Spencer Charnas Reflects On Ice Nine Kills’ Debut

On Wednesday (Sept. 17), Spencer Charnas joined Loudwire Nights to celebrate Ice Nine Kills‘ latest song, “The Great Unknown.” He also spent some time reflecting on his band’s career, among other things.

Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

“We’ve been working on that particular track for, going on over a year,” Charnas told Chuck Armstrong about “The Great Unknown.”

“It’s really cool because you get excited about a song, you live with it for a long time, you tinker with it and it’s just so exciting that people are finally getting to hear it. Seeing the reaction of the song every night as we play it on this last tour, it’s been incredible.”

Along with the song itself, Charnas said it was really fun working on the music video for “The Great Unknown.” That excitement of releasing a new song and video never seems to fade for him.

“You work on something for so long, you hope people dig what you put out and you hope the fans love it,” he shared.

“But it’s always just a really exciting feeling at midnight, the night before, when it’s going live and fans are starting to talk about it and they’re hyped for the video and they’re chatting on all of these online forums and Instagram and X. It’s cool to see the response for it in real time.”

The 20th Anniversary of Ice Nine Kills’ Debut Album

Along with diving into “The Great Unknown,” Charnas also spent a bit of time looking back on the career of Ice Nine Kills, thanks in part to the upcoming 20th anniversary of their debut album, 2006’s Last Chance to Make Amends.

“It seems like a long time ago and at the same time, it seems like not that long ago,” he said about Last Chance to Make Amends.

“I remember it so vividly. We recorded it at my middle school math teacher’s studio, which is kind of funny, in Andover, Mass., and it was really our first time together … We learned so much during the process.”

Charnas said he still keeps in touch with his bandmates from that particular lineup of Ice Nine Kills and even said some of them remain his best friends.

“I’ll always hold that album and that experience close to my heart.”

As for reflecting on his past, Charnas admitted it’s something he enjoys doing.

“You’ve got to savor the milestones and remember where you came from,” he told Chuck.

“Anytime you get kind of tired and burnt out on the road a little bit — because we tour so much and as much as I love what we do and we’re so lucky, it is a job and everyone goes through good days and bad days.”

READ MORE: Mudvayne’s Chad Gray Discusses 16-Year Break, New Music + What’s Next – ‘Make the Ground Shake’

On those bad days, Charnas tries to remind himself of how far he and the band have come.

“This is everything I’ve ever dreamed of in terms of becoming a professional musician and working with my heroes,” he said.

“Working with people, who I admired their work for years, whether it was effects people or directors or actors, and sort of merging them all into our world of our music videos, it’s just, it’s fantastic.”

What Else Did Ice Nine Kills’ Spencer Charnas Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• His first-ever full-length movie project: “I am working on a project right now, a horror slasher comedy called The Slashin’ of the Christ. [It’s] co-written by Paul Soter from Super Troopers and it’s being produced by Greg Nicotero, who, you know, [is the] co-producer, creator of The Walking Dead and every Tarantino movie you’ve ever seen, so that’s really exciting … We’re in the pre-production stages right now and it’s time that we release a real, full-length horror movie.”
• The legacy of Ozzy Osbourne: “I was born in ’85 and I became aware of Ozzy through the bands that were so influenced by him. Metallica, bands like that, wouldn’t exist without Ozzy. Becoming interested in Metallica at summer camp when someone played me ‘Battery’ and then buying their VHS tapes or watching interviews on MTV where they would say, ‘Oh man, you know, one of our first big breaks was when Ozzy from Black Sabbath took us out,’ and then going back and discovering ‘Iron Man’ and all of his hits and reading and learning about this guy that was around before, long before my time — all these bands that I love wouldn’t exist without him.”
• What it was like touring with Metallica on the M72 tour: “There was definitely a learning curve there. It was a bit daunting of a task, just trying to figure out how you do a show like that … Our show, a lot of the time, is based on sleight of hand and misdirection and having the luxury of the audience not being able too see what’s behind you, a lot of those kind of magic tricks that we do … But it was one of the greatest experiences. I think I can speak for the entire band, the crew, being able to have that opportunity to play with one of the greatest bands of all time, one of my favorite bands since I was a little kid, and be just treated so graciously by their band and crew, it was incredible. It’s forever changed our career.”

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Spencer Charnas joined Loudwire Nights on Wednesday, Sept. 17; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.