Like most people, I first became aware of Wednesday 13 when he joined up with Joey Jordison’s Murderdolls but when his first album Transylvania 90210 came out, I watched him play what still stands out as one of the best shows I’ve ever been to (RIP Gaelic Club) which kicked solid ten year obsession that saw me pick up a guitar for the first time.
I got the Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13 box set the albums and CD the day they came out. Fang Bang was not disappointing after the amazing 90210, Skeletons was dark and brooding, but the mix of Punk songs with a Metal edge and Rock Star swagger, combined with cheesy horror makeup and clever wordplay was exactly what I needed at the time, and I lapped it up.
Time passes though and people change, but Wednesday 13 has found his lane and is staying in it. 2015’s Monsters Of The Universe saw the sound shift more towards Metal and dial back the Punk a bit, and while I’ve always enjoyed Wednesday’s albums, none of them have had that special magical feel the first one had, but they all have some great songs and you always know what you’re gonna get, Metal tinged Punk tunes with clever, horror movie themed lyrics.
The newest album HORRIFIER continues to lean more towards metal than Punk, opening with chugs, slow jam Insides Out after the obligatory spooky sounds intro of severed. It’s got a heavy as fuck riff that delves into Doom territory and sticks around just long enough to keep the head nodding without wearing out its welcome.
Exhume And Devour is next and sounds like it would fit in on Monsters or 2019’s Necrophase with its machine gun riff and driving bass/snare beats.
You’re So Hideous is a catchy, toe-tapping ode to Medusa which features the classic line “better run for cover cos she’s turnin motherfuckers into stone” which had me cracking up.
Good Day To Be A Bad Guy, to me, is classic Wednesday 13, catchy but heavy, funny lyrics, loud swears, driving drums, and just sitting on the heavy side of Punk Rock, great song.
Return To Haddonfield is a ballad ode to Mr Myer’s hometown, Hell Is Coming is a slower jam with some heavy riffs, Christine: Fury Of The Night is a heavy banger and the album closes with The Other Side, a slower rocker with a heavy chug riff.
Overall this is a really solid album and while I personally thought there were one too many mid-paced songs and would have liked some more BPMs, that’s just personal preference on my part and what makes this album distinctive. Solid heavy songs, great lyrics as usual, by now, nearly 20 years and 8 albums as a solo artist, you know what you’re going to get from Mr 13 and he’s delivered another solid album. He doesn’t stray too far from his formula but still manages to make an album that stands apart from the others. 7/10
The new album, Horrifier, is out now! Order here: https://lnk.to/Horrifier
