Ice Nine Kills have taken their horror obsession to its most literal extreme yet.
The metalcore heavyweights have dropped new single “Twisting the Knife”, officially entering the Scream universe with a track featured in the upcoming Scream 7. In a move that feels tailor-made for the band’s cinematic DNA, the song also features vocals from cast member Mckenna Grace. The film hits theatres on Friday, February 27th.
For frontman Spencer Charnas, the crossover isn’t just another sync. It’s more personal than that.
“’Twisting the Knife’ is our tribute to Wes Craven and the Scream franchise, which means so much to us,” Charnas says. “Scream is baked into the DNA of who I am and of Ice Nine Kills — my love of horror, comedy, and the collision between the two. I was already obsessed with Halloween and Friday the 13th, but Scream was the first I saw in theaters. Hearing the killer talk about horror movies, in that distinctively pop-culture savvy Kevin Williamson way, blew my mind.”
The band have steadily embedded themselves in horror culture over the past decade, but their connection to Scream runs deeper than fandom. “We’ve gotten to know and work with Matthew Lillard, Skeet Ulrich, Neve Campbell, Rose McGowan, Jamie Kennedy, Lee Waddell, and others in different capacities,” Charnas explains. “We announced the collaboration with Scream 7 at Wembley Arena, with Ghostface and Rose McGowan, which was surreal in itself.”
That reveal happened during a huge headline show at London’s OVO Arena Wembley, where Ice Nine Kills theatrically staged McGowan’s onstage “death” before unveiling a video call from Ghostface. It was peak INK — high-concept, tongue-in-cheek, and unapologetically over the top — capping off a run that included 2.5 years supporting Metallica on their global stadium tour.
The addition of Grace feels like a natural extension of the band’s love of meta-horror.
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“When we learned that Mckenna Grace is a fan of our band, it made perfect sense to invite her to sing,” Charnas says. “She recorded her part in my home studio, in the same room where I keep my screen-used Scream knife prop, one of the four rubber knives made for the first movie.”
Grace leans fully into the moment. “Making this song was such a special experience for me — I am such a big INK fan and it was such an amazing opportunity to be able to play with a different style of music,” she says. “I am so inspired by Amy Lee’s vocals and we all wanted to channel Scream and Sydney’s story as best as we could. Spencer and the guys were so much fun to collaborate with and I’m so thankful to Kevin Williamson.”
Charnas also cites composer Marco Beltrami’s score as a guiding influence. “Marco Beltrami’s Scream scores are just as influential to me as any other component of the films,” he says. “In our song, there are echoes of the moody atmospheres he’s created, with our own INK twist.”
The music video continues the band’s sprawling ‘INKverse’ storyline, mixing performance with a narrative short. Roger L. Jackson reprises his role as the voice of Ghostface, while David Arquette appears as himself alongside Johnny Brennan (creator of The Jerky Boys) as Francis Rizzowitz. The story picks up directly from 2025’s “The Laugh Track”, which featured Matthew Lillard playing himself, and pushes the meta-horror even further.
Twenty years after their debut, Ice Nine Kills have carved out a space few heavy bands can occupy. Their breakout albums The Silver Scream and The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood have racked up more than 1.5 billion streams, turning their horror-centric concept into a genuine crossover phenomenon. Recent singles have continued that streak, including “A Work of Art” for Terrifier 3 and “The Laugh Track”, their most successful standalone release to date.
A limited ‘Nightmare on The Knife’ merch drop has also launched alongside the single, riffing on their monthly ‘Nightmare on The Ninth’ releases.
Australian fans can catch Ice Nine Kills on tour this September when they head down under supporting Electric Callboy.
Ice Nine Kills’ “Twisting the Knife” is out now.
