With the next evolutionary installment from Wednesday 13’s new album, Mid Death Crisis, they bring a fun and spooky sound back in a heavy way.
Fans of Wednesday 13 have the unique experience of having a body of work from lead singer Wednesday that ranges from horror punk to glam rock to outlaw country. Some of the more recent releases have been on the darker side; however, Mid Death Crisis has gone back toward a more campy-horror-themed rock album that feels influenced by Fang Bang.
The line-up has remained largely unchanged, except for drummers, since Calling All Corpses until recently with the departure of Roman Surman. With the addition of the new lead guitarist, Ashes, there is a notable difference on this album. He brings his experiences from working with bands such as Static-X and Davey Suicide. His sound blends spectacularly with Jack Tankersley’s guitar, Troy Doebbler’s bass, Mike Dupke’s drums, and, of course, Wednesday 13’s vocals.
The album opens with “There’s No Such Thing As Monsters,” an appropriately eerie intro track that is picture-perfect concert walk-out music. With the vibes of the Monsters of the Universe album meets Murderdolls, the next song, “Decease and Desist,” is a strong opener that signals to fans what they are in store for. The fast guitar and drums make a strong impression for a ghastly song that will likely have a place on the setlist for a long time to come.
Up next is the previously released single, “When the Devil Commands.” It is a super catchy song that is just hard enough and just fast enough to inspire even the most uncoordinated people to feel the need to dance in their room while listening to it loudly. The next song, “Rotting Away,” is excitingly reminiscent of “Bad Things” right away, but then they quickly show this is not the same ol’ same ol’ in any way. They also manage to make this song seem like an evolved Fang Bang song.
This album offers a track, “No Apologies,” with guest vocals from Taime Downe of Faster Pussycat. The hard rock and glam rock influence that he brings is apparent right away. This track is fun, energetic, and evocative of a Gunfire 76 song. The next song, “Decapitation,” is also fun and energetic but in a much more gruesome way. It is easy to listen to while thinking of that one person we all have. The song is just under two-and-a-half minutes long but it feels much shorter than it is which speaks to how easy it is to listen to and sing along with.
The seventh track of the album, “In Misery,” is the second released single. The song starts with a more traditional metal sound than fans have seen in the past. Have you ever stayed with someone who makes you feel cursed but stayed anyway? This song is the amusingly grim embodiment of that. The next track, “Blood Storm,” is another song that is reminiscent of a song from Fang Bang. With the vivid bloody imagery lyrically, it fits into the horror themes of that album while having a refreshed sound. Right after that song ends, the next song is a fast and heavy reprisal of the 2010 song, “Xanaxtasy.” In this revision, the lyrics were slightly updated, and the music is certainly heavier, but this sounds like the main album release it was always supposed to grow into. Ashes’ guitar influence shines through in this song.
In the song “I Hurt You,” the listener gets a more poetic song than most from the past. There is not any particular song this one should be compared to; it should be appreciated for the emotional and twisted toxic love song that it is. Though this song may stand out for those who are fans of The Dixie Dead. The next song, “My Funeral,” is timed perfectly following the previous song. This song is the epitome of what is meant by the name ‘Duke of Spook’ that Wednesday proudly holds. It has a macabre feel with solid backing vocals and a true rock’n’roll sound.
The band ends the album with “Sick and Violent.” This song is electric and lyrically reminiscent of “Kill Me Before You Kill Me” but much more refined with a catchy chorus and just the right amount of evil. Overall, this is a thrill ride of an album with enough madness and nostalgia to make long-time fans delighted and enough of a musical exploration to bring a new sense of originality. Be sure to catch them on their in-progress US tour or the summer UK/Europe tour.
Mid Death Crisis is out on April 25 on Napalm Records.
PHOTO BY: Anabel D Flux
