So, just what is a restless frontman to do when his band goes on hiatus? Many times, they’ll go and record a solo album. This can go one of two ways: either it will sound just like your full-time band, or it will sound nothing like it. So, which path did Wednesday 13, member of Murderdolls and Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13, decide to travel? The former, of course. I suppose your choices for musical direction are few when your public image is one of gothic face paint and dreadlocks, though. So, while for all intents and purposes this might as well be a new Murderdolls album, Wednesday 13 throw a few musical curveballs in as well as more campy horror lyrics than that band that also enable the album to stand on its own.
For the most part, the music here is essentially 80s-style hair metal infused with horror-punk elements. A lot of the guitar work here I could easily imagine being delivered by Mick Mars or C. C. Deville. Even the song structures wouldn’t have sounded out of place on mid-era catalog entries from Motley Crue and Poison. Now with that in mind, we can get into some specifics. After the obligatory intro (for an album of this nature, anyway), things kick in with “Look What the Bats Dragged In”, which by its very nature immediately brings Poison to mind (remember their debut album?), so it’s no surprise that this is one of the tracks that sits on the metal end of the spectrum. A solid driving rhythm with Wednesday 13 throwing enough change-ups in his delivery to make this a very entertaining track. “I Walked With a Zombie” brings the horror-punk aspect into the picture for a campy romp, complete with handclaps at one point. “House by the Cemetary” introduces another thing that will pop up here and again during the album: a whammy bar effect that creates that slightly creepy, slightly shrieky sound that is often equated with campy horror movies. Then we have the pure horror punk stylings of “God is a Lie” (oddly, not much of a horror track), which will pop up later on “Buried by Christmas”. “Haunt Me” brings a little goth to the table, while the title track and “A Bullet Named Christ” fully embrace that darker, creepier sound.
That’s about it, really. Things are pretty cut-and-dry here. Overall, this was a fun album that has much replay value, with the very strong first half providing enough enjoyment that will get you through some of the weaker moments in the second half. If you like the Murderdolls, you’ll like this solo debut from their frontman. If not, you probably didn’t read this anyway. But, if you did, you were probably hoping I’d tear this album to shreds as a piece of fucking shit music made by guys that wear makeup. Sorry, but I don’t write reviews based on what you want to read – I write reviews based on what I want to write.
