Every Trick in the Book

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Every Trick in the Book
Studio album by
Ice Nine Kills
ReleasedDecember 4, 2015 (2015-12-04)
Genre
Length37:37
LabelFearless
ProducerSteve Sopchak[4]
Ice Nine Kills chronology
The Predator Becomes the Prey
(2014) 		Every Trick in the Book
(2015) 		The Silver Scream
(2018)
Singles from Every Trick in the Book
  1. "Me, Myself & Hyde"
    Released: February 19, 2015[5]
  2. "Bloodbath & Beyond"
    Released: September 25, 2015[6]
  3. "Communion of the Cursed"
    Released: October 22, 2015[7]
  4. "Hell in the Hallways"
    Released: May 20, 2016[8]
  5. "The Nature of the Beast"
    Released: March 29, 2017[9]

Every Trick in the Book is the fourth album by the American Metalcore band Ice Nine Kills, released on December 4, 2015 by Fearless Records. It is the band's first release through Fearless Records and their fourth overall. Each track on the album is based on a piece of literature. Some examples of the source material are: Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ("Me, Myself & Hyde"), Dracula ("Bloodbath & Beyond"), The Exorcist ("Communion of the Cursed"), and Romeo & Juliet ("Star-Crossed Enemies"). The album peaked at number 122 on the US Billboard 200, selling over 7,300 albums in its first week. This is the last album the band released to feature Conor Sullivan on drums.

Background[edit]

Spencer Charnas explained that he and the band created a "master list" of "30 to 40 books" they felt would make for compelling songs, foregoing a ton of Stephen King novels to avoid "double up authors" and Kurt Vonnegut's works for being too complex to "do it justice in a three-minute song."[1]

Promotion[edit]

In September 2015, the band were announced as headliners for Fearless' Fresh Faces Tour alongside Wage War and the White Noise, beginning on October 24 at Rochester's Water Street Music Hall and finishing on November 22 at the Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park.[10][11] On October 20, 2016, they announced a 14-city European tour, starting on November 3 at Manchester's Satans Hollow club and ending on November 17 at Wiesbaden's Kulturzentrum Schlachthof venue. Affiance and Shields were supporting acts during the tour.[12] On August 16, 2017, the band announced a nine-city fall US tour, beginning on September 28 at Anaheim's Chain Reaction venue and finishing on October 8 at The Foundry in Lakewood, Ohio. Capsize, Lorna Shore and Phantoms were supporting acts during the tour.[13]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Distorted Sound5/10[14]
The Music[15]

Alex Sievers of The Music praised the band's use of classic literature for the album's overall theme but was critical of the ballads disrupting the flow and steering away from the "deadly riffs and breakdowns" and "dark lyrical ravings", conlcuding that "this band won't revolutionise the heavy music world, and the record itself isn't quite a perfect album, but their brand of post-hardcore/metalcore is done much better than most of their peers right now and INK could very well be on the cusp of some very big success."[15] Sam Dignon of Distorted Sound also praised the overall concept throughout the record but felt it didn't distinguish itself from other similar acts who use "standard chugging metalcore riffs and breakdowns", found inconsistent lyricism throughout the track listing, and criticized the cheesy and clichéd ballads of "Star-Crossed Enemies" and "Tess-Timony" for being the "worst moments" on the album, concluding that: "Without the concept the songs just don't hold up by themselves, if the songs themselves were just more interesting then perhaps this could have been an enjoyable album."[14]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleLiterary inspirationLength
1."The Nature of the Beast"Animal Farm by George Orwell3:38
2."Communion of the Cursed"The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty4:30
3."Bloodbath & Beyond"Dracula by Bram Stoker3:39
4."The Plot Sickens"Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read3:40
5."Star-Crossed Enemies"Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare3:45
6."Me, Myself & Hyde"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson4:04
7."Alice"Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks3:11
8."The People in the Attic"The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank3:48
9."Tess-Timony"Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy3:14
10."Hell in the Hallways"Carrie by Stephen King4:08
Total length:37:37

Chart performance[edit]

Chart (2015) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[16] 122
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[17] 1
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[18] 3
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[19] 4

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Kielich, Kris (October 10, 2016). "Books inspire metalcore sound of Ice Nine Kills". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  2. ^ Sayce, Rob. "Ice Nine Kills Are Letting Fans Pick a Song for Their New Album". Rock Sound. Archived from the original on March 2, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  3. ^ "Ice Nine Kills Plays Webster". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on June 23, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  4. ^ Ice Nine Kills [@ICENINEKILLS] (December 4, 2015). "@ImVictorSpencer Steve Sopchak (producer) and Mr. @DanKorneff (mixer) both very handsome gentlemen" (Tweet). Retrieved April 24, 2016 – via Twitter.
  5. ^ "Ice Nine Kills - Me, Myself & Hyde (Official Lyric Video)". YouTube. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  6. ^ "Ice Nine Kills - Bloodbath & Beyond (Lyric Video)". YouTube. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  7. ^ "Ice Nine Kills - Communion of the Cursed (Official Music Video)". YouTube. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  8. ^ "Ice Nine Kills - Hell In The Hallways (Official Music Video)". YouTube. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  9. ^ "Ice Nine Kills - The Nature of the Beast (Official Music Video)". YouTube. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  10. ^ "Ice Nine Kills Sign With Fearless Records, Plot Tour With Wage War, Etc". The PRP. September 17, 2015. Archived from the original on November 29, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  11. ^ "Ice Nine Kills announce Fearless Records debut, 'Every Trick In The Book'". Alternative Press. September 24, 2015. Archived from the original on April 1, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  12. ^ "Ice Nine Kills Books European Tour Dates For November". Ghost Cult Magazine. October 20, 2016. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  13. ^ "Ice Nine Kills announce 'Every Trick In The Book' tour". Alternative Press. August 16, 2017. Archived from the original on March 31, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  14. ^ a b Dignon, Sam (October 21, 2016). "Album Review: Every Trick In The Book - Ice Nine Kills". Distorted Sound. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  15. ^ a b Sievers, Alex (December 11, 2015). "Album Review: Ice Nine Kills - 'Every Trick In The Book'". The Music. Archived from the original on April 1, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  16. ^ "Ice Nine Kills Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  17. ^ "Ice Nine Kills Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  18. ^ "Ice Nine Kills Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  19. ^ "Ice Nine Kills Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
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