Bouncy Boston metalcore mob Ice Nine Kills released their fourth album Every Trick In The Book late last year on Fearless Records, but now it’s been given the snazzy-ass physical release treatment, so we decided to find out what it’s actually about. Frontman Spencer Charnas guides us through the books and stories that inspired each song, and as you’ll find out, he certainly loves the scary side of life.
The Nature Of The Beast
“Based on Animal Farm, George Orwell’s allegorical masterpiece, this song delves into the dangerous world of a dictator’s regime, with its disastrous and deadly consequences. The idea that ‘all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others,’ unsurprisingly, proves to be the catalyst for the hellish unraveling of society.”
Communion Of The Cursed
“William Peter Blatty’s 1971 classic novel, The Exorcist, tells the horrifying story of the possession of a 12-year-old girl by The Devil himself. It’s 1973 adaptation to the big screen terrified audiences all over the world. It is widely considered to be perhaps the scariest film of all time. We wanted this song to pay homage to the brilliantly twisted story, while exposing people to this time-tested literary gem.”
Bloodbath & Beyond
“This track was inspired by Bram Stoker’s 1897 classic, Dracula. Equal parts sinister and sexy, this novel introduced the world to perhaps the most famous monster of all time. The book redefined what ‘scary’ really means.”
The Plot Sickens
“Alive: The Story Of The Andes Survivors, is one of the greatest survival novels in the history of literature. This song tells the true story of a Uruguayan Rugby team, whose plane crashed into the Andes mountains on October 13, 1972. More than a quarter of the passengers died in the initial crash. By the time help finally came (more than two months later) only 16 remained from the original 45. Under unimaginably horrendous circumstances, the team was forced to resort to cannibalism in order to survive.
Star-crossed Enemies
“William Shakespeare’s, Romeo & Juliet, is indisputably one of the most famous plays ever written, by probably the greatest playwright to ever live. It is a romantic tragedy about two star-crossed lovers, whose deaths result from the blind hatred shared by their families. The blood of Romeo and Juliet is truly on the hands of their parents, who senselessly perpetuate their families’ feud.”
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Me, Myself & Mr Hyde
“This song tells the story of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel, The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Just like the book, it is an exploration of the sinister side that, unfortunately, lies within all of us.”
Alice
“Originally published in 1971 as an anonymous teenage girl’s diary, Beatrice Sparks’ Go Ask Alice managed to stir up quite a controversy. It contained a shockingly realistic look into a young addict’s existence, complete with explicit references to drug abuse, self harm, sex and rape. Activists and parents all over the country tried to ban schools from including it in their libraries. Eventually, it rightly became widely included in school’s curriculums as an important warning to both parents and their children.”
The People In The Attic
“Based on the most famous diary ever published, The People In The Attic takes you into the emotional whirlwind that was the world of Anne Frank. This teenager was forced to hide from the Nazis for over two years in an attic in Amsterdam. Despite her terrible circumstances, this amazing young woman immerses herself in her inspiringly optimistic writing. Literary critics have described Anne Frank as “wise and profound far beyond her years.”
Tess-Timony
“Inspired by Thomas Hardy’s, Tess Of The d’Urbervilles, this song tackles the incomprehensible act of rape, along with the long-term psychological issues that often affect the victim. The decision of Tess to take the law into her own hands by killing her attacker has been a source of debate since the novel’s 1891 publication.”
Hell In The Hallways
“Stephen King’s, Carrie, is widely regarded as one of the best horror novels of the twentieth century. Its imagery will forever be embedded in the darkest recesses of pop culture. In our track Hell In The Hallways, our goal was to pay tribute to this legendary cautionary tale. The violent consequences of bullying someone may not always be as violent as depicted in Carrie, but the effect of bullying can be incredibly destructive to the psyche of the bullied and, research shows, to the bully as well.”
Every Trick In The Book is out now, via Fearless Records.
