Concert Recap: Black Veil Brides, Motionless in White + Ice Nine Kills – The “Trinity of Terror” Tour, Myrtle Beach, SC (April 24, 2022)

In the final week of the “Trinity of Terror” Tour, a triple-headliner featuring hard rock virtuosos Black Veil Brides and metalcore masterminds Motionless in White and Ice Nine Kills, the production made its way to the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Sunday, April 24. The thrilling triad wasn’t alone, however, finding support in the Florida-based band Fame on Fire, perfectly rounding out an already stacked lineup. For those who have read my Top 5 series during this past week where I discuss a couple of my favorite songs from Black Veil Brides, Motionless in White, and Ice Nine Kills, then it’s no secret how much I value these bands and how much I was looking forward to this show. Now that the concert has passed, I’m happy to say that it was a blast and a half, and I’m already looking forward to the next one.

Fame on Fire was the first band to take the stage, kicking the night off with an extensive mix of rock, pop, and metal. Fame on Fire is an interesting band – known for their rock renditions of mainstream pop songs, their original music is a force to be reckoned with as well. This was my second time seeing them live, with the first being last November on the opening night of Ice Nine Kills’ “Hip to Be Scared: Severed Leg 2” Tour. They were the first band to play that night too, and from then I became enamored with their album Levels, listening to it on a loop for weeks after that night. Needless to say, when they were announced as the support act for this part of the tour, I was ecstatic. Kicking myself for not buying a CD the first time I saw them, I wasn’t trying to make the same mistake this time around. Unfortunately, the mistake was made yet again because when I was about to make my way to their table in the upstairs part of the venue after the show, I was stopped and told the booth was getting closed up. Hey, third time’s the charm, right?

Fame on Fire’s eight-song set mostly consisted of original songs, along with a cover of Linkin Park’s ‘Numb.’ Since the first time I saw them, the band released two new singles, ‘Plastic Heart’ and ‘Lost in Doubt,’ with both tracks making an appearance in the setlist. For a short set, they really made the most of their time on stage, playing mostly new songs in anticipation of their upcoming follow-up to Levels. As if I wasn’t excited enough for new music from them (on top of the recent singles), hearing songs like ‘Cutthroat’ and ‘Welcome to the Chaos’ got me even more hyped. Of course, they also made room for some songs from their debut album, closing with my personal favorite, ‘HEADSPACE.’ With their set feeling like it just flew by, they left the stage with the fans wanting more – I need to see these guys as a headliner one of these days, because I can’t get enough of their music, and I wish they’d played longer both times I saw them.

Fame on Fire Setlist:

1.     Welcome to the Chaos

2.     Her Eyes

3.     It’s Okay

4.     Lost in Doubt

5.     Plastic Heart

6.     Cut Throat

7.     Numb (Linkin Park cover)

8.     HEADSPACE

The fun thing about this tour being a triple-headliner is that the three marquee bands play full-length sets, but the order of their performances change every night based on where they’re playing. For this show, the first of the three was Ice Nine Kills and their brand of theatrical horror-centric metalcore madness. With their setlist comprised of cuts from their two most recent albums, 2018’s The Silver Scream and last October’s The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood, the band blazed through familiar favorites like ‘Hip to Be Scared,’ ‘Stabbing in the Dark,’ and ‘The American Nightmare’ one after the other, never letting up on the theatrical intensity. With this being my third time seeing them, I was curious to see what songs, if any, would be added to the setlist that I haven’t seen them play live yet, and I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. The highlight of their set for me happened very early on, when they played one of my favorite tracks from Welcome to Horrorwood, ‘Wurst Vacation,’ with a close second coming towards the end with their performance of ‘Take Your Pick.’

Aside from being the musical phenoms that they are, what I love about going to an Ice Nine Kills concert is the production and visual aspect of it all. They do such a great job bringing their songs to life, with frontman Spencer Charnas flawlessly adopting whatever persona the song demands, whether it’s Ash Williams or Freddy Krueger, along with the inclusion separate cast members Shevy Marie and Chris LaPlante playing several roles throughout the show and enhancing the overall experience. As a horror fan and a lover of live music, the amount of time, consideration, and resources that go into these performances doesn’t go unnoticed and I’m so glad they went this direction and that they’re able to pull everything off so flawlessly both musically and visually. Just like with their albums, their live shows continue to get better every single time I see them, and I can’t wait to see what they do next. Whenever they’re within range, I’m going to try to make it out to see them, because they’ve made their concerts a can’t-miss event.

Ice Nine Kills Setlist:

1. Welcome to Horrorwood

2. Wurst Vacation

3. Hip to Be Scared

4. Stabbing in the Dark

5. Rainy Day

6. IT is the End

7. Take Your Pick

8. Ex-Mortis

9. The Shower Scene

10. Funeral Derangements

11. The American Nightmare

After the onslaught of Ice Nine Kills came Motionless in White, keeping the same energy by bringing a setlist that was both heavy and fun. Focusing on their albums Graveyard Shift and Disguise, the metalcore kings had the audience by the palm of their hand from the moment they stepped on stage and ripped into the title track of their most recent album, ‘Disguise,’ along with the album’s other singles like ‘Brand New Numb’ and ‘Another Life.’ As you could probably tell by what I wrote in my top 5 list of their songs, I felt like I was going to lose my mind when they played ‘Thoughts & Prayers’ halfway through their set (I mean let’s be real, how could I not?), but much like Ice Nine Kills, one of my favorite parts of their show was very early on, with the second song. After opening with ‘Disguise,’ they play another title track, this time the one to their 2014 album, ‘Reincarnate.’ I wrote a little bit about it in the list I wrote, but that’s a song and an album that I can step away from for months at a time, but when I come back to it I remember just how much I enjoy it and how important it is to me as a fan. I became a fan before this album was announced, so the excitement of the announcement and eventual release is a feeling I still remember today – so needless to say, when they played the title track (which was also the lead single for the album), all those memories and emotions came flooding back, and I’m so glad I was able to get it on video.

This setlist really showed how versatile Motionless in White’s music has become, playing a mixture of heavy and intense songs while also playing songs that would make people want to dance, cry, or both. They seriously covered all the bases here, from the pure rage of ‘Thoughts & Prayers’ to the pensive sadness of ‘Another Life’ to the carefree euphoria of their cover of The Killers’ ‘Somebody Told Me.’ I’d love to see them on their own headlining tour where they’re able to play around twice as much music, because it truly was a spectacle to behold. After being a fan for almost a decade, I can finally say I got to see them in concert, and it was even more than I hoped it’d be.

Motionless in White Setlist:

1. Disguise

2. Reincarnate

3. Necessary Evil

4. Voices

5. Brand New Numb

6. Thoughts & Prayers

7. Rats

8. Cyberhex

9. Another Life

10. Somebody Told Me (The Killers cover)

11. Eternally Yours

Closing things out was Black Veil Brides, bringing their hard rock mastery to the forefront. While they did have a new album released just last fall, their setlist was surprisingly balanced, giving attention to every era of the band. There was representation from their debut album, We Stitch These Wounds, with the performance of ‘Knives and Pens,’ and their newest album, The Phantom Tomorrow, got some love with ‘Crimson Skies’ and ‘Scarlet Cross’ being played as well. While their music has a modern sound to it, they carry a stage presence that is very much in line with their rock and metal influences, with frontman Andy Biersack having a clear and proficient understanding of how to command a stage and keep an audience on their feet. On top of that, their musical execution was impeccable. Like I said when I wrote my top 5 list of their songs this past week, the band isn’t all style and no substance like so many people want to believe, and their live show proves that.

Just like with Motionless in White, I’ve been a fan of Black Veil Brides for around eight or nine years now (Black Veil Brides was actually the first of these bands that I ever got into), but have never been able to go to one of their concerts until now. To say that this was a long time coming is obvious, but to say it was a dream come true wouldn’t do it justice. With this being my first time seeing them, there were definitely a couple “pinch me” moments where I occasionally had to ask myself, “is this really happening? Am I actually here right now?” I remember the times I used to sit at home watching Motionless in White’s live videos on YouTube along with Black Veil Brides’ “Alive and Burning” DVD and just wondering what it’d be like to be at a show like that in person. I got my answer on April 24, and I’m looking forward to doing it again in the future.

Black Veil Brides Setlist:

1. Faithless

2. Coffin

3. Crimson Skies

4. Shadows Die

5. Wake Up

6. Scarlet Cross

7. Knives and Pens

8. The Legacy

9. Fallen Angels

10. In the End

To see all the videos I took at the show, click here

Support the bands by checking out the links below:

- Fame on Fire: https://www.fameonfireband.com/

- Ice Nine Kills: https://iceninekills.com/

- Motionless in White: https://www.motionlessinwhite.net/

- Black Veil Brides: https://shop.blackveilbrides.net/

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