding back your best tracks, to make the biggest impact and leave listeners with something to remember you by. Wurst Vacation, based on the Hostel films, is a real gem and Ex-Mørtis is a slightly different offering. A heavy one people can dance to, based on the Evil Dead franchise, it’s a very unforgettable track.
In a final flourish, Farewell II Flesh takes an amazing chorus and elevates it above all else heard so far as the best moment on the album. Spencer Charnas‘ voice is on top form, perhaps the great concepts behind each track and the prospect of producing an amazing album has boosted his confidence.
Charnas really shakes it up on this album, pushing himself like never before. In fact, the whole band appear to have. The contrast of the melodic and the heavier parts of each song work well on this beautifully produced album. One that took the concept of The Silver Scream and built on it, to unveil their best set of songs to date. The Silver Scream 2: Welcome To Horrorwood is the soundtrack to every good Halloween party and perfect for lovers of the spooky season.
9/10
Standout Tracks: Farewell II Flesh, Hip To Be Scared, The Box
For Fans Of: I Prevail, Beartooth, Motionless In White
Written by: Cat Wiltshire
