Well Psychos, the follow up to The Silver Scream, Welcome to Horrorwood, was finally released on 10/15/2021! Ice Nine Kills have been dominating the music world and this album is only elevating them even further.
From the release of the first single “Hip To Be Scared” fans have been clamoring to get their hands on this album. Now that it is out I can tell you it is absolutely fucking fantastic. They take everything that we loved about The Silver Scream and turn it up another level. Ice Nine Kills really explores so many different styles of rock and metal through this album to really make each song a unique experience.
Take the first song we talked about there, “Hip To be Scared”, which takes you from being heavy and brutal to a poppy melody of “Hip To Be Square” from Huey Lewis and the News. Plus the song features legendary Papa Roach vocalist Jacoby Shaddix on it. This song alone is such a contrast from another single that was released, “Rainy Day”.
“Rainy Day” is a badass hard rock song at heart. This feels like a pretty radio friendly single that people will be singing a long to for a long time. While the song loses some of the heavier elements of other songs it feels right at home on the album, and showcases another side of the band. And this song is much different than the song, “Take Your Pick”.
“Take Your Pick” features Cannibal Corpse’s Corpsegrinder and it is fucking brutal! This is definitely the heaviest song on the album and it tears into you. As heavy as the song is it still fits in perfectly with the rest of the songs on the album. This just shows how much time and effort Ice Nine Kills put into this album.
The overall album runs so smoothly from start to finish, and will definitely be in the discussion for album of the year. I wanted to focus on the diversity of the album for this review, because I feel it is such a powerful part of Welcome To Horrorwood. We had pre-ordered the deluxe vinyl which came with orchestral versions of some of the songs. So just a side note the orchestral version of “Assault & Batteries” sounds like a Christmas song to me, which is so far from the song. If you get a chance to check it out, let me know!
If you enjoy Ice Nine Kills, metal, rock in general, theatrics, and/or horror movies then this album is for you. I highly recommend picking up the album and giving it a shot! Go check out this album on Spotify, iTunes, or Fearless Records store! Check out our favorite songs and full tracklist below!
Favorite Tracks (this could likely change to as I get more listens in):
- Ex Mortis
- Hip To Be Scared
- F.L.Y
- Farewell II Flesh
- Assault & Batteries
Tracklist (and what I believe the horror movie inspiration is):
- Opening Night
- Welcome to Horrorwood
- A Rash Decision (Cabin Fever)
- Assault & Batteries (Child’s Play)
- The Shower Scene (Psycho)
- Funeral Derangements (Pet Sematary)
- Rainy Day (Resident Evil)
- Hip To Be Scared (Ft. Jacoby Shaddix) (American Psycho)
- Take Your Pick (Ft. Corpsegrinder) (My Bloody Valentine)
- The Box (Ft. Ryan Kirby and Brandon Saller) (Hellraiser)
- F.L.Y (Ft. Buddy Nielsen) (The Fly)
- Wurst Vacation (Hostel)
- Ex Mortis (Evil Dead)
- Farewell II Flesh (Candyman)
