2020 has been a frankly bonkers year. Let’s be honest. But with everything that has happened, the disappearance of live music is one that certainly hit the hardest. In lieu of actual gigs we have seen a rise in special streaming events, whether that is band’s showing special presentations of older concert footage, or performing new sets and streaming them, there has certainly been some unique and fun content released in these trying times.
But what we haven’t seen yet, was a live stream with an integrated narrative story acting as a wraparound to the live show. Enter Ice Nine Kills. The Silver Stream features live footage from the I Heard They Kill!! Live set featured on their recent live album. It also crafts a narrative horror movie that runs through the live footage giving the fans a little extra treat over Halloween weekend.
Built largely around their latest album The Silver Scream, and it’s loving homages to the band’s favourite horror movies, there is something incredibly endearing about how this presentation is put together. Enlisting Horror Icon Bill Moseley (Devils Rejects, Texas Chainsae Massacre 2) to act as host sets the mood perfectly.
The story element revolves around the band doing a zoom call with Bill, as each of them gets bumped off one by one by a masked killer known as ‘Silence‘. It could have come off a little hokey and there are definitely cliched moments, but it’s something no one has done yet, and I definitely tip my hat to Ice Nine Kills for tying everything together. The kills are cool, bloody and well paced enough around the live footage to keep viewer interest piqued throughout.
The live footage however is the crown jewel and the main reason people tuned in. Filmed on November 30, 2019 at a hometown show at The Palladium in Worcester,Massachussets it perfectly captures Ice Nine Kills on the form of their lives.
Over the course of the 19 tracks, they run through a set made up of songs predominantly from Every Trick In The Book and The Silver Scream. The real thrill here is seeing the stage show itself, as good as the songs are, they really come to live with the added elements that make up their show. Spencer Charnas on the forms of killers like Michael Myers, Freddy Kreuger and Jason Voorhees, at various points in the show. There is a giant inflatable shark costume during Rocking The Boat. Regan and Carrie from The Exorcist and Carrie respectively both make appearances, and we also get a Casey Becker from Scream inspired killing during Your Number’s Up!
Theatricality is nothing new in music, but the way that Ice Nine Kills have catered their stage show around each individual song, so they all fit the mood/aestethic of the films and characters that inspired them, shows a new level of passion and dedication to what it is they are doing. Although the less said about the terrifying clown costume during It Is The End, the better.
Overall Ice Nine Kills created something unique, creative and fun. In a time when everyone is scrambling to present live streams to their fans, it is nice to see bands thinking outside the box and providing new ways to present their content.
The Silver Stream was a hugely enjoyable, lovingly put together homage to horror movies, but also a brilliant way to cap off this current era of Ice Nine Kills, while leaving fans with anticipation of what comes next.
