Ice Nine Kills – Wembley Arena – 12th December 2025
Some shows have the feel of a mini festival, with bills that contain an absolute embarrassment of riches. Tonight’s gig is very much one of those.
Proceedings commence with TX2, who I’ve seen described as being ‘pop punk’. I must confess that this particular label has always annoyed me somewhat, as I don’t really believe that punk should flirt too closely with pop. Whilst leader Timothy Evan Thomas undoubtedly looks like a pop star, the band’s music has enough punk, emo and alt-rock bite to leave any pop elements bleeding in the gutter. The kids — and there are a surprising number of them here tonight — absolutely love it. ’Nuff said.
For a band of some twenty years’ standing, The Devil Wears Prada’s lowly position on the bill means they only get a relatively short slot, which is a shame. They need to promote their new album while still giving the audience enough old favourites to keep them happy. The new record, Flowers, is an impressive piece of work, and the set opens with Ritual. Everybody Knows and For You also feature, while set-closer Sacrifice from Color Decay has a very definite air of ‘follow that’ about it.
Creeper do indeed follow that. I must confess, I bloody love Creeper — but that isn’t going to stop me giving an honest and balanced review. During opening song Mistress of Death, Hannah Greenwood’s keyboard briefly dies, but thankfully, an awesome guitar solo from Ian Miles saves the day.
Tonight’s set is taken entirely from the two Sanguivore albums, which together represent a double-headed masterpiece. However, very few works of art achieve perfection. Blood Magick (It’s A Ritual) is melodically so close to Heaven Is A Place On Earth by Belinda Carlisle as to be potentially legally actionable — though we’ll leave that to the lawyers.
This music lends itself to, and deserves, a more theatrical presentation — something the band may well deliver when they tour again next year. Hannah comes stage front to sing lead on Lovers Led Astray, and again on Headstones. The Ballad Of Spook And Mercy is introduced as “a song about murder”. Vocalist Will Gould delivers his lines with a baritone that occasionally recalls Nick Cave. Black Heaven is dedicated to The Devil Wears Prada. As a taster for next year’s tour, this was highly effective.
There are many artists whose music I might expect to hear over the PA at an Ice Nine Kills show. The Spice Girls are not one of them — but that’s exactly what we get, along with several other deliberately cheesy choices. Maybe it’s irony. Maybe it’s the number of kids in attendance. Who knows? A sign declaring the show is “for psychos only” is, at this point, not entirely borne out.
When the band take the stage, they’re accompanied by an extraordinary amount of pyro and a man in a straitjacket. A red-eyed monster soon looms at the back of the stage. Before Hip To Be Scared, we’re treated to a deliberately cheesy TV advert for Huey Lewis & The News — thanks for that, lads.
The theatricality escalates rapidly. Vocalist Spencer Charnas decapitates a suited man. Another hooded figure appears with a chainsaw, which Charnas uses to dismember the unfortunate victim. In Ice Nine Kills’ world, it’s probably wise to be scared — and maybe even wiser to strike first.
Wurst Vacation appears to involve Bratislava and yet more staged carnage. A masked man with a chainsaw. A victim wheeled in a wheelchair. More dismemberment. At a certain point, you begin to wonder how many realistic fake murders you can watch before they start to lose meaning — or whether this is particularly healthy.
Just as that thought lands, the band crash into Walking On Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves, complete with someone dressed as the sun. A palette cleanser, perhaps, before the next helping of gore.
Rainy Day features zombies but, mercifully, no murders. Farewell II Flesh brings video blood dripping from the stage risers, while a cover of The Impression That I Get by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones remains an undeniable pop banger.
The best way to view an Ice Nine Kills performance is as a show rather than a gig. The spectacle is the priority. To say the music is secondary would be unfair — perhaps it’s more accurate to say the show is spectacular, while the music is slightly less so. Think The Rocky Horror Picture Show, or The Tubes in their pomp.
If you came for great songs alone, you may leave disappointed. If you came for theatre, horror and spectacle, there was plenty to lap up. Bet the kids have nightmares.
Words: Mark Kelly Photos: Press
