Horror and heavy metal have always been siblings. Twisted, loud, slightly concerning siblings. But when Spencer Charnas and his crew in Ice Nine Kills dropped Rainy Day, they weren’t just releasing another track; they were basically handing a love letter to the Resident Evil franchise. Honestly, it’s one of those songs that feels less like a radio single and more like a cinematic experience that just happens to have breakdowns.
If you grew up navigating the claustrophobic hallways of the Spencer Mansion or panicking as a Tyrant stomped toward you, this song hits a very specific nerve.
It’s about the Umbrella Corporation. It's about the T-Virus. It's about that feeling of being trapped in a rainy, neon-soaked Raccoon City while everything goes to hell. Most bands try to be "dark." Ice Nine Kills succeeds because they are literal scholars of the genre. They don't just reference movies; they dissect them.
The Umbrella Connection: Breaking Down Rainy Day
The core of Rainy Day centers on the 2002 Resident Evil film adaptation, though it pulls plenty of aesthetic weight from the Capcom games that started it all. You can hear it in the electronics. The song opens with this cold, industrial pulse that feels like a computer system booting up in an underground lab. It’s sterile. It’s calculated. Then the guitars kick in, and suddenly you’re in the middle of a zombie outbreak.
Spencer Charnas has this uncanny ability to mimic the "vibe" of a protagonist. In this track, he’s channeling that desperate, high-stakes energy of Alice or Leon S. Kennedy.
The lyrics aren't subtle, and they aren't supposed to be. Phrases like "The Red Queen’s reign" and "total global saturation" (a nod to Albert Wesker’s infamous line in Resident Evil 5) serve as breadcrumbs for the die-hard fans. It’s a rewarding experience. You listen once for the hook, and then you listen five more times to catch the sound of a reloading shotgun or the subtle digital glitching that represents the Hive’s AI system.
The breakdown is where the chaos truly peaks. In metalcore, breakdowns are often just "heavy for the sake of heavy." Here, the rhythm feels like the jerky, unnatural movements of a Crimson Head or a Licker. It’s erratic. It’s unsettling.
Why Ice Nine Kills Rules the Horror Niche
A lot of people ask why this band has blown up so massively in the last few years. It's simple. They aren't faking it.
Before The Silver Scream and its sequel Welcome to Horrorwood, Ice Nine Kills was a solid band, but they hadn't quite found their "soul." Once they leaned into the "horror-core" identity, everything clicked. They became the theater kids of the metal world, but with much better production value and more blood.
- Attention to Detail: They don't just use a generic "scary" sound. If they're doing a song about A Nightmare on Elm Street, you'll hear the boiler room. If it's Rainy Day, you get the industrial, electronic sheen of a bio-organic weapon facility.
- The Music Videos: Let's talk about the visuals for a second. The music video for this track is a masterpiece of cosplay and set design. It’s essentially a high-budget fan film that actually respects the source material.
- Vocal Versatility: Spencer’s voice shifts from melodic, pop-sensible choruses to guttural screams that sound like someone actually being eaten. It’s a wide range. It’s impressive.
The Cultural Impact of the Welcome to Horrorwood Era
When Welcome to Horrorwood: The Silver Scream 2 arrived, Rainy Day stood out because it was one of the few tracks that felt "modern." Most of the album focused on 80s and 90s slashers—Child's Play, The Fly, American Psycho. By tackling Resident Evil, the band reached into the world of survival horror gaming, bridging a gap between movie buffs and gamers.
It worked.
The song became a staple on Octane and other rock radio stations because it’s catchy as hell. You don’t even need to know who Jill Valentine is to enjoy the chorus. But if you do know, the song becomes ten times better. It’s that dual-layer songwriting that keeps them at the top of the charts.
There's a specific complexity to how they layer the synths. If you listen with high-quality headphones, you can hear these tiny atmospheric textures—hisses, metallic clangs, and distant alarms. It builds an environment. It’s immersive. Most bands just record drums, bass, and guitar. INK records a whole damn foley track.
Common Misconceptions About the Song
I’ve seen some people online arguing that the song is "too poppy" compared to their older stuff like Safe Is Just a Shadow.
That's a bit of a narrow view.
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While the chorus is definitely an earworm, the bridge is as heavy as anything they’ve done. The "poppiness" is actually a stylistic choice that mirrors the gloss of the early 2000s action-horror movies. Those films had a certain "slickness" to them—lots of leather, slow-motion, and nu-metal soundtracks. Rainy Day is a modern evolution of that specific era’s aesthetic. It’s meta.
Another thing people get wrong is thinking the song is just about the first movie. It’s really a celebration of the whole Resident Evil mythos. You can see it in the live shows where they bring out umbrellas and actors in tactical gear. It’s a full-on production.
How to Get the Full Experience
To really appreciate what Ice Nine Kills did here, you should do a few things.
First, watch the music video. Pay attention to the transitions. Look at the costumes. It’s clear they spent a fortune on the licensed look-alikes and the practical effects.
Second, look up the "making of" clips. Seeing how they integrated the sound effects from the games into the actual percussion of the song is a masterclass in sound design. They didn't just slap a sample on top; they wove it into the rhythm.
Finally, listen to the acoustic version. It’s a completely different vibe. It strips away the industrial noise and leaves you with a haunting, melancholic melody that feels like the aftermath of a disaster. It’s beautiful in a very dark way.
What's Next for the Horrorwood Legacy?
The band has set a high bar for themselves. Every time they announce a new project, the first question is always: "Which movie are they doing next?"
By tackling a titan like Resident Evil, they proved they can handle massive franchises with millions of protective fans. They didn't drop the ball. In fact, they probably introduced a whole new generation of metalheads to the joys of survival horror.
Rainy Day isn't just a song on a playlist. It’s a testament to what happens when creators are actually fans of what they're making. There’s no cynicism here. No corporate "brand synergy" feel. Just a bunch of guys who really love zombies and heavy riffs.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Creators:
- For Music Producers: Study the "Rainy Day" mix to see how electronic industrial elements can be blended with metalcore without losing the "heaviness." It’s all about frequency management.
- For Horror Fans: Check out the Welcome to Horrorwood lyric booklet. It’s packed with Easter eggs that aren't immediately obvious in the audio.
- For Aspiring Songwriters: Notice how the song uses a "call and response" structure between the clean vocals and the heavy sections to build tension, much like a horror movie builds toward a jump scare.
- Check the Live Dates: Ice Nine Kills is a band that must be seen live. Their stage show for this specific track involves a lot of theatricality that you simply can't get from the Spotify stream.
If you're looking for the next step in your horror-metal journey, start by diving into the original Resident Evil (2002) soundtrack and then jump back to Rainy Day. The parallels are fascinating and show just how much homework the band actually did. It’s a deep dive that’s actually worth the time.