Concert Reviews

Ice Nine Kills: Fear The Premiere Tour- Cleveland Show Review

Published

3 years ago

August 21, 2023

Let me tell you, if there was ever a band that could say that they have their hands in every rock music subgenre right now, my thoughts would immediately go to Ice Nine Kills. Coming off of one tour and straight onto another while simultaneously releasing singles with other major names in the industry such as Hollywood Undead, Fame on Fire, Escape the Fate, and more. They have also released a new novel, The Silver Scream, based on their ever-growing saga of albums. The INK boys have certainly kept themselves busy this year and don’t intend to stop anytime soon. However, for now, let’s talk about their current endeavor, The Fear the Premiere Tour, INK’s own headlining tour, currently backed by August Burns Red and Veil (Aug 8th–11th), later being joined by Set It Off and The Plot In You (Aug 15th–Sept 1st), along with the opener Mikes Dead, who will be at all the remaining dates. So, settle in and grab your popcorn as we go over the gory and horrifically terrific details that make up The Fear The Premiere Tour.

After warming the crowd up with a few songs from metal rap artist Mike’s Dead, Veil of Maya took the stage. The Chicago-based metal band kept the crowd on their feet despite their short set, but they were so strong that they certainly made their presence known. Playing a few of their more popular songs, like “Mikasa”, “Red Fur” ,and “Tokyo Chainsaw” just to name a few. The band took their cues from frontman Lukas Magyar; the band certainly set the bar high for their predecessors to follow, who are currently celebrating a major milestone, August Burns Red.

August Burns Red is a band that has been well known in the heavy metal music scene for 20 years. Yes, this band formed all the way back in 2003 and has been rising to the occasion ever since. With their most recent album release, Death Below, back in March of this year, to recently announcing a headlining tour of their own starting in November to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of their 2013 album Rescue and Restore. August Burns Red certainly knows how to celebrate some majorly impressive milestones, however, that doesn’t mean they can’t make time out of their schedules to play alongside INK for a few dates.

The band definitely had a jam-packed playlist, including some fan favorites like “White Washed” and “Mariania’s Trench” both off of the popular album Constellations, which dropped in 2009. Also included in the set were, of course, two newer songs off the latest album, “Backfire” and “Revival”. Another point I would like to make personally would be ABR’s lighting for their set, which is always a colorful but vibrantly perfect balance and very pleasing to the eye. Certainly an amazing band to have leading up to our killer finale.

If you have never had the opportunity to witness an Ice Nine Kills show live, let me be the first to say that you are missing out not only musically but also visually and theatrically. That’s right, I said theatrically, because when you go to an INK show, you should expect a different killer scene to be painted with every song. With the help of a handful of stagehands and actors, leading frontman Spencer Charnas, along with the rest of the members of the band. They go above and beyond with things like costume changes and special effects, and let’s not forget to mention the plethora of different masks that Charnas changes into throughout the night. With this specific tour, the band has featured a different setlist than the one they had grown to know and love by bringing back some songs that hadn’t been played for quite a while and deserved to be brought back into the spotlight, like “Rocking The Boat” and Me, Myself and Hyde” to name a few, along with keeping some of the fan favorites such as “It Is The End”, “Rainy Day”, and “Wurst Vacation” just to name a few.

There is, however, one song that made its directorial debut for the first time ever at an Ice Nine Kills production, “Jason’s Mom” the band’s portrayal of “Stacy’s Mom” originally written and performed by Fountains of Wayne. However, Ice Nine Kill does it from the perspective of Jason Vorhees mom from the major film franchise, Friday the 13th. Needless to say, the show was nothing short of exciting, and most certainly kept the audience on the edge of their seats all night long. If you have to miss the Fear The Premiere Tour, fear not because you will have the chance to catch them out on a stadium tour with Metallica or their co-headlining tour with In This Moment at the end of the year. Either way, I strongly encourage you to catch INK on tour; it’s sure to be a scream!

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Shelby Tyce

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Concert Reviews

BRISTOW VIRGINIA TOOK A TRIP ON THE WILD SIDE… SHOUTED AT THE DEVIL. AND ENJOYED THE GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS.

Published

3 weeks ago

August 7, 2026

Ron

MOTLEY CRUE CAME BACK INTO TOWN BRINGING WITH THEM TESLA AND EXTREME FOR THE RETURN OF CARNIVAL SINS TOUR.

Extreme opened up, and not only did they kick ass, but they also took some names, too. Gary sounded amazing on vocals, and of course, Nuno not only rocked the guitar; he gave all the ladies out there heart problems. We got to hear “More Than Words,” “Get the Funk Out,” and “Hole Hearted”.

Tesla was next, and the band always puts on an amazing show. It’s just a good ole rock and roll fun time. We got to hear “Modern Day Cowboy,” “Mama’s Fool,” and “Little Suzi.”

Motley Crue put up the circus tent, and fans were ready for the big top to drop. I was excited because this was the first time getting to see Crue with John 5 on guitar. The stage looked crazy and had things you could look at everywhere, from girls to cages and beyond. Nikki and Tommy looked amazing, and Neil looked healthier than in the past years; he sounded great, and you could see that he was having fun.

I have seen Motley Crue a few times now, but this time I was so close to the stage it was insane. Doing this press gig does come with some perks, and we get to see great bands and get tickets, but this was next level with how close to the stage my tickets were. It gave me such a great experience, not only just being that close and jamming out to songs that I grew up to, but also being with all the Crue fans and just seeing everyone getting excited and rocking out. They were all there for a good time and some kick-ass rock n’ roll.

Motley played a fantastic set too, with some bangers and killer songs from albums up to Generation Swine. Songs like “Wild Side,” “Shout at the Devil,” “Looks that Kill,” “Home Sweet Home,” “Smoking in the Boys’ Room,” “Live Wire,” “Girls, Girls, Girls,” and, of course “Dr. Feelgood” and “Kickstart My Heart.” The show was amazing, and the place was packed and having a great time. This is only the first leg of the tour, so if they come your way, go and see this tour and let yourself go and enjoy live music and rock ‘n’ roll.

About Author

Ron

Ron has keen eye for new talent, a love for the underground, and a tremendous passion for music of any genera. You’ll probably bump into him at a horror convention or some seedy club checking out the next need-to-know band.

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Concert Reviews

THIS IS WHERE IT FALLS APART… STABBING WESTWARD CELEBRATES 30 YEARS OF WITHER, BLISTER, BURN AND PEEL IN BALTIMORE

Published

1 month ago

July 25, 2026

Ron

It has been nine years since Stabbing Westward played in Baltimore, and I was thrilled to see them return to perform my favorite album. They brought along Acumen Nation and Priest as supporting acts. Both Acumen Nation and Priest put on an incredible show, and I loved how they energized the crowd. It’s fantastic to have a band like Acumen Nation, which has been around since 1988, alongside Priest, a newer band, and the fans truly enjoyed both sets.

Stabbing Westward is one of those bands that really resonated with me at a pivotal time in my life. This album was released during my junior year and fit my experiences perfectly. It’s one of those albums I would listen to from start to finish, and then I would just start it over again. I’m excited that the band is releasing a new version of this album, reflecting how they would have approached it if they had the freedom to mix it and create without outside interference.

What we got to hear was amazing. I loved the fresh sound to it but still keeping the core of what that album meant to them and to the fans. Coming out on stage with my 3 favorite songs on the album, “I Don’t Believe,” “What Do I Have To Do,” and “Falls Apart.” But hearing some of the other tracks on that album brought back so many memories of the past, like “Shame,” “So Wrong,” and even hearing the cure cover “Burn” and “Dawn” from the Escape From LA Soundtrack.

The concert was amazing. We were supposed to have an interview with Chris, but because of the Canadian fires, he was saving his voice for the show and meet ‘n greets, but we will have that interview soon for you.

About Author

Ron

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Concert Reviews

THE EX-FACES ROCKED THE REVERB STAGE

Published

1 month ago

July 22, 2026

Ron

I’ve been incredibly excited about the Ex-Faces show since it was first announced. I’m a huge Mushroomhead fan and love that the members of this group have come together to enjoy the music.

It was incredible to see J-Man, Waylon, Stitch, and Lil Dan together again. Adding Gravy and Mr. Murdernickel to the mix—especially since I never got to see him play live despite being a Mushroomhead fan near Cleveland since ’96—made it even better. I love that the guys genuinely looked like they were enjoying being on stage together, celebrating their time in this band and their experiences with Mushroomhead.

Hearing classic songs like “Bwomp,” “These Filthy Hands,” and “Sun Doesn’t Rise” was fantastic, but getting to experience deep cuts like “Eternal,” “1200,” and even the cover of “Crazy” was incredible. The Ex-Faces played 16 songs and could have kept going; the crowd definitely wouldn’t have minded.

I know this band and project are more than likely temporary, but I’m fully down for a few more tours and maybe even some more ex-members joining the trek. Even though I was sad that our stop didn’t have Pig Benis, I was super stoked that we had his OG brother Murdernickel. Go out and see this tour while you can, and let’s all get a little crazy and never let it go.