American metalcore legends, Ice Nine Kills, the Boston based band, formed in 2002, and featuring Spencer Charnas (vocals), Dan Sugarman (guitar/ screams), Patrick Galante (drums) Joe Occhiuti (bass) and Ricky Armellino (guitar), have just released an expanded edition of their epic 2018 concept album, The Silver Scream – making right now the perfect time to have another listen, and see how well the album holds up, twelve months after its initial release.

The band released their 5th Full length studio album entitled ” The Silver Scream” in 2018, and if the album title wasn’t a dead giveaway, I knew I was in for a kickass concept album the first time I was going to listen to it.

Horror fans, metal fans, let’s get into it!

Track 1: ‘ The American Nightmare’ 

Right away I was thinking “hmm since this album is based around horror, I wonder what films we will be hearing about”…

When this song starts, it kicks in with a static noise and a voice over the top talking about the importance of sleep.  With the tom drums, rung out guitars and the lead singer, Spencer kicking this track off with a vicious scream of ”welcome to your worst nightmare”!  The first verse is fast, brutal & straight up heavy – leading into the first chorus was a clean pre chorus.  The chorus to this song is bouncy, poppy and just so damn catchy.  It clicked to me halfway through this song that the movie they were writing about was Nightmare on Elm Street when they pulled out the 1,2 dreams do come true, 3,4 see you at the morgue, 5,6 he’ll get his fix, 7 & 8 now shake the twisted hand of fate.

This was a perfect song to start off this album, now let’s continue slashing our way through the silver scream. 

Track 2: ‘ Thank God it’s Friday ‘ 

Welcome to camp crystal lake.  With an acoustic campfire sing along intro, the mood is already set for what’s to come.  The heaviness shortly kicks in with the first verse being even heavier than what The American Nightmare’s verse was.  The chorus is the same lyric as the intro with heavier instrumentals, and that is one of the two main stands out points in this song.  The second being the consistent use of a woman’s voice who is acting as Jason’s mother.  With a heavy breakdown, a catchy chorus and the extra theatrics added to the track this album is living up to the hype it has received, and rightfully so.

Track 3: ‘ Stabbing in the Dark’

This song starts with a ticking clock, some piano and Spencers signature clean vocals.  Fear not, as once again this song gets ridiculously heavy at the 56 second mark.  This was always one of my favourites off this album and getting to review it was a pleasure to say the least.  Everything on this song from the intro to the heavy instrumentals to the lyrical content to the voice over before the breakdown – of a police officer offer warning his squad about Michael Myers.

This song is a crowd favourite.

Track 4: ‘ Savages’

Savages is the first rockier song off The silver Scream so far, but don’t let that discourage you.  This song is catchy, fast, and its full of great lyrical content.

Being based around the Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, I might be a bit biased…

The song starts off with the chorus being sung with drums accompanying the cleans ”we are the savages eating you alive, the original villains in the night, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, we are the savages, we are the savages.”

The three main points that stand out on this track in particular were the guitar solo, the extremely catchy chorus and Spencers powerful clean vocals.

Track 5: ‘The Jig is Up’

When I saw (see what I did there?) that this song was on the album, I flipped my shit.

Saw is my all-time favourite horror franchise, and I automatically assumed it had to do with the those films.  Within the first 5 seconds, I find out that that is true as it starts off with a tape being rewound in a VCR player, and the first words to this song were ”no one’s above the saw, live or die, now the choice is yours”.

I was hooked straight away.

This song is fast, its heavy, it has a catchy chorus and a breakdown that incorporates the famous saw theme as a backing track throughout the breakdown.

Track 6: A Grave Mistake

This one starts off with piano and clean singing.  I myself had never watched The Crow or heard the story behind what happened, before hearing this song.  While this is another softer one off this record, it is a hard rock song filled with a catchy chorus, a guitar solo, fantastic lyrics and so much more…

Track 7: Rocking the Boat

Does anyone feel like going for a trip around Amity Island?

This song is showing off yet again, another different side to this band’s talent with softer verses, a heavier chorus, a bridge that has the radio call, the pre breakdown line ” so smile you son of a bitch” and during the breakdown they have incorporated shark music with the siren.  This track is personally one of my favourites from this album.

Track 8: Enjoy Your Slay featuring Sam Kubrick

What a classic film to write about.

This song starts off fast and heavy before switching to a completely clean first verse before hitting yet another extremely catchy chorus.  Lyrically this song is my favourite off the album.  The first pre breakdown line is ”oh I’m not going to hurt you, I’m just gonna bash your fucking brains in”.  With this 4 minute 15 second long track, it is a rollercoaster of tempo changes, head banging moments and a sing along chorus.

Track 9: Freak Flag

Would this album even be what it is without writing about a rob zombie film?

Going back into the hard rock side of things, this song is filled with Spencers signature clean vocals, plus a catchy chorus and bouncy instrumentals.  By no means is this a soft song, and it earns its place on this album.

Track 10: The World in My Hands featuring Tony Lovato of Mest)

Not really being a fan of the movie that this song is written about, I was sceptical, however, this song earns its place on the album with its heavier instrumentals, Spencer’s clean vocals and sing-along chorus.

Despite being my least favourite song on the album, it is by no means a bad song.

Track 11: Merry Axe-Mas

Heavy fans rejoice.

This song is the heaviest on The Silver Scream by a longshot.  Written about yet another film I had never heard of until this album (Silent Night, Deadly Night).

With its fast and brutal first verse it leads into a clean chorus and goes right back into a heavy second verse.  A backing track of a Christmas themed song leads into a heavy breakdown with a guitar solo over the top, which then leads into a second breakdown which is twice as heavy, and Spencer goes batshit with his lows.

Definitely a favourite off this album.

Track 12: Love Bites featuring Chelsea Talmage

I had no idea what to expect from this song really, as I had no idea what movie it was written about originally.  As it turns out it was written about An American Werewolf in London.  This song is easily the softest track off this record, but it belongs on this album – believe me.  ‘Love Bites’ is full of great lyrical content, Spencers clean vocals,  and a guest vocal from Chelsea Talmadge – she really brings this song to life.

Track 13: IT is the End featuring Wasilewski and Buddy Schaub of Less Than Jake and Will Salazar of Fenix TX

As if the title wasn’t already a dead give away, this song starts off with some rain and circus music – before Spencer comes in with ”allow me to introduce myself they call me the dancing clown, and you must be Georgie”.  They have a young boy’s voice who is speaking as Georgie, so the intro alone got me hooked onto this song.

This song is fast and heavy, filled with great lyrical content, clown horns, trumpets a stupidly catchy chorus and the final lines to this incredible song and album are

” IT is the end, believe IT or not, you’ll all disappear, IT cannot be fought, we all float down here”

This has got to be one of my favourite albums of all time, in any genre.

The Silver Scream: Final Cut is out now, and includes four acoustic tracks, a new song about the movie, Scream and a cover of Michael Jackson’s Thriller – available on Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming services.

9.5/10

Written and reviewed by Q.H

We all float down here…