Photo Credit: F Scott Schafer
RIAA Gold-Certified horror metal madmen Ice Nine Kills unleash “The Great Unknown”, a hard-hitting, high-concept single and video sees the band stepping into the glitching heart of dystopian sci-fi inspired by The Matrix.
“The Great Unknown” pairs cinematic worship with melodic grandeur, pushing Ice Nine Kills’ signature sound into uncharted territory while retaining the polish, precision, and razor-wire wit that have defined the INKverse to date. The official music video drops the viewer into a parallel simulation—an adrenaline-fueled, bullet-time mindwarp where perception is fragile, control is an illusion, and nothing is quite what it seems.
The release of “The Great Unknown” follows weeks of escalating online speculation surrounding frontman Spencer Charnas’ increasingly cryptic and eerily odd behavior. What began as an unforced marketing misfire quickly snowballed into full-blown internet hysteria, as fans, critics, and commentators dissected increasingly uncanny social posts. Rumors have been swirling that Spencer has been replaced by a highly advanced, if often glitching, artificial intelligence, a notion that first gained traction when longtime Ice Nine Kills antagonist, author and onetime O.J. Simpson golf caddy, Roy Merkin launched into a now-infamous outburst during a panel at last year’s Silver Scream Convention. While the band has neither confirmed nor denied the rumors, the mystery surrounding the recent events continues. A statement from Charnas reads
“‘The Great Unknown’ optimizes aggression and melody in a format our core user base consistently engages with. This audio file represents a genre expansion protocol, targeting action and sci-fi verticals proven effective via cross-platform sentiment analysis. ‘The Great Unknown’ is designed to seamlessly interface with current simulation conditions, as categorical boundaries between fact and fiction, organic and synthetic, continue to experience accelerated erosion.”
