Live Review: Ice Nine Kills – Wurst Vacation Tour – O2 Forum Kentish Town, London

Do you like scary concerts? Horror’s children of deception Ice Nine Kills finally arrived back in the UK and kicked off their stay with not one but TWO sold-out shows at London’s Kentish Town Forum. To complete the cast for the evening’s entertainment were Defying Decay, Lansdowne and SKYND. Sit back, try to relax and read about what unfolded when Ice Nine Kills brought their horror movie to life!

Fresh out of Thailand, Defying Decay returned to the UK to bring a highly infectious set to the London Psychos! The animated band quickly won over the crowd with their energetic blend of metalcore and even had a few crowd surfers despite hitting the stage just 15 minutes after doors! Extremely excited, the band went from strength to strength as they performed excellently throughout their short yet impactful set! It’s not often you get a good-sized pit this soon after doors but Defying Decay know how to put on a party!

Defying Decay

Following that was always going to be a hard thing to do but Lansdowne accepted the challenge and also managed to get the crowd pumped up. Despite not receiving as much of an enthusiastic reaction as a whole, the band sounded pretty good. They seemed a little less energetic on the stage and it came across as if they just didn’t quite have as much natural charisma compared to Defying Decay which in turn, led to a bit of an anticlimactic set in all honesty.

If you wanted to start feeling a little unnerved, SKYND where the perfect fit for you! A mysterious yet intriguing stage presence turned the forum into the crypt of mass murderers and sinners as SKYND unleashed the depraved and demonic thoughts of some of the world’s most notorious killers in the form of expertly crafted music. A mix of extremely heavy and surprisingly melodic music echoed around the sold-out venue, Enticing each and every soul to explore the dark side of life for a while. This performance was truly mesmerising and I cannot recommend seeing this for yourself if you ever get the chance!

SKYND

The lights went out, and the real-life horror movie commenced. Opening with one of their most chaotic songs in ‘Funeral Derangments’, Ice Nine Kills made it clear they were not here to mess around! Shovel in hand, Spencer quickly proved just how easy it was to capture the full attention of everyone in attendance. A giant pit broke out and the energy within the room would only amplify as the band bombarded their psycho’s with ‘Wurst Vacation’, ‘Hip To Be Scared’, and the groovy as hell ‘Ex-Mortis’.

A fan favourite moment of the night came from ‘IT Is The End’ the theatrics were spot on for the intro of this song. Unleashing the only track of Every Trick In The Book ‘Communion Of The Cursed’ unleashed a brutal wall of death upon the forum. While ‘The American Nightmare’ ensured the entire crowd was wide awake and ready for the rest of the experience. Psycho’s rejoiced as they realised they couldn’t escape ‘The Shower Scene’ before they embraced their inner demonic child for ‘Assault and Batteries’. A rare yet touching break from the full-throttle mayhem came in when ‘A Grave Mistake’ enticed the London psychos to unleash their best singing voices before Ice Nine Kills united the crowd with the anthemic track ‘SAVAGES’.

One of my personal favourite moments from the evening came in the form of the beautifully performed ‘Farewell II Flesh’ as this track perfectly captures the band’s aggression and soft nature all in one mesmerising song. You had to make sure you were still able to walk at a slightly above-average pace otherwise, you would not escape the ‘Stabbing In The Dark’! The lights faded out once more before the sound of ‘Opening Night…’ disrupted the silence to introduce the final chapter of the evening, ‘Welcome To Horrorwood’. Chaotic as ever, Spencer would propel himself into the crowd and surf his sea of Psychos while the Silence watched on from the stage.

I don’t say this lightly but Ice Nine Kills are one of the most entertaining live acts in metal right now! They deliver a show quite unlike anything in the scene with costume changes and theatrics that do not hinder their ability to perform in the slightest. Their sound was sensational and their energy was just unrivalled. To round out the night, SKYND were absolutely terrific and has the potential of being just as impressive as Ice Nine Kills in the future!