First up, the American rockers of Lansdowne! While being maybe a bit of a weird addition to this line-up, they proved to be really nice warming up for the night! What we got was catchy, radio friendly rock hits, one after the other. The beefcake of a singer has some really impressive pipes on him, the guitarists jumped around like there was no tomorrow, and the drummer is probably one of the most engaging and energetic guys I’ve seen of late behind a drum kit. Despite seemingly having some technical issues, they were really a fun watch and a great start to the night. Hits like ‘Watch Me Burn’ have hooks like crazy, so much so that it was almost impossible to not bop your head to the music or start singing along.

I honestly couldn’t think of a better fit as special guest for an Ice Nine Kills tour than SKYND. Their true crime and serial killer inspired songs are simply a match made in heaven with the horror movie theme that INK has going for them! And yes, their music is quite a bit different from what INK brings, but not a soul in the already really full venue gave a damn about that. The gritty industrial music with enormously catchy melodies and lyrics were a pure delight, and SKYND is something you need to experience live. The theatricality of how SKYND brings the dialogues within each song alive is quite the sight to behold, and I have the feeling that they’re going to reap a lot of new souls for their army of dedicated fans. And while I somewhat missed the extra atmosphere they were able to create last time they were at the same venue as headliner, they left yet again a lasting impression. I can hardly wait to see them again some time in the hopefully nearby future.

From their music videos, I knew to expect some theatricality from an Ice Nine Kills show, but I was totally not prepared! As soon as they kicked off with ‘Funeral Derangements‘, there was constantly stuff happening on stage that went beyond the overall big energy that the band brought. You could somewhat compare it to a Lordi show with a bunch of gimmicks, costume changes and stage props, but at a much, much higher pace. Just during the first couple of tracks we already saw people “killed” on stage several times where vocalist Spencer at first showed up with a shovel to get rid of the body on stage during ‘Funeral Derangements‘, then a couple of masked up butchers showing up with axes and knives during ‘Wurst Vacation‘ during which Spencer cut off the arms of some poor fellow on stage, and during ‘Hip To Be Scared‘ he chopped off the head of a drunk party goer with an ask while dressed to a tee in smoking and sunglasses. And it didn’t stop there. As good as every song had someone, or something, showing up that told the story of the song they were playing, and more often than not the band underwent some costume changes without taking the pace out of the show at any time. And that uptempo, fast pace was also very present in the completely crammed venue with a pulsating mass of people and moshpits from start to finish. Ice Nine Kills is really something to behold, and whenever you have the chance, do yourself a favor and go! Hopefully they get to visit Europe a bit more often, because I wouldn’t mind getting another shot of this murderous bunch.