It seemed with Halloween rapidly approaching it was time to review Ice Nine Kills. I figured I should start with this album that features songs based on movies. Now, a couple of the movies might not be precisely horror, but it all has that element to it. This band has made a career doing horror related music. Their sound is often extreme. It's also complex and challenging. Yet, it features plenty of hooks, and it's always interesting and unusual.

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The inspiration for this is "Friday the 13th." This starts with something that sounds like a camp-fire sing-along. The track shifts from there to some seriously pounding, mean hardcore punk leaning metal. This is extreme and furious. It has some sound bites that sound like recreations of lines from the movie. There is also a short break for almost symphonic stuff.

"Halloween" is the basis for this one. Coming in with a mellower, more melodic movement, it grows up gradually. It eventually blasts out into the furious pounding zones from there. I love the mix of extreme and more melodic stuff on this track. The number is one of my favorites on the disc.

Coming in with more of a mainstream metal vibe, this drives out from there in style.This one is based on "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" This track is a lot more standard metal than the songs that preceded it. While it makes it more accessible, it also means it's less complex and unique. Still, it works well. The guitar solo is on fire, too.

"Saw" is the reference point here. The song features a guest appearance by Randy Strohmeyer of Finch. I really love the melodic elements of this so much. The screamed vocals lends an extreme angle. This is crazier than the last one and more in line with the rest of the album. It definitely earns a parental advisory, too. The shift later in the track is pure fire. That pounding movement is amazing. When it gives way to a mellow, nearly balladic interlude, it's an intriguing and effective choice.

Based on "The Crow," this starts with a balladic arrangement built around piano. It works outward into more pure metal that is still a little restrained compared to some of the rest of the music here. This is one that might make a good entry point into the music of Ice Nine Kills because it's less extreme. Unlike "Savages," it still has some of that unique Ice Nine Kills magic.

Jeremy Schwartz is a featured guest on this song based on "Jaws." This screams in right out of the gate. It drops to mellower sounds for a "mayday" call. The first lines of lyrics come in over the top of this melodic movement. After the verse it drives back out into fierce metal. The extreme elements are tempered with melodic ones. This is a dynamic arrangement that has an extreme rock opera vibe to it. This also gets a definite parental advisory. An instrumental break later features some hints of the theme song to the movie.

"The Shining" is the inspiration here. It starts with a symphonic introduction with some sound bites that call to mind the movie. This literally screams out from there for the opening movement. Then it drops to mellower, melodic stuff to continue. This song includes a guest appearance by Sam Kubrick of Shields. It develops into a complex arrangement with a lot of different movements. This also gets a parental advisory. It has some seriously extreme sections, too. There is a sound-bite meant to simulate the twins later.

Feeling more mainstream in a lot of ways, this has some good hooks. The track is based on "The Devil's Rejects." It's still decidedly Ice Nine Kills, but it has some more accessible angles and edges.

"Edward Scissorhands" is the inspiration for this one, and I don't really see that movie as horror at all. I'd consider it more dark fantasy, fairy tale. This includes a guest appearance by Tony Lovato of Mest. I like this track a lot. It focuses more on the melodic and is less extreme.

I love "Silent Night, Deadly Night," the movie, and that's the basis of this song. It starts with what might be an actual sound-bite from the film. This drives out into a screamer that has alternating extreme and more melodic metal segments. They include a twisted version of "Dashing Through the Snow" mid-track. Then it powers out with furious metal from there.

This song features a guest appearance by Chelsea Talmadge. It's based on "An American Werewolf in London." This cut is another that lands more in the melodic mainstream lane. It has some interesting sound-bites built into it. It also has some great melodies. The duet brings it more along the lines of mainstream rock. That's particularly true when it drops to more balladic zones.

With "It" as its inspiration. It has an opening with twisted circus music and a voice meant to be Pennywise. This earns a parental advisory. It gets into more extreme territory, with a good combination of hardcore and heavy metal. It's a complex piece with all kinds of twists and turns.The guests on this closing track are Peter "JR" Wasilewski and Buddy Schaub of Less Than Jake and Will Salazar of Fenix TX.