Halloween arrived early for the lucky crowd of the Riverside Municipal Auditorium on August 29. Only a couple of days after opening for Metallica at the SoFi stadium, we caught Ice Nine Kills. The Boston band encapsulates everything metal and horror movie fans love. And if you’re both, you’re in luck because it’s all there: the heavy guitars, the screams, the blood and the theatrics too.
The evening started early since 4 bands were listed on the bill. Mike’s Dead took charge of kicking the night off at 6:55pm. The trio put the energy level at 100% from the very first seconds of their set. Although a good portion of the audience wasn’t familiar with the band, the entire venue was headbanging throughout their entire set. Songs like “Sick” and “Scream & Shout” really caught the audience’s attention. The trio delivered a blend of trap and industrial metal which was well crafted. At the end of their last song, Mike asked “Who had never seen us live before?”. All hands raised. Then, he asked “Who will come back to see us?”. All hands raised, again. For sure they gained a few followers on that night.
After a short break, The Plot In You kept the party going. They opened with their newly released single “Forgotten” which set the tone for what was about to happen. The Plot’s singer Landon’s vocal abilities were pretty impressive. Throughout the same song he oscillates between melodic singing and screams that tear up the air. The instruments create a dark atmosphere that either make you want to crawl inside your own skin or jump the night away. The performance was nothing but intense. “Face Me” from the 2021 album Swan Song and “Not Just Breathing” from the 2018 album DISPOSE were to me the highlights of their set.
By the numerous Set It Off t-shirts that were displayed in the crowd, it was obvious that the next band was going to get a lot of love from the Riverside crowd. At 8:25pm, the Floridians took the stage and got instantly acclaimed. They opened with “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” and got their fans to bounce to the point that the entire venue was shaking. Set It Off produces high energy pop rock. They got really heavy, almost flirting with metal at times but also were very comfortable covering Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody”. The wide array their music covers is quite impressive and whether they play lighter or harder music, it seems to always sound like them and be genuine. Towards the end of their set Cody Carson (vocals) explained how producing their own music as independent artists got them to score their first #1 single in the charts. They closed their set with the recently released singles “Win Win” and “Punching Bag” before inviting their fans to meet them at the merch stands.After the lights turned back on, a red curtain was drawn to hide the stage preparations. Songs that played during the wait prior to the last band were taken from horror movies soundtracks like Nick Cave’s “Red Right Hand” which is featured in Scream (1996). Everything Ice Nine Kills does has some kind of reference to a horror movie or book. A lot of people in the crowd were wearing Ghostface masks or some other costume or were covered in fake blood. At 9:45pm the red curtains opened and INK took the stage. Spencer Charnas (vocals) and his band appeared with their classic tuxedo look and opened with “Hip To Be Scared” from 2021 Welcome To Horrorwood: The Silver Scream 2. The song is a take on American Psycho (2000) directed by Mary Harron. During the song, Spencer put on a raincoat and grabbed an axe like Patrick Bateman in the movie. Later, an extra walked on stage impersonating Paul Allen (played by Jared Leto on screen) and got decapitated while smoke machines created a haze on the stage. The band finished the song with Spencer walking around carrying a fake chopped off head. The fans were in trance and were ready for more. This is what an Ice Nine Kills show is about. Recreating iconic horror movie scenes in front of a headbanging crowd. Throughout the night INK kept those references coming one after the other. On “Rocking The Boat” a giant inflatable shark invaded the stage during the Steven Spielberg’s Jaws inspired song. The band formed twenty-three years ago and has been releasing albums since 2006. However, their style has been evolving throughout the years and they redefined their sound and identity in the last few years. This is why most of the setlist came from the most recent Welcome to Horrorwood: The Silver Scream 2 (2021) and Silver Scream (2018). My personal favorite “Stabbing In The Dark” referencing John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) was incredible to witness live. Whether you like the music or the atmosphere around it, do not fear to go see Ice Nine Kills in concert. Ice Nine will perform a few shows in the first half of September and will hit the road back all of November. With Halloween coming up soon, I cannot think of any better band to go see live.
ICE NINE KILLS
SET IT OFF
MIKE’S DEAD
THE PLOT IN YOU
Photos + Review by Manuel Gay | Exclusively for Music, Why Not!
