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What year is it again? With Green Day set to headline Download and the huge Black Sabbath show on the horizon for July, it surely can’t be 2025. Wednesday 13’s timeline seems to be even more in flux than the global one, however. The former Murderdoll channels his early noughties peak with a healthy dose of Alice Cooper shock rock of the most classic eighties variety on his new outing, ‘Mid Death Crisis’. It’s no stale nostalgia though. By sticking to his roots while taking a look back at the monsters of rock who inspired him, 13’s created a refreshingly fantastical record that operates outside of any known time stream, harkening back to an era when folk were worried about satan lurking behind every riff, and denim and leather were compulsory stage wear.
What sets ‘Mid Death Crisis’ apart from other horror or gore-soaked records is just how fun it is. We’re not talking about Creeper’s noble visions of eternity in your arms here, or Slipknot’s dark calls to wait and bleed. It’s pure revelling in overblown, eighties slasher flick lurid details. “I don’t want to see your face anymore, I want to see your fucking head on the floor,” croons 13 on ‘Decapitation’, his voice even more sleazy than usual, dragging the optimistic power chords down to his level. You can almost hear the wry grin across his corpse-painted face when he screams out “Hail satan, tell me your demands, 666, when the devil commands,” on ‘When The Devil Commands’. The frontman’s having fun with his over-the-top vintage horror take, and that joy is completely infectious.
The feeling upon first listen is that ‘Mid Death Crisis’ is what Wednesday 13 always wanted to do with his time, and finally has the space and platform to make it happen. He’s taken his love of the bootleg cassette era, plus his life hopping between heavy subgenres, and, like some kind of glam rock alchemist, turned steel into gold. The great thing is that it’s going to hit the right notes for a lot of fans who may not have been turned on to his Murderdolls era, or his bleaker post-pandemic solo efforts. There’s enough in-your-face pounding on ‘Rotting Away’ to crack open a pit, with a dark anthem chorus and a slashing guitar solo, and ‘No Apologies’ jumps right into dirty LA rock territory with a full on sneer on the chorus to capture those turned off by all the devil worshipping. The theatrical strutting buffs the grimy edges of his sound until they shine, and the gothic elements never drag the mood down. Sure, those who remember him from his first forays into the mainstream will love the drama, but so will those intrigued by the wide-stretching black tentacles he’s sending out to entice fans from other parts of the horror music spectrum.
The last time Mr 13 came to the UK, it was to celebrate the anniversary of Murderdolls’ debut album. That’s all well and good, but this summer, when he returns, he’ll be celebrating his own career, and ‘Mid Death Crisis’ exemplifies this sea change in his sound. 13’s made a record that sounds like it could have been bootlegged in the eighties and surreptitiously shared between teens in leather jackets, and that’s a compliment. By harking back to a time when metal was all about the excess, he’s made an album that’s equal parts guilty joy and tribute to his own inspirations, both a new chapter and a redefining of an underrated cult artist.
KATE ALLVEY
What sets ‘Mid Death Crisis’ apart from other horror or gore-soaked records is just how fun it is. We’re not talking about Creeper’s noble visions of eternity in your arms here, or Slipknot’s dark calls to wait and bleed. It’s pure revelling in overblown, eighties slasher flick lurid details. “I don’t want to see your face anymore, I want to see your fucking head on the floor,” croons 13 on ‘Decapitation’, his voice even more sleazy than usual, dragging the optimistic power chords down to his level. You can almost hear the wry grin across his corpse-painted face when he screams out “Hail satan, tell me your demands, 666, when the devil commands,” on ‘When The Devil Commands’. The frontman’s having fun with his over-the-top vintage horror take, and that joy is completely infectious.
The feeling upon first listen is that ‘Mid Death Crisis’ is what Wednesday 13 always wanted to do with his time, and finally has the space and platform to make it happen. He’s taken his love of the bootleg cassette era, plus his life hopping between heavy subgenres, and, like some kind of glam rock alchemist, turned steel into gold. The great thing is that it’s going to hit the right notes for a lot of fans who may not have been turned on to his Murderdolls era, or his bleaker post-pandemic solo efforts. There’s enough in-your-face pounding on ‘Rotting Away’ to crack open a pit, with a dark anthem chorus and a slashing guitar solo, and ‘No Apologies’ jumps right into dirty LA rock territory with a full on sneer on the chorus to capture those turned off by all the devil worshipping. The theatrical strutting buffs the grimy edges of his sound until they shine, and the gothic elements never drag the mood down. Sure, those who remember him from his first forays into the mainstream will love the drama, but so will those intrigued by the wide-stretching black tentacles he’s sending out to entice fans from other parts of the horror music spectrum.
The last time Mr 13 came to the UK, it was to celebrate the anniversary of Murderdolls’ debut album. That’s all well and good, but this summer, when he returns, he’ll be celebrating his own career, and ‘Mid Death Crisis’ exemplifies this sea change in his sound. 13’s made a record that sounds like it could have been bootlegged in the eighties and surreptitiously shared between teens in leather jackets, and that’s a compliment. By harking back to a time when metal was all about the excess, he’s made an album that’s equal parts guilty joy and tribute to his own inspirations, both a new chapter and a redefining of an underrated cult artist.
KATE ALLVEY