Ice Nine Kills have officially entered the Scream-verse. The beloved theatricore act have partnered up with actor and pop singer McKenna Grace to deliver a blade-flicking anthem for the upcoming Scream 7, which they call “Twisting the Knife.”
The song materializes as a ballad-swung rocker where Grace and INK vocalist Spencer Charnas link up to trade lines full of franchise Easter eggs (“Face to face with déjà vu / When the ghost in me is you”). The lyrics also concern burying one’s past, and allude to situations that leave them “screaming for my life again.” Notably, there’s a lot of screaming going on in the background, too.
A music video, which you’ll find up above, has INK taking a stab at a Scream-style storyline, with Charnas and Grace walking the edge of a CGI blade as Ghostface looms nearby.
“’Twisting the Knife’ is our tribute to Wes Craven and the Scream franchise, which means so much to us,” Charnas explains in a statement. “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 [ed. Scream’s screenwriter], blew my mind.”
The song notably nods to Scream composer Marco Beltrami’s initial score, and has been chunked up with INK-style guitar rhythms. With respect to Charnas duetting with Scream 7 star McKenna Grace, the connection took place shortly after the INK singer discovered that the actor was a fan of the band.
“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,” he confirmed.
“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,” Grace said in her own statement, adding that she took an Amy Lee-inspired direction with the tune.
INK also continue their ongoing, video-within-a-video approach with a new, murderous scene involving Scream’s David Arquette and Ghostface voice actor Roger L. Jackson. The latest chapter directly follows up last fall’s “The Last Laugh” single, because — let’s face it, baby — these days you gotta have a sequel. You’ll find that vid below.
Scream 7 officially hits theatres February 27th, which is the same day the film’s soundtrack releases in full.