Christmas lights were shining bright in the night sky when Black Veil Brides, Motionless in White, and Ice Nine Kills announced their 2022 Trinity of Terror tour in early December of last year. The announcement marked the first time the three bands would be sharing the same stage for a tour. Incredibly surprising, Trinity of Terror was set to right that wrong and was to kick off on March 17th and continue through April 27th. Rising act Lilith Czar was added into the mix as an opening act set to give the show some extra flair.
The three bands have been alternating set orders throughout the tour, giving the dates a bit of a Warped Tour-like vibe. Each band has sharpened their teeth on the Warped Tour circuit in years past, so it felt fitting to see them allowing each of the three to close out shows on their path of destruction. By the time they made it to The Paramount in Huntington, NY on April 15th, 2022, the tour had gained plenty of steam. Fans lined up as early as 10 AM the day of the show to ensure a good spot by the stage. Those who splurged for the VIP gained early access, a chance to play trivia with the bands, group photos, and, of course, a ton of merch.
Shortly after the doors opened for the masses at 5:30 PM, the venue was filled to the brim with fans eager to support the acts. Most shows at the Paramount, even sellouts, are half full at best for the opening act. Lilith Czar, however, had a full house at her command when she joined the stage an hour after the doors first opened. Experiencing a bit of a rebirth last year, the former The Voice finalist Juliet Simms rebranded herself as Lilith Czar after teasing fans for a while with teaser photos of her new look and persona. Czar was fresh off her tour with other female-led power acts in Evanescence and Halestorm earlier in the year.
After opening with an original track in “Feed My Chaos,” Czar paid tribute to the past with “100 Little Deaths” and a cover of Stevie Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen.” Czar made sure fans were pumped up for the night ahead of them in between acts and thanked them up and down for filling out the venue for her performance. Three more tracks gave Czar plenty of time to have fans remembering her name with “Lola,” “King,” and finally, “Anarchy” to close the set. As her social media accounts say, “Juliet Simms is gone, Lilith Czar has risen.” Czar is set to rise to the top if this night was any indication to go on. As the Trinity of Terror tour comes to an end, Czar has her eyes set on a variety of festival performances. Her album, Created from Filth and Dust, is a strong entry point for what could become a huge act.
Lilith Czar
Photo Credit: Andrew Fiero
For Motionless in White, the Trinity of Terror tour marked the band’s first return to Huntington since October of 2019 with In This Moment. The band had announced and later rescheduled a tour doomed by Covid that would have seen them on tour with Knocked Loose, Stick To Your Guns, and Ovtlier. While that tour, dubbed “The Black and Blue Tour,” never made its way to the venue, the band was now slated as the first headliner for the Long Island crowd. Fans cheered early between sets when they saw Chris “Motionless” Cerulli’s unique mic stand brought center stage. The bronze skeletal frame that houses his microphone is the perfect ode to Halloween’s favorite band. Joining Cerulli for the tour were familiar faces Ryan Sitowski (Guitar), Ricky “Horror” Olson (Guitar), and Vinny Mauro (drums). Bassist Justin Morrow was missing in action as the group prepared to play the hits and give fans a taste of their upcoming album, Scoring The End of the World, and its single “Cyberhex.”
Fans would have to wait to hear the new track live as the group first brought them back a couple of years with “Disguise” to kick off their set. Digging further into their past, “Reincarnate” marked the night’s first on many inevitable crowd surfers making their way towards the stage. Cleverly, between songs, Motionless told fans to expect “bangovers” the next day, brought on by how much he expected fans to bang their heads throughout the night. He left fans no excuses either. “Unlike the last few shows, it’s Friday, so I better see you all banging your heads!” Fans didn’t need much motivation as “Necessary Evil” provided the perfect beat for fans to nod their heads in approval. The first of many of the night’s extra’s joined the stage as someone joined them on stage to literally light some sparks in a scene straight out of the explosive music video for the track. In a sweeter moment, another dressed in an outfit loosely based on Trick r’ Treat’s Sam joined the stage to throw candy into the crowd before handing one lucky crowd member an oversized lollipop bearing the band’s logo.
Mainstay hits “Voices,” “Rats,” and “Brand New Numb” gave fans some familiar tracks to sing along with back-to-back. Sharing the stage with two other headliners may have caused each band to shorten their sets slightly. For Motionless in White, it was clear the result was to stick to the biggest hits along with the newest track in their arsenal. Speaking of, after taking a detour with “Thoughts & Prayers,” “Cyberhex” was finally brought to the forefront. The futuristic tinged track fits nicely into the band’s repertoire and shows the band is still capable of releasing absolute bangers nearly twenty years since their conception. To close out the show, Motionless in White chose to follow up a delightful take on The Killers’ “Somebody Told Me” with a staple of their shows, “Eternally Yours.” In years past, roses have been seen as a welcome gift given from the crowd to performers after a well-done performance. Cerulli flips that script and closes out the show throwing red roses one at a time to various audience members, and tonight was no different. It is such a simple yet endearing way to thank the live crowds who’ve supported the band throughout the years.
Motionless in White continue to earn a name for themselves. Scoring the End of the World is set to drop on June 10th. As the days count down and anticipation builds, the group will set their eyes on dates in Australia before returning to the states for a number of festival dates, some of which will reunite them with both Ice Nine Kills and Black Veil Brides. Fans who haven’t yet are strongly encouraged to check out the new single, “Cyberhex,” available now.
Motionless In White
Photo Credit: Andrew Fiero
There were plenty of snacks available for fans to pick up while they waited for the second of three headliners, but sadly popcorn wasn’t on the menu. The buttery snack would have paired perfectly with Ice Nine Kills’ most recent release, Silver Scream: Welcome To Horrorwood. The album acted as a sequel to the original Silver Scream and, much like its predecessor, acted as a love letter to horror movie classics. Each track on the album plays tribute to a different movie or franchise. Fans of the movie Scream will remember the character Randy Meek’s rules for a sequel, including a bigger body count, more blood and gore, and to “Never, ever, under any circumstances, assume the killer is dead.” Welcome to Hollywood showed the world that the killer that is Ice Nine Kills is still capable of slicing away at horror movie lore.
As the theater lights lowered, Spencer Charnas (Vocals), Ricky Armellino (Guitar), Dan Sugarman (Guitar), Joe Occhiuti (Bass), and Patrick Galante (Drums) were literally suited up and adorning matching masks ready to deliver a blockbuster performance. Title track “Welcome to Horrorwood” kicks off the album for a good reason and acted as the band’s starting point tonight. Like any good opening movie sequence, the track lures fans and sets the tone. From there, INK paid homage to Hostel with “Wurst Vacation.” Each of the band’s live tracks from here on featured live actors, with one poor soul finding themselves on the wrong end of some exploratory weaponry. American Psycho-based “Hip To Be Scared.” Clad in a protective jacket, Charnas giddily screamed “Hey Paul!” right before coming down with an ax at the track’s breakdown.
The original Silver Scream was some love as well throughout the set as the band brought “Stabbing In The Dark” and “IT is the end” back from the dead. The former track pays homage to Halloween while the latter immortalizes IT, complete with Charnas dressed as a clown taunting Georgie on stage. Newer tracks “Rainy Day” (Resident Evil) and “Take Your Pick” (My Bloody Valentine) provided some fun, while “Ex-Mørtis” (Evil Dead) featured some fun with a chainsaw. If it wasn’t clear by now, INK’s set is as much theater as it is a rock show. Speaking of theater, if you’re going to pay tribute to horror’s past, few things come more easily recognizable as Psycho, which was reenacted perfectly during “The Shower Scene.” Pet Semetary’s “Funeral Derangements” would be the last look into the new album before INK closed out their night with Silver Scream’s original “The American Nightmare,” bringing Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger out of the dream world and into reality to a room full of banging heads.
Given the success of the first two Silver Screams albums, it’s safe to say that fans would love to see Ice Nine Kills take a stab at turning them into a three-album set. Much like Star Wars, Randy Meeks will hopefully one day be able to say that Welcome To Horrorwood was “Not a sequel. Part of a trilogy. Completely planned.” In the meantime, INK have set their eyes on a short run through Europe before returning to the states for their yearly festival outings.
Ice Nine Kills
Photo Credit: Andrew Fiero
With two of the three headliners down, there was no guessing who drew the rights to close out the Long Island show. Compared to Motionless in White and Ice Nine Kills, Black Veil Brides could be considered the most straightforward of the three bands. Aside from some war paint on their faces, Andy Biersack (Vocals), Jinxx (guitar), Jake Pitts (guitar), Lonny Eagleton (Bass), and Christian “CC” Coma (drums) came to Long Island to simply put on a rock clinic. Unfortunately, the group had to leave the tour for several dates while battling Covid, giving fans a stark reminder that the virus was still a force to be reckoned with. However, by the time the tour came to Long Island, the band was back in full force, ready to make up for the lost time. While the group has been celebrating their late 2021 release, The Phantom Tomorrow, devoted long-time fans were about to get a taste of each of the six releases in Black Veil Brides’ repertoire.
The lights darkened one last time to bring on the final act and a sound byte from “The Phantom Tomorrow” brought fans closer to the stage. Black Veil Brides soon came out and immediately went to work with “Faithless” before bringing fans back to an early release with “Coffin.” The crowd showed it was still as lively as ever for “Crimson Skies.” Classical music has also had its place in metal, and Jinxx took some time during “Shadows Die” to show off his impressive skill on the violin. Meanwhile, the follow-up “Wake Up” showed the band’s 80’s glam-rock inspiration as Jinxx and Pitts exchanged guitar solos while standing back to back.
Between tracks, Biersack thanked fans and kept the crowd pumped and focused. “Scarlett Cross” became the second and last track off the band’s newest offering to be played for the crowd before the band went all the way back in their catalog with “Knives and Pens” from 2010’s We Stitch These Wounds. The contrast between the two tracks shows how the band has been able to grow while staying true to the sound that defines them. “Legacy” and “Fallen Angels” followed before the group closed the night out, appropriately, with “In The End.” Ten tracks, no encore. On paper, it might seem short, but fans certainly got their money’s worth between all three acts.
While illness took Black Veil Brides away from some stops on the tour, the group managed to come back stronger. Like Motionless in White, BVB set their sights on Australia soon after the tour ends before returning to the US for some scattered festival dates. The success of The Phantom Tomorrow continues to turn and then bang heads among fans looking for a goth-infused rock opera.
Time will tell if the Trinity of Terror tour will one day rise from the grave again. Should the tour resurrect itself again, the three-headed monster will surely raise hell once more. Acting as a bit of a Cerberus, these three gods of the underworld would definitely sell out shows across the states and beyond if given a chance to do it again.
Black Veil Brides
Photo Credit: Andrew Fiero
