We see the light: Ice Nine Kills have unleashed a killer new song based on iconic horror videogame Dead by Daylight, gaming the algorithm with a dark and depraved anthem called “Play Dead.”
INK had been teasing their tribute to the survival horror game for the past few weeks, and premiered a music video during the franchise’s recent 10th anniversary livestream, but officially released the tune to the wider public today (June 26th).
It’s the band’s third single of the year, following their Scream song “Twisting the Knife” and the Eighties metal-styled “Hell or High Slaughter” for Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (the latter performed as Grave Diggler). Their Dead by Daylight tribute was worked on alongside game composer Michel F. April
“Play Dead” hooks you in with INK’s patented, super-singable theatricore gravitas, vocalist Spencer Charnas delivering earworm melodies on the chorus about “the darkness feeding on the heartless.” That said, he also goes extra guttural on the track, lunging into some of his nastiest, gnarliest growls yet — coincidentally, right about the time Charnas starts flailing from a makeshift gallows pole in the vid.
The music video likewise finds a digi-skinned Charnas analogue getting chased around an abandoned car lot by Dead by Daylight’s masked antagonists. The song also taps into DBD lore while talking up a “depraved ritual” and various sacrifices made to appease the Entity.
“Ice Nine Kills has always lived somewhere between menace and mischief. ‘Play Dead,’ our take on Dead by Daylight, is a collision of hooks, horror, and total chaos,” Charnas explained in a statement.
“Collaborating with Dead by Daylight gave us the chance to step into a world that feels deeply aligned with our creative instincts. The game has an incredible legacy, and that chaotic, eerie, immersive energy is something we respect and admire. We wanted the song to feel like a real extension of that universe, not just inspired by it, but genuinely part of it.”
INK likewise tease their ongoing Horrorwood world-building storyline with a bonus scene involving guest spots from Tony Hawk, Terrifier 3’s Krsy Fox, horror icon Devon Sawa (Idle Hands, Final Destination) and — perhaps most oddly — Dingbar Tarbani, a “disgraced opera singer” who looks suspiciously like Charnas.
You’ll find the full “Play Dead” video up above, while the extended bonus chapter is coming soon. More info on the latter here.