Kiss of Death Tour '24 Part 2
Everyone has that one band that when they announce a tour, you’re feverishly scrolling through dates trying to find the town closest to you. For me, that’s anytime Ice Nine Kills announces a tour. Especially if In This Moment is right alongside them. As If Ice Nine Kills and In This Moment didn’t excite you enough, they brought along heavy metal hitters Avatar and friends TX2. Let’s also take a second to appreciate the fact that this tour was also named The Kiss of Death Tour 24’. How perfect for any horror loving, metal fans. With the newer Outer Harbor Terminal B venue in Buffalo, NY hosting, this Wednesday night show would prove to be the highlight of anyone’s week. Fans quickly filled into the outdoor venue, securing spots in the pit as well as the lawn. What I loved about this venue was the openness of it. No matter where you stood or sat, the stage was in perfect view. Alongside a row of food trucks, drink stations and shaded areas, everything was easily accessible.
Up first was TX2. Not surprisingly there was huge crowd that had already formed for Fort Collins native TX2. Die-hard fans with their faces panted to mirror the bands lead singer anxiously awaited the bands opening song. As soon as the first chord hit the crowd was instantly drawn to the bands heavy hitting sound. If you haven’t heard of TX2 make sure to give them a listen. The catchy hooks and melodic beats of this bands sound is unmistakable. A big message to TX2’s music is their passion for mental health. By creating a safe space for fans to vent and lift each other up, they’ve become of a part of huge movement in creating a positive atmosphere for everyone. The raw lyrics of their hip-hop/pop punk sound has proven popular to fans and has made them a fan favorite for all ages. “ I Would Hate Me Too”, “Vampire By Rumor”, and “Black Wedding” proved to be crowd favorites with fans almost singing louder than the singer himself.
Swedish heavy metal band Avatar took the stage next. Starting off the set, lead singer Johannes Eckerstrom emerged in his signature face paint out of a giant box on stage. The band donned matching red jackets with Eckerstrom as the ring leader of the group, representing their great metal circus theme. Their energetic, aggressive sound quickly warmed up the crowd. It became apparent that these guys had a large following with the amount of painted faces in the crowd and rabid fans singing along to every lyric. Everyone seemed to be hypnotized by the synchronized head banging of the band. Taking a break to drink from his gasoline jug, Eckerstrom spit out constant energy to the crowd who hung on his every song. Popular songs like “Dance Devil Dance”, “The Dirt I’m Buried In”, and my favorite “Hail the Apocalypse.”
In This Moment was up next and man was this crowd ready. The two bands always make for an appetizing performance. Various dunce caps could be seen throughout the crowd with the word “WHORE” in bright red. A popular song from the band that was pulled from singer Maria Brink’s honest and raw relationship with redefining the word . Her message empowering people, especially woman, to not let words and their definitions define you. The set was setup with a high stair case leading up to a huge platform, various mannequin heads surrounding the eerie setup and plenty of pyro and smoke machines to fulfill your every wish. Brink’s held the attention of the crowd along with her signature Blood Girls the whole night, changing into various outfits of red, black and white. Brink’s almost raspy edge to her voice is one of my favorites and makes her truly original. “The Purge”, “Blood”, and “Big Bad Wolf” were among just some of the aggressive metal hits the band played throughout the night. With In This Moment being such a hard hitting mix of ear splitting riffs and deep haunting lyrics, its easy to see why people love them.
As crew members started to set up for Ice Nine Kills the crowd was vibrating with excitement. If you didn’t know these guys are huge horror film lovers so it would only be appropriate that their set portrayed that. Various fake body parts were scattered alongside the stage as well as various television screens, a gore themed microphone stand, and a huge blow up creature holding a knife. As the lights went out the venue quieted in silence eagerly awaiting what was to come next. Zombies emerged from side stage as the band appeared. Matched in white shirts and khakis with blood splattered across them, they quickly took their places on the high platforms above the crowd. Exploding into their first song “Rainy Day,” the crowd flocked even closer to the stage. Lead singer Spencer Ink immediately grabbed the attention of the crowd with his non-stop energy. Hyping fans up even more by running back and forth along stage encouraging them to sing along with him. The bands beautifully blended mix of metal and punk along with their high level production makes them truly unique. Throughout the night they pulled inspiration from top horror movies such as Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Halloween, and a fan favorite IT. At one point a police officer wheeled a Hannibal Lecter with matching straight jacket and mask. In true Silence of the Lambs fashion, Hannibal Lecter broke free and attacked the police offer. A perfectly bloody scene that meshed perfectly with the bands overall persona. The night continued with fan favorites “Thank God It’s Friday,” “IT is the End,” “American Nightmare”, and “Welcome to Horrorwood.” Ice Nine Kills truly delivers an entrancing show every time.
If you haven’t gotten tickets for the Kiss of Death Tour Part 2, act now. This is a truly haunting tour you don’t want to miss out on. The tour continues through mid-September and tickets are still available for most dates so act fast!