“Sit back for the sequel of your dreams,” as Ice Nine Kills frontman, Spencer Charnas, puts it. Prepare for a bigger, bolder and bloodier musical project.

On Oct. 15, the Massachusetts-based heavy metal band released their sixth studio album, “Welcome to Horrorwood,” a sequel to their last album, “The Silver Scream.” The band combines music and horror into a theatrical 14-track masterpiece.

“Welcome to Horrorwood” follows the storyline of a fictional homicide case involving Charnas. He is the main suspect in his fiancé’s brutal murder. The homicide unit of the LAPD unearths a bag of VHS tapes containing content that the American recording industry labeled as “too grotesque” for public consumption, which later becomes key evidence in the case.

While their previous album “The Silver Scream” directly paid tribute to the classic, well-known horror movies like “Jaws,” “Halloween,” “Friday the 13th” and “It,” their newest album took a different approach. “Welcome to Horrorwood” pulls inspiration from other iconic thrillers and inserts them into a fictional homicide case storyline. Ice Nine Kills alludes to movies such as “Psycho,” “Hellraiser,” “Child’s Play” and “Candyman.” “Resident Evil,” an action horror game series, is referenced in the track “Rainy Day,” starring New Years Day frontwoman Ash Costello.

Many artists are featured on tracks as well, two of the most popular being Jacoby Shaddix, Papa Roach’s frontman, and George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher, Cannibal Corpse’s frontman.

Famous actors from the horror world appear in music videos such as “Assault & Batteries” and “Funeral Dearrangements.” Bill Moseley, known for his roles in “House of 1000 Corpses” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2,” acts as the captain of the LAPD investigating Charnas. Miko Hughes, who is the truck driver in “Funeral Dearrangements,” played Gage in “Pet Cemetery.” Gage was the 3-year-old boy who ran out onto the road while flying a kite and was hit by a tanker truck. In the music video, Hughes hits his past counterpart he once played in “Pet Cemetery.” Ricky Dean Logan, known as Carlos in “Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare,” is Charnas’s lawyer in the “Rainy Day: Part 2” video.

Personally, my two favorite songs are “The Shower Scene” and “Farewell II Flesh.” But, overall, there is no one stand-out track on the album. Each song is very well put together and follows a grotesque storyline of a brutal murder with occasional references to popular slasher movies. The entire album explores some of the best horror films, and it keeps the listeners intrigued and engaged, wanting more afterward. “Welcome to Horrorwood” is truly an album worth dying for. 

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