Ice Nine Kills

Welcome To Horrorwood

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ft. Brandon Saller, Corpsegrinder, Ryan Kirby, Jacoby Shaddix, Buddy Nielsen.
Genre: Metalcore.
Released: 15/10/2021
Via Fearless Records

Album Review: Ice Nine Kills – Welcome To Horrorwood

Ice Nine Kills took the metalcore world by storm with the release of ‘The Silver Scream’ back in 2018, and their highly anticipated follow up is finally here. ‘Welcome To Horrorwood’ is the direct sequel to the previous album and promises to continue down the path of turning horror movies into some badass tracks. I can’t deny that I have been waiting for this album for some time now so without any further delay, here is my review of Ice Nine Kills ‘Welcome to Horrorwood’.

‘Opening Night’ introduces the album as evidence against Spencer Charnas to the murder of his fiance which is the story Ice Nine Kills have been pushing in relation to their horror-filled album. The track to open the album is ‘Welcome To Horrorwood’. A soft opening seems odd, however the sudden explosion of energy and aggression makes it work beautifully. The song gives off a heavy yet operatic feel and sets the level of expectation exceptionally high right from the off. Following that is ‘A Rash Decision’, this track just screams Metalcore with its use of melodic verse and abrupt passages full of screams and heavy riffs – not to mention just how nicely the song flows despite a lot of contrasting styles being stuffed into it.

Demonic dolls that come to life may have made for a good film but they make for a great song! ‘Assult & Batteries’ has one of the most infectious choruses Ice Nine Kills have written to date. Match that with the catchy instrumental and use of child-like vocals, this song is truly something special. Now it’s time for a song based on one of the most famous scenes in film history, ‘The Shower Scene’. This track will absolutely rock live as the fans bellow the chorus back at the band, not to mention just how hard the breakdown will hit. A murderous song based on a murder scene!

‘Funeral Derangments’ is up next and I couldn’t help but replay this song after my first listen. This song just comes across as larger than life and the way it’s executed is truly something to behold. Ice Nine Kills are great at giving a song some oomph and this is a shining example of just how much their unique blends of styles allows them to stand out from the pack. Following that is ‘Rainy Day’. This song comes across as the resident radio track of the album. The instrumental is very easy to listen to and the song boasts a catchy chorus that is designed to get stuck in the deepest crevices of your brain for weeks. It’s a catchy single that gets its job done well.

The first single to be unleashed upon the Psycho’s is up next and ‘Hip To Be Scared’ certainly doesn’t disappoint. The sudden changes from slow and methodical to quick and enraged fit the song perfectly. Based on American Psycho, the band go as far as to recreate a scene from the movie by sampling ‘Hip To Be Square’ which is used in the movie. It’s a really unique and inventive song that I highly recommend to anyone who has dabbled in a bit of metalcore.

Here’s one for the fans of the heavier stuff! ‘Take Your Pick’ maybe Ice Nine Kills heaviest release to date and that isn’t surprising considering it features Cannibal Corpses frontman ‘Corpsegrinder’. The song is full of energy and the drumming on this track really shines through the carnage. Not to mention just how ridiculous the breakdown is. This is a must listen to track! ‘The Box’ follows and the inclusion of Atreyu’s Brandon Saller and Ryan Kirby of Fit For A King gives the vocals some really interesting levels throughout this song. Once again, coming across as a more operatic track, this song will absolutely be a sing-along anthem for the band’s upcoming tours.

Returning to the bands more emo roots, ‘F.L.Y’ is a surprising entry but a welcome one. This song really gives me ‘The Predator Becomes The Prey’ era vibes and I’m sure some more diehard fans of the band will be happy to hear that. A bigger focus on clean vocals accompanied by a simple yet effective instrumental has once again managed to produce a really good song. The older era style is short-lived however as ‘Wurst Vacation’ launches a surprise attack of melody and heaviness. Going for a more industrial metal sound, you wouldn’t be far off thinking that this could be a Rammstein track at times. Nevertheless, this song is a great entry and once again, I highly recommend giving this one a spin.

As we approach the end of the album, ‘Ex-Mørtis’ comes in with its groovy beats and catchy lyrics. The song feels like it’s just screaming for a crowd to sing as it is almost like a chant esc style of singing. If I heard this song in a musical, it really wouldn’t sound out of place. Just like that, we are at the final song. ‘Farewell II Flesh’ is a harrowing and atmospheric track that starts slow and haunting before it suddenly unleashes its true intentions. It’s almost ironic that the band similarly ended the album to how they started it but hey if it works it works!

Overall, it has to be said that this album is some of Ice Nine Kills finest work. I cannot find anything wrong with this record and that is hard to come by nowadays. The use of many different styles gives the album a lot of diversity and these tracks will appeal to a large number of metal fans out there. If you have never checked these guys out before then I reckon this album isn’t a bad entry point.