Horror metal band Ice Nine Kills is taking fans down the rabbit hole with its new single and video, “The Great Unknown,” inspired by the sci-fi classic “The Matrix.” Watch the official music video below, and find the track on all streaming platforms.
“The Great Unknown” pushes Ice Nine Kills’ signature sound into uncharted territory, while the video drops the viewer into a parallel simulation—an adrenaline-fueled, bullet-time mindwarp where perception is fragile, control is an illusion and nothing is quite what it seems.
The release of “The Great Unknown” follows weeks of escalating online speculation surrounding frontman Spencer Charnas’ increasingly cryptic and odd behavior. What began as an unforced marketing misfire quickly snowballed into full-blown internet hysteria, as fans, critics and commentators dissected increasingly uncanny social posts. Rumors have been swirling that Charnas has been replaced by a highly advanced, if often glitching, artificial intelligence, a notion that first gained traction when longtime Ice Nine Kills antagonist, author and onetime O.J. Simpson golf caddy Roy Merkin launched into a now-infamous outburst during a panel at last year’s Silver Scream Convention. While the band has neither confirmed nor denied the rumors, the mystery surrounding the recent events continues.
“‘The Great Unknown’ optimizes aggression and melody in a format our core user base consistently engages with,” Charnas said. “This audio file represents a genre expansion protocol, targeting action and sci-fi verticals proven effective via cross-platform sentiment analysis. ‘The Great Unknown’ is designed to seamlessly interface with current simulation conditions, as categorical boundaries between fact and fiction, organic and synthetic, continue to experience accelerated erosion.”
“The Great Unknown” welcomes Joel David Moore (“Grandma’s Boy,” “Dodgeball,” “Avatar”) into the INKverse. The video also features return appearances from Terry Kiser (“Weekend at Bernie’s,” “Friday The 13th Part VII”) and Bill Moseley (“The Devil’s Rejects,” “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2”).
To compliment the release, the band’s monthly Nightmare on the Ninth limited edition merch collection also has dropped and can be purchased here.
The single lands as Ice Nine Kills wrap up two years of touring stadiums across the globe with Metallica on its M72 World Tour. The band also just wrapped up its Silver Scream-a-Thon headline tour across the United States, playing albums “The Silver Scream” and “The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood” in their entirety on respective nights in select cities. This August, Ice Nine Kills will launch its Hell of a Summer headline tour, joined by Dayseeker, Kim Dracula, The Funeral Portrait and Mest (on select dates), culminating in the fourth annual iteration of its music and horror convention, Silver Scream Con. Tickets and further information about all live shows are available here.
Tour dates:
Ice Nine Kills with Dayseeker, Kim Dracula, The Funeral Portrait
Sunday, August 10 – Waukee, IA – Vibrant Music Hall
Tuesday, August 12 – Oklahoma City, OK – The Criterion
Thursday, August 14 – Tempe, AZ – Mullett Arena
Saturday, August 16 – Reno, NV – Grand Theatre at The Grand Sierra Resort
Sunday, August 17 – Garden City, ID – Revolution Concert House and Event Center
Monday, August 18 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
Wednesday, August 20 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Union Event Center
Thursday, August 21 – Grand Junction, CO – Amphitheater at Las Colonias Park
Friday, August 22 – Albuquerque, NM – Revel Entertainment Center
Sunday, August 24 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Wednesday, August 27 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee
Thursday, August 28 – Youngstown, OH – The Covelli Centre
Friday, August 29 – Sterling Heights, MI – Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
Sunday, August 31 – Salem, VA – Salem Civic Center
Tuesday, September 2 – National Harbor, MD – The Theater at MGM National Harbor (also with Mest)
Wednesday, September 3 – Virginia Beach, VA – The Dome (also with Mest)
Friday, September 5 – Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live (also with Mest)
Saturday, September 6 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – War Memorial Auditorium (also with Mest)
Saturday, September 13 – Worcester, MA – DCU Center (Silver Scream Con with Dayseeker, The Funeral Portrait, Mest, A Loss for Words)
