On a gloomy, overcast Saturday night in September, Ice Nine Kills (INK) took over the Lynn Memorial Auditorium for their Silver Scream Con concert. Last year, lead singer Spencer Charnas created his own horror convention to bring the fans of INK, playfully referred to as "Psychos," together with fans of the horror genre. Since the band is most known for it's horror movie-based songs, this is a natural fit for the band and fans.
Hundreds of fans were lined up for hours, even braving a rainstorm, to get a spot. Around 40 lucky fans were randomly selected to view the show from the tiny pit area at the venue. While there were no bad seats in the house, many fans were envious of those chosen! In addition to convention attendees, several celebrities attended as well, including Skeet Ulrich, Jenna Kanell (from Terrifier 1 & 2) with Octane's Jose "Metal ambassador" Mangin as the MC for the evening.
Opening up the show was The Funeral Portrait, who fit the vibe perfectly! The band's concerts are adoringly referred to as Devotion Ceremonies, and this set included favorites such as "Alien," "Holy Water," and their latest release, "Generation Psycho." Next up was He Is Legend, a hard rock band from North Carolina that is known for their powerful screams and a self-proclaimed cult classic band. Directly supporting INK was the local Boston band Inspirit.
Once the opening bands were finished, the excitement from the crowd was palpable. We all waited patiently for the main act and the infamous opening song, "Red Right Hand," to start playing (fun fact: the song is featured in every Scream movie!). Once the song was over and the band took the stage, the crowd's energy went up to an 11.
Ice Nine Kills played an impressive set list, which included fan favorites such as "Rainy Day" and "IT Is The End," as well as older songs like "Me, Myself & Hyde" and "Jason's Mom." The killer set list wasn't the only surprise INK had in store: several special guests rocked the stage.
The first surprise guest was during "Merry Axe-Mas" when Robert Brian Wilson, the Santa from Silent Night, Deadly Night, which the song is based on, joined them on stage in a Santa suit. But this was no ordinary Santa, as Robert was running around the stage with an ax and throwing bags of red and black balloons at everyone, reminiscent of blood.
INK wasn't done with surprises just yet! During "IT Is the End," a special guest was brought on stage playing a saxophone. It didn't take the crowd long to realize it was none other than James Janisse from the Dead Meat Podcast, who was also a celebrity guest at the convention. The next surprise guest was Leah Voysey, who came on to sing during "A Grave Mistake." Leah was also a celebrity guest, and is best known for her role as the Clown Cafe singer in Terrifier 2.
Photos courtesy of Silver Scream Con and Hela Mest (@helapictures)
To end the show, INK sang their infamous "Welcome to Horrorwood" from their Silver Scream 2 album as the encore with black and red balloons of all sizes dropped from the ceiling. At this point, everyone was out of their seats trying to grab the balloons as they rained down from above.
INK always puts on a hell of a show, but this was one of the best to-date. From the production to the guest performers and the setlist, it was one for the books, but what really made this one special was the crowd singing and screaming along the whole time!
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