Ice Nine Kills tackle just about all of the best horror film themes when writing songs, but they did something special for their latest EP. Undead & Unplugged Live From the Overlook Hotel was recorded live at the Stanley Hotel in Colorado, which was the place that inspired one of Stephen King’s most notable tales, The Shining.
Not only did the band record the EP at the infamous hotel, but vocalist Spencer Charnas explains how the grandson of Stanley Kubrick — the director of the 1980 film adaptation of The Shining — provided guest vocals for the original version of the song “Enjoy Your Slay,” which refers to the story.
Charnas explained to Loudwire Nights that he and the group first met Sam Kubrick a few years back while he was on tour with his own band in the U.K., and they became friends. At that point, they didn’t know there was a relation between their new friend and the director.
“When the time came to do a song about The Shining, I just thought, ‘Hey, we gotta ask Sam to be a part of this,'” the singer reflected. “He’s got a great voice, and just that sort of connection to the original story, we would be remiss if we didn’t try to include that.”
The vocalist went on to describe how surreal the experience was to be able to record at the very hotel which inspired the novel. “Besides all of that horror and supernatural stuff, which is incredible to be around, as I approached the hotel [I thought], ‘This hotel does look familiar,'” he said.
Turns out, Dumb and Dumber was filmed at the Stanley Hotel, which is another of Charnas’ favorite movies. “It kind of fits in Ice Nine Kills’ theme that we love horror but we love comedy, and we kind of fall somewhere in the middle of that,” he enthused.
To hear more about Ice Nine Kills’ experience at the Stanley Hotel, their future tour plans and more, listen to the full Loudwire Nights interview at the top of the page.
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