Ice Nine Kills Collaborate With Dead By Daylight For New Single Play Dead
Wednesday, 01 July 2026
Written by Jon Stickler
Photo: F. Scott Schafer
Ice Nine Kills have released a new single, Play Dead.
Written for the popular online multiplayer horror game Dead By Daylight's 10th anniversary celebrations, the track serves up the Boston band's horror-driven metalcore and marks the latest release in a busy year, following songs written for the Scream 7 and Ready Or Not: Here I Come soundtracks. Frontman Spencer Charnas shared:
“Ice Nine Kills has always lived somewhere between menace and mischief. Play Dead, our take on Dead by Daylight, is a collision of hooks, horror, and total chaos. As lifelong horror fans, we find it surreal and an absolute honour to have Ice Nine Kills’ music officially tied to Terrifier, Scream, Ready or Not, and now, the iconic survival horror game Dead by Daylight.
"Collaborating with Dead by Daylight gave us the chance to step into a world that feels deeply aligned with our creative instincts. The game has an incredible legacy, and that chaotic, eerie, immersive energy is something we respect and admire. We wanted the song to feel like a real extension of that universe, not just inspired by it, but genuinely part of it.
"We worked closely with longtime composer Michel F. April to ensure every detail, from the atmosphere to the intensity, felt true to the game, and we spent time on set with Dead by Daylight creatives Mathieu Cote and Eric Pope, as well as player experts like SpookyLoopz."
Head below to view the track's video, starring skateboarding icon Tony Hawk, Final Destination actor Devon Sawa and Terrifier 3 star Krsy Fox. Charnas continued: "The video also features iconic genre star Devon Sawa. He’s one of my favorite actors, from Idle Hands and Final Destination to literally playing “Stan” in the Eminem video. And we’ve got Krsy Fox, one of the new modern horror scream queens, who not only had a showstopping performance in Terrifier 3, but is a kickass indie horror film producer, too.
"Having Tony Hawk appear with us felt essential because he isn’t just the Michael Jordan of skateboarding. He’s synonymous with the marriage of music, gaming, and subculture. We bonded over the same offbeat pop-culture touchstones, from punk rock to the irreverent ’80s comedies like The Naked Gun that shaped my brain just as much as horror did.
"And of course, Dingbar Tarbani slithered in to make things even stranger."
Ice Nine Kills followed their head-spinning main stage peformance at Download Festival last month with the announcement of their biggest headline show to date, which will see them take over London's O2 Arena on March 28 for what will be their most ambitious live production yet, as part of their European March In Silence Tour.
They'll head back to North America this month for a handful of dates, including an appearance at Inkcarceration festival in Mansfield, Ohio, followed by Australian shows supporting Electric Callboy in September, and additional headline US dates in the fall before returning to Europe next spring. Tickets are on sale now.
They released their most recent studio album, 'Welcome to Horrorwood: The Silver Scream 2', in 2021, which was followed by three extra versions, Under Fire, Orchestral and Spoken Word, then 'The Silver Scream (9-Bit)' and 'Welcome To Horrorwood (9-Bit)' and the live record 'I Heard They Kill Live 2'.
Ice Nine Kills Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows
Mon March 15 2027 - BRUSSELS Forest National (Belgium)
Wed March 17 2027 - GLIWICE Arena (Poland)
Thu March 18 2027 - VIENNA Stadthlle (Austria)
Sat March 20 2027 - MUNICH Zenith (Germany)
Mon March 22 2027 - DUSSELDORF Mitubishi Electric Halle (Germany)
Tue March 23 2027 - ESCH SUR ALZETTE ROCKHAL (Luxembourg)
Fri March 26 2027 - PARIS La Seine Musicale (France)
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