It’s safe to say few surprises await the music lover these days, but sometimes an album comes along and totally knocks you off your feet. Wednesday 13 has created just such a record with ‘Undead Unplugged’, stripping back his sinister growl while guitarists Roman Surman and Jack Tankersley trade in their amps for ambient acoustics.
The gothic troubadour delves into his back catalogue here, putting together a greatest hits collection from earlier works, with Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13 and Murderdolls tunes rubbing shoulders with his solo material.
From the beautifully addictive Dead Carolina to the sleazy, whisper-me-sweet-nothings Haunt Me, each track is dominated by cascading melodies, Nashville guitar licks and his disarmingly fragile, lurid voice.
The horror-punk sparkle is still evident throughout, but this is a more restrained Wednesday 13 than anyone could have predicted during his Maniac Spider Trash days.
There are hints of Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings on We All Die to confirm the reason Wednesday 13 ditched the power supply, also harking back to his outlaw country project, Bourbon Crow. Likewise, the subtly tense opener Undead and serene epic Welcome To The Strange employ country blues as just one of a dizzying array of textures.
This album might not take amps to 11, but it certainly offers a bona fide glimpse into the bleak, honest and painful side of this horror aficionado’s emotions. It’s morbidly beautiful and you don’t want to miss it.
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