Top 5 Old Ice Nine Kills Songs for New Fans

In recent years, the New England metalcore band Ice Nine Kills has become one of the most exciting and innovative names in the scene, having cemented their niche with the release of their latest album, last October’s The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood. As the title suggests, the album is a sequel to their 2018 hit The Silver Scream, in which each song is based on a different horror film. This thematic approach to their songwriting began in 2015 with their fourth album, Every Trick in the Book, where every song is about (you guessed it) a different book. This has helped the band gain legions of new fans who appreciate the attention to detail that comes with the songwriting and lyricism that comes with these songs, whether it’s the recitation of lines from the movies or straight-up incorporating the films’ music scores in their own songs.

Don’t even get me started with their live shows either, because it’s unlike anything else. With each album cycle, the production and visual spectacle of their concerts have elevated along with their music, and they’ve done such an amazing job bringing the subjects of their songs to life. Now would be the best time to try seeing them, as the band is currently on the road in support of Welcome to Horrorwood, as one-third of the “Trinity of Terror” Tour, a triple-headliner with metalcore masters Motionless in White and hard rockers Black Veil Brides, with performances all over the US and Canada, concluding on April 27th in Norfolk, Virginia.

What fans may not know is that Ice Nine Kills isn’t exactly a new band. They’ve gone through several lineup changes and even a couple stylistic shifts over the years, but the overall core of their sound and songwriting has remained the same over their 20-year career. In hindsight, the shift to writing topical music was just a matter of time because the band has always had roots in the horror genre, and it’s not just because guitarist Dan Sugarman’s uncle is Stu Charno from the second Friday the 13th film. Look no further than lead vocalist Spencer Charnas’ apparel company Kleaver Klothing, or even the artwork from earlier releases (the cover of their debut EP, The Burning, looks just like the poster for the 2002 film Cabin Fever).

With the success of their previous three albums and their new path of writing thematic material, their early stuff may be overshadowed by new fans who might not even know what they’re missing. So with that in mind, here are my top 5 songs from their first three albums that shouldn’t go unheard.

For an even 9 though (get it? 9 songs, Ice NINE Kills? . . . Yeah, I’ll see myself out), before we get to the main list, here are some honorable mentions:

‘Buildings Burn, People Die,’ ‘So This is My Future,’ ‘What I Never Learned in Study Hall,’ and ‘What Lies Beneath’

5. ‘Last Words’ (Last Chance to Make Amends, 2006)

Here’s a fun fact: Spencer Charnas wasn’t always the lead vocalist of the band. Crazy, right? You’d think that someone who can sing AND scream as beautifully as he can would’ve always been the frontman, but that wasn’t the case here. While he was always the mastermind behind the band, he was the rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist in their early days, with the lead singer being Jeremy Schwartz. However, a couple songs would see him take the lead on their debut full-length, 2006’s Last Chance to Make Amends, with this being an example of that. Sonically, the song’s a little less Motionless in White and a little more Senses Fail, meaning it’s a little more poppy while still being heavy enough to appease any early 2000s metalcore fan. Fans of Good Charlotte might also notice that the ending sounds eerily similar to that of GC’s single, ‘Mountain.’

Production-wise, does it sound perfect? No, but what debut ever does? On one hand, the substandard quality of the audio is part of what gives the album its charm, but at the same time one can hope that INK eventually gives their debut album the same updated treatment that they gave their follow-up album, which we’ll talk about next.

4. Newton’s Third Law of Knives to the Back (Safe is Just a Shadow, 2007)

There are actually two versions of this song out there – the original 2007 recording featuring Schwartz on vocals, and a 2017 update with Charnas singing because the band re-recorded the album on its 10th anniversary (which can be heard above). While we can argue which vocalist does it better all day, the song is still the same and it sums up Ice Nine Kills in a little over three minutes. There’s the chaotic and fast-paced verses with alternating screams from both Charnas and guitarist Justin “JD” DeBlieck, then the transition to a calmly sung chorus. This juxtaposition is what makes Ice Nine Kills so unique from their musical colleagues, because they’re able to pull it off so seamlessly, with this song being a great early example of that. An underrated track and a personal favorite, this song deserves much more attention because it remarkably represents a great case of classic Ice Nine Kills.

3. The Greatest Story Ever Told (Safe is Just a Shadow, 2007)

Probably the most popular song from the band’s early years, this song is a perfect indicator of what the band would become. They showed they could lyrically tell a first-person narrative while also flexing their musicianship by taking several twists and turns through the course of four minutes. The song is about a man trying to avenge the death of his love after finding her corpse, and the music helps show the narrator’s spiral into insanity in a way that also manages to be super catchy.

I guarantee that after hearing this, you’ll find yourself humming the chorus in no time. Both Charnas and DeBlieck showcase their broad vocal ranges with their screams and their clean singing here. You get to hear how high and low their voices are able to go throughout the course of the song, which is especially nice with their screams because it’s so much better than other bands that just stick to one tone and stick with it for the entire song. Their voices truly go all over the place, proving that they’re not one-trick ponies with their skills and technique.

2. The Coffin is Moving (The Predator EP, 2013)

Eventually making it to the band’s third full-length album The Predator Becomes the Prey in 2014, this single moves into more horror-centric lyrical territory that current fans may find familiar, comparing the youth of today with zombies in a slightly different way than the comparison traditionally suggests. Instead of slow and listless entities that older generations would probably like to describe younger people as, Ice Nine Kills flips the zombie notion around by saying adolescents and young adults are tenacious and reckless because the preceding generations made them this way. With lyrics such as “we are the walking dead, a generation of negligence brought down upon our heads/a dedication to arrogance with dreams we never had,” and “we’ve fallen prey to our parent’s fears/we see their faces when we look into broken mirrors,” the band suggests that the rebellion of today’s youth is a result of the people who came before them.

While the song is pretty heavy musically, the band still finds a way to make it feel fun and energetic. One minute you’re listening to a metal breakdown, the next it sounds like a pop-punk song. The verses are mid-tempo yet lively, and the chorus is just as infectious as the song’s subject matter.

1. The Fastest Way to a Girl’s Heart is Through Her Ribcage (The Predator Becomes the Prey, 2014)

This song perfectly encapsulates everything that’s great about Ice Nine Kills, from the catchy choruses to the brutal screams and angelic singing to the fun, tongue-in-cheek lyrics and expansive musicality. The entire song feels like a party and while the lyrics can be a bit morbid (the title of the song basically says it all), you can tell the band is having a good time and not taking themselves too seriously, though their musical talent may suggest otherwise. Just take a look at the song’s music video and you’ll know what I’m talking about; how could you not have a blast on that set?

In this song, you get to hear the best of the band’s poppy-sounding side while also getting a nice amount of their usual heaviness. The flawless transitions between the two sounds are on point here and the band makes it seem so easy, as if they’re not even trying. If there is one single old-school Ice Nine Kills song to introduce to a new fan, or maybe even someone who’s never heard of the band, this is it. Thank me later!

If you like what you heard from this list, you can check out even more of the band's music wherever you listen (Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music, YouTube, physical copies, etc.). You can also buy their merch and keep up with their tour dates by visiting their website here.

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