Mar 23

Mar 23 Show Review: Trinity of Terror Brings Ice Nine Kills, Black Veil Brides, Motionless

Ice Nine Kills
Black Veil Brides
Motionless In White
“Trinity of Terror” Tour
w/ Lillith Czar
March 19th, 2022
San Jose Civic
San Jose, CA

Photos and Review by Jared Stossel

Last year, I covered the Hella Mega Tour in San Francisco, the first time I’d ever seen a “triple” co-headlining tour take place in my life. (Note: The Hella Mega Tour took place at Oracle Park in San Francisco with Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer). While it ended up being my favorite show of the year, I was worried about the logistics of giving three of the biggest bands in rock an equal billing on the same show. Any reservations I had before the event ended up going out the window as the show started early enough that every act got lengthy set times.

The “Trinity of Terror” tour is a smaller-scale version of the aforementioned “Hella Mega Tour” taking three of the biggest acts in the metalcore/hard rock scene and giving them equal billing. The bill was co-headlined by Ice Nine Kills, Black Veil Brides, and Motionless In White, with all three taking the stage at the San Jose Civic in the city’s downtown area on an overcast Saturday evening. I was excited for this tour because I’ve seen each of these acts grow and progress over the last decade, and each of these acts has exhibited a bit more theatrically than some of their peers in the scene. From both a musical and photography standpoint, I knew that this would be a highly entertaining show.

The show was opened by an artist named Lilith Czar. The name may not be familiar to you at first glance, but if you have been part of this scene for the last several years (or managed to tune into The Voice several years back), you’ll recognize Czar as vocalist Juliet Simms. This time, she’s back with a new name, a new look, and a new sound that thrilled over the audience from the first song. Czar released her debut album Created In Filth and Dust back in April, so make sure you go and check it out here.

The first of our three headliners was Motionless In White, who had a slightly shorter setlist than the latter two acts but played with more power and intensity than I’ve ever seen them harness. They had the crowd in a vice grip, playing some of their heaviest material in an hour long set that rattled the walls of the auditorium. The band also broke out one of their newest songs, “Cyberhex”, from their upcoming new album Scoring The End of the World. The new song hits even harder in a live atmosphere.

To be honest, I was surprised that Black Veil Brides were up next; for whatever reason, I had assumed that they would be closing out the evening. But regardless of their placement in the set, the five-piece act played with the same confidence and magnitude that they brought forth during their Aftershock set last year. The band pulled material from every album in their catalogue, including their most recent effort, 2021’s The Phantom Tomorrow. To my surprise, they even pulled songs from their first two albums, We Stitch These Wounds and Set The World On Fire. The pop from the crowd when they announced they would be playing one of their oldest songs, “Knives and Pens”, brought me right back to 2010. The band closed their performance with the anthemic “In The End”, one of their best tracks.

My most anticipated performance of the evening was Ice Nine Kills, particularly when I found out that they would be closing out the show. Over the past few years, the band have pivoted from being an act that plays traditional metalcore fair to one that has shaped its own aesthetic and music around horror films. Every song on their last two albums (The Silver Scream and 2021’s Welcome To Horrorwood: The Silver Scream 2) are tributes to the best that the horror genre has to offer, throwing in clever nods to films while still retaining the band’s signature metal sound. After listening to both of those records countless times and seeing them open shows over the last few years, I had always hoped that this band would get the chance to do a headlining show the right way; with stage props, costume changes, and performers to help enhance each scene. They did not disappoint, with the band playing through songs that paid homage to films like Hostel, My Bloody Valentine, Halloween, The Evil Dead, and Psycho. Slight costume changes took place between songs, with vocalist Spencer Charnas leading the charge throughout the tightly constructed hour long set. There was little room for talking; this was a film, and we were watching it acted out right before our eyes. The band closed with an ode to The Bastard Son of 100 Maniacs (Freddy Kreuger) in “The American Nightmare”, concluding the epic show in a truly theatrical fashion. Without a doubt, this was one of the most entertaining shows of the year, and a show with one of the best values of any tour you’ll find out there.

Ice Nine Kills Set List

Welcome To Horrorwood
Würst Vacation
Hip To Be Scared
Stabbing in the Dark
Rainy Day
It Is The End
Take Your Pick
Ex-Mørtis
The Shower Scene
Funeral Derangements
The American Nightmare

Black Veil Brides Set List
Faithless
Coffin
Crimson Skies
I Am Bulletproof
Wake Up
Scarlet Cross
All Your Hate
Knives and Pens
The Legacy
Fallen Angels
In The End

Motionless In White Set List
Thoughts & Prayers
Devil’s Night
Necessary Evil
Voices
Soft
Cyberhex
Another Life
Eternally Yours