LIVE REVIEW: Ice Nine Kills @ O2 Forum Kentish Town, London

After a short delay, ICE NINE KILLS opened their Wurst Vacation Tour with two sold-out shows at the O2 Forum Kentish Town in the UK’s capital. Having originally been penned for March this year, they were postponed to line up with their Download Festival appearance and they were certainly worth the wait. Whilst most shows have one or maybe two supports, ICE NINE KILLS brought three supports on this run, leading up to a jam-packed night from start to finish showcasing a variety of bands.

Opening up the night was DEFYING DECAY, a seven-piece alternative metal band from Bangkok, Thailand. With the way the stage was set up (with all drumkits on at the start to minimise set up time) this seven-piece group didn’t have much room to move around onstage, but they did their best. Lead singer, Jay Poom Euarchukiati and bassist Pleng Itthiphol Thongboonma were the two who were constantly running around and interacting with the audience as much as they could to hype up the crowd. Within the seven members were two instrumentalists playing both keyboards, sound boards and other miscellaneous tech (think ENTER SHIKARI and NOTHING MORE). The variety of instruments created a multifaceted unique sound that made up for the minimal movement. Considering doors were at 7pm and DEFYING DECAY started just ten minutes later, they were playing to a rather empty venue as patrons still filed in, but they still brought the energy and gave strong CROSSFAITH vibes with both their music, styling and overall aura. Whilst most audience members didn’t know their music, tracks Headrush and 21 Stitches were firm favourites amongst the new fans they were accumulating. Their set finished with Thongboonma hurtling into the moshpit whilst still playing his bass, multitasking at its finest!

Rating: 7/10

Next came LANSDOWNE, a rock band hailing from Boston, Massachusetts. Following such a large energetic band, this five-piece group were in a tough spot. Whilst DEFYING DECAY had the growing crowd clapping and cheering, LANSDOWNE, unfortunately, had a crowd that looked tired and uninterested. Some bands can walk onstage, perform their set with no talking between songs, then leave the stage, and still have a crowd living their best life – but LANSDOWNE are not that band. Vocalist Jon Ricci looked like he was having the time of his life up there performing with his friends and bandmates, and didn’t let the unenthusiastic crowd phase them. The music itself wasn’t insulting to the ears, but it didn’t demand attention. They performed the likes of One Shot and Medicine with all the enthusiasm they could muster, but when a performance is more aligned to what can only be described as ‘dad rock’, there’s only so much you can do. Their performance fell flat and they just didn’t fit in this horror-drenched lineup.

Rating: 5/10

The last of the supports comes in the form SKYND, an outfit that are divisive to say the least. First impressions are of awe, with a strong look firmly rooted in the two artists gracing the stage. Opening track Richard Ramirez comes with a radio announcement of a woman killing her partner, before the duo launch into a strange electronic song packed with various levels of vocal distortion. It’s unclear which section of the vocals is SKYND‘s real voice. The themes of true crime is closely linked to ICE NINE KILLS and their horror-centric fan base. However, these songs were about real events rather than that of horror movies, with addresses of crimes being used for hooks and macabre chants. Although some people in the audience were visibly uncomfortable as frontwoman SKYND detailed brutal murders whilst dancing onstage, those familiar with SKYND will know that the shock factor is their MO and it is this raw and uncomfortable subject matter which helps keeps them memorable. Putting the content of the tracks aside, the music on show was genuinely really engaging. Crowd interaction was minimal, but it wasn’t really needed with such strong music. Surprisingly for a two-piece, vocalist SKYND and multi-instrumentalist Father, have a sound with such a rich nuanced depth and it’s hard to believe it is coming from only two people. Divisive they may be, but SKYND offered a unique and captivating show.

Rating: 6/10

Even after three support acts, the second ICE NINE KILLS stepped onto the stage, the packed crowd regained their energy as The Forum was engulfed in deafening cheers and singing. The mammoth 14 track setlist was banger after banger, with the crowd getting more and more excited every time the opening chords or beats were hit. One thing ICE NINE KILLS do incredibly well is theatrics. Every single song is based off a horror movie or game, whilst some form a storyline, others are one-offs, and each track has it’s own unique prop or costume. Tracks like Assault & Batteries (Chucky) and IT Is The End (IT) only feature frontman Spencer Charnas in costume, other tracks such as Funeral Derangements and Hip To Be Scared have the entire band involved. From daggers to axes and chainsaws to hooks they have it all. The fact we hear audience members commenting about “never being so happy to have a knife pointed at them” by frontman Spencer, just shows the charm and charisma he possesses as he has the audience eating out of the palm of his hand from start to finish.

Occasionally the band look to extra actors, who are brought onstage which the crowd ate up with glee. The Shower Scene and IT Is The End both feature the band’s crew member Shevvy ‘murdered’ onstage in various ways, acting out famous movie scenes whilst the band still perform the tunes with full throttle. Any fears that they hide any technical slip-ups behind theatrics were diminished. Their talent and dedication to their craft is unmatched. ICE NINE KILLS are arguably one of the most immersive bands in the current scene, they give 110% into everything and it shows. Yet, they still manage to be completely digestible to people who may never have seen them or heard of them before, it’s not this big complex theory behind them.

Ending the set with Welcome to Horrorwood was euphoric perfection, with the whole band going out all guns blazing, with Spencer climbing into of the crowd for a verse – it was chaos in the best way. ICE NINE KILLS really hit their stride when The Silver Scream released back in 2018, and since then, they have only been on the ascendancy with no signs of slowing down. If you can get to a show in the future, it’s a must see.

Rating: 10/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in London from Ciara Wilkinson Media here:

Like ICE NINE KILLS on Facebook.