Wednesday 13 - Monsters Of The Universe: Come Out And Plague (Album Review)
Tuesday, 13 January 2015
Written by Alec Chillingworth
There are many things Wednesday 13 excels at, and horror punk, outlaw country and puppet shows are all sordid strings to his bow. But concept albums? Aren't they exclusively for, like, balding prog-rockers and Cradle of Filth?
Well, no. The former Murderdolls frontman has always had a knack for storytelling, with his tunes incorporating sick murder fantasies at beauty pageants and crazy adventures involving chicken shit. With 'Monsters...', though, he's tackling government conspiracies, an alien-zombie invasion and the miserable details of Earth's downfall. It takes the gargantuan, heavy atmosphere of 'The Dixie Dead' and runs with it for nigh-on an hour.
It is still recognisably Wednesday 13, though, and his trademark swagger is stamped all over Keep Watching The Skies and I Ain't Got Time To Bleed, both of which feature the sleazy melodies that have kept this man in the business for so long.
Over Your Dead Body, meanwhile, rages like a 'Women And Children Last'-era Murderdolls track and Monsters Of The Universe has a hint of the brooding helplessness present on his third solo effort, 'Skeletons'.
But it's when Wednesday 13 dares to be different that 'Monsters...' exposes its true nature. Planet Eater Interstellar 187 crushes all in its path with some horrifyingly brutal blastbeats and, while they're not the most original thing in the world, when combined with Wednesday's wacky vision they make for quite the spectacle.
Then you have the, totally serious, ballad of the album: I Love Watching You Die. Murky, Sisters Of Mercy keyboards creep through the intro and lead us into a chorus that rivals Haunt Me, Curse Of Me and other twisted ditties from the Wednesday 13 back catalogue. Put simply, he's on the form of his life here and there's not a dud track to be heard.
Change is risky in this game. We bemoan Rob Zombie for churning out the same riff again and again, yet we rip into poor Marilyn Manson for being artsy and writing about emotions and all that stuff. Musicians are set up to fail, yet Wednesday 13 has emerged triumphant.
He's done the horror punk thing with Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13, he's done country with Bourbon Crow and, 10 years into his solo career, he's finally broken the shackles of the genre he's so closely identified with. For the first time since 'Transylvania 90210', Wednesday 13 can be satisfied in knowing that he's released the best album of his career.
Wednesday 13 Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu March 05 2015 - SHEFFIELD Corporation
Fri March 06 2015 - READING Bowery District
Sat March 07 2015 - EXETER Cavern
Sun March 08 2015 - SOUTHAMPTON Joiners
Tue March 10 2015 - WOLVERHAMPTON Slade Rooms
Wed March 11 2015 - MANCHESTER Academy
Thu March 12 2015 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE THINK TANK at Digital
Fri March 13 2015 - GLASGOW Cathouse
Sat March 14 2015 - NOTTINGHAM Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Sun March 15 2015 - BRISTOL Marble Factory
Tue March 17 2015 - NORWICH Waterfront
Wed March 18 2015 - CARDIFF Globe, Cardiff
Click here to compare & buy Wednesday 13 Tickets at Stereoboard.com.
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