Ice Nine Kills – “Every Trick In The Book” [Album Review]

2014’s The Predator Becomes The Prey from Boston, Massachussets metalcore quartet Ice Nine Kills, was a solid offering which may not have set the world on fire, but saw the band rewarded with a proper deal via Fearless Records. The first fruits of said deal sees the band marry music and classic literature (Animal Farm, Romeo And Juliet and more) together for something which, let’s face it, could go either way.

“The Nature Of The Beast” kicks things off with the kind of mellow intro which takes you back to the days of My Chemical Romance before proceedings ramp up a notch or two and the band hurtle headlong into a blur of symphonic metalcore more in tune with what we’re used to from the Boston quartet. From there on really any notion of this being a piece of literary genius flies out of the window which is a pity really because, on paper, it probably looked like a good idea.

On record though, what you get is the catchy metalcore mixed with the dramatics of Avenged Sevenfold, the romance of Fearless Vampire Killers, and the hooks of Fallout Boy. Mixed together, the end result is another solid effort from the group with the likes of “Bloodbath & Beyond” and album closer “Hell In The Hallways” demonstrating hints of what they were trying to achieve; however, the end result suffers from being drowned in a barrage of shredding guitars and breakdowns.

I think the most disappointing thing about Every Trick In The Book is that everything is there for a really decent end product. “Star-Crossed Enemies” and “Me, Myself & Hyde” both stand out as the Boston outfit get the measure of romance and shred just right but, for the most part, Every Trick In The Book is a case of a band with massive ideas who haven’t quite managed to translate it to record.

Track Listing:

01. The Nature of the Beast
02. Communion of the Cursed
03. Bloodbath & Beyond
04. The Plot Sickens
05. Star-Crossed Enemies
06. Me, Myself & Hyde
07. Alice
08. The People in the Attic
09. Tess-Timony
10. Hell in the Hallways

Run Time: 37:37
Release Date: December 4, 2015

Check out the album ‘Every Trick In The Book’ here.