Ice 9 Kills is a melodic metalcore band from Boston, Massachusetts comprised of bassist Justin Morrow, drummer Patrick Galante, lead guitarist/co-frontman Justin DeBlieck & frontman Spencer Charnas. Their 2006 debut Last Chance to Make Amends followed by the 2010 sophomore effort Safe’s Just a Shadow as well as The Predator Becomes the Prey & Every Trick in the Book were all received moderately, so their 5th studio LP marking the beginning of a brand new trilogy being their most praised was enough for me to give it a proper chance.
“The American Nightmare” combines melodic metalcore, alternative metal & symphonic metal & horror punk for a 2nd single inspired by A Nightmare on Elm Street whereas the 3rd single “Thank God It’s Friday” swaps out the horror punk influences in favor of melodic death metal shows some love to the Friday the 13th franchise. “Stabbing in the Dark” continues from there singing about Michael Myers from the Halloweenseries just before “Savages” honors the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Meanwhile on “The Jig’s Up”, we have Spencer & Justin referencing the Saw movies exemplified by them sampling “Hello Zepp + Overture” by Charlie Clouser leading into symphonic alt-metal 4th & final single “A Grave Mistake” thematically bases itself around The Crow. “Rocking the Boat” reunites with Jeremy Schwartz calling back to the band’s earlier output & homaging Jaws while the lead single “Enjoy Your Slay” featuring Stanley Kubrick’s grandson Sam unites for a melodic hardcore tribute to The Shining.
“Freak Flag” shows some love to Rob Zombie’s greatest film The Devil’s Rejects while “The World in My Hands” sings about the Tim Burton classic Edward Scissorhands. “Merry Axe-Mas” goes full deathcore for an ode to Silent Night, Deadly Night& after “Love Bites” featuring Chelsea Talmadge teams up for a duet themed around American Werewolf in London, “IT is the End” concludes The Silver Scream basing itself around the Steven King novel It following the theatrical adaption a year prior excluding the “Your Number’s Up” bonus track singing about the Scream tetralogy.
Contrasting the band’s previous full-length Every Trick in the Book building a concept around Ice 9 Kills’ favorite novels, they do the exact same thing for this inaugural installment of The Silver Scream trilogy except they’re theming it around some of the most notable horror films in cinema. It feels like they’re finally coming to their own from the melodic metalcore & symphonic alt-metal production contrasting the ska punk sound of their very early days & the dedications to all these franchise come together to tell a cohesive story.
Score: 3.5/5
