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Reviews

Mid Death Crisis: Another Home Run for Wednesday 13?

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The horror metal legend himself is back with another album this week. We loved Horrifier and I’ve been a fan of the man and his band for years now, so there was no way I was missing checking this out as soon as I could. Two decades into his career as a solo artist, can he still produce the same quality of release that he has always been known for? Read on to find out!

Intro track ‘There’s No Such Thing as Monsters’ leads perfectly into ‘Decease and Desist’. Not only is it a fantastic pun of a name, but it gets the industrial horror metal vibes going from the very first note. The opening riff is incredible, and the drum work behind it adds so much. It feels like old Wednesday in the best way. His vocals of course fit perfectly over the top of it; waxing lyrical around his usual spooky topics. It all builds to a massive, catchy chorus that I immediately want to hear live. It reminds me a lot of ‘Keep Watching the Skies’ or even ‘Get Your Grave On’, which are two of my favourite songs by the band, so of course I love this! We also get an awesome, very fitting guitar solo tucked away in the middle, showing off just how criminally underrated Ashes is. It’s a fantastic song and the perfect one to open the album with!

We’re already very familiar with the album’s lead single, having done a reaction video to it when it dropped. If you want to hear me gushing over it, I’d highly recommend checking out the video as I don’t want to keep repeating the same stuff, I’ll sound like too much of a fangirl! However, I will say that I love it just as much now as I did when I first heard it, and it’s an easy huge highlight of the album. It’s been on our playlist since it released!

‘Rotting Away’ leans slightly more into Wednesday’s punk territory with the pace, but keeps the heaviness and awesomeness high. The guitars dropping out behind the vocals in the verse was a nice touch, and it once again all builds to a fantastic, huge chorus. It’s another one that’s gonna be stuck in my head for days to come, I’m sure. We once again get an awesome guitar lead line in the middle, the track following a standard formula but doing so spectacularly well. It’s another fun, excellent song that any fan of the band will certainly love!

‘No Apologies’ continues where the previous track leaves off pretty perfectly, having that quick pace and punk edge while still having the heaviness and darkness of the opening two songs. It’s an absolutely incredible chorus too, one that is made to be played to huge arena and festival crowds around the world. He has such a unique style; you can tell it’s Wednesday the moment you hear it, and he does it so well. This is another easy highlight of the album, and another to make the playlist!

Songs like ‘Decapitation’ and ‘Xanaxtasy’ are more Misfits-esque horror punk songs. The former’s lyrics are honestly hilarious, and another big high point of the album for me. They’re aggressive and violent in all the best ways. Both are more lighthearted, higher-energy songs that split the album up perfectly. Oh, and I love both of them, if that wasn’t obvious! And both are catchy as any, more songs I am desperate to hear in a live setting!

Single ‘In Misery’ brings the doom and gloom back, the haunting clean riff opening it up perfectly and building up into a huge, epic, dark soundscape. It’s another classically Wednesday track filled with dark lyrics, a heavy verse and massive, infectiously catchy chorus. And the solo is maybe my favourite of the album too, fitting the vibe of the song perfectly. It’s a dark love ballad like only Mr 13 can do, and is another easy big highlight of this album so far packed full of them!

‘Blood Storm’ brings back the punk energy, the ‘woh’s giving off more of a Pennywise or again Misfits vibes. It works really well alongside Wednesday’s harsher vocals, almost harkening back to his Muderdolls days. I also love it switching between the lightening quick pace and the half-time stuff, the dynamics making each part feel massive and unique. Shock horror, it’s another excellent song!

The final three tracks on the album are more of the glorious same. Sure, ‘I Hurt You’ is another slower, more ballad track compared to the others, and is lyrically fantastic. And yes, ‘My Funeral’ is another ‘Get your Grave On’-like banger and another huge album highlight. However, none especially brought much new to the table. All were fantastic songs, but I don’t find repeating myself over and over and gushing a bunch makes for a very good review to read, so I’ve grouped them together to basically say ‘more awesome songs you should definitely check out’! ‘Sick and Violent’ is the perfect, fast paced, epic closer to this album, too!

Overall: Wednesday seems incapable of making a bad album. And, while I love all of them, the run that he’s been on over the last decade or so is nothing short of spectacular. This adds to that run perfectly, with another incredible solid release packed full of amazing horror metal songs. There isn’t a bad song on it, and I’d put the singles up there alongside any of his other big hits. I can’t recommend this enough to any fans of Wednesday, or the genre of metal in general. It’s a lot of fun to listen to that, for the most part, doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’ll certainly be one I’ll be spinning again a lot in the coming weeks and months!

The Score: 8/10

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Lamb of God, The Cult and Much More!

You know the drill by now. A dozen amazing bands releasing new music, and we’re here to check it all out! See what we think below!

Lamb of God: Omens

Lamb of God releasing their ninth studio album makes me feel old. But that’s exactly what they did this last week. I’ve been a fan of the band for over half my life at this point, getting into them from Sacrament. I’ve seen the bands ups and downs and they really seem to be having a bit of a career resurgence recently after some slightly more questionable output in the 2010s. Their previous, self-titled album was fantastic and, honestly, this may one up it to an even higher level.

It takes everything new it seemed to build up well on the previous album, the spoken work/sung stuff and the dynamics with up and downs and tempos, and rolls with it all to new heights. The fact that in 2022 we have a Lamb of God album open with a track that has mostly clean verses is insane, especially when it’s one of the best tracks on the album. If anything it just makes Randy’s screams have even greater impact. And of course, from an instrumental perspective they’re still a metal guitarist and drummers dream band. The talent on display is unbelievable. The riffs are insane and Art Cruz again kills it on the drums.

The singles are of course great, and other tracks like ‘To The Grave’ and ‘September Song’ are also awesome. The whole album is a highlight, however, and hopefully will be the one to finally push LoG through that glass ceiling they seem to hit a while back. 8.5/10

The Cult: Under the Midnight Sun

I’ve never been much of a fan of The Cult. I get and respect the impact they’ve had on modern rock music, but they never did anything for me. This album didn’t change my mind. There wasn’t even a riff like ‘Rise’ or even ‘She Sells Sanctuary’ to keep me interested. There’s very little to this, and as someone who’s not that into Ian Astbury’s vocals, this was a tough listen. Sorry to anyone who I offend with this, but… 3/10

Bush: The Art of Survival

This was heavier than I expected it to be! I haven’t heard much recent Bush stuff, pretty much reserving myself to the phenomenal Sixteen Stone, so this took me a little off guard. In a good way, though!

Of course the vocals are still the melodic, radio-rock style Gavin is known for. However, the riffs are HUGE. Like, de-tuned, ch0nky and almost metal, huge. And on top of that, there’s some genuinely catchy, stadium-filling choruses and melodies on here. ‘Slow Me’ is my favourite track on the album and maybe my favourite track the band has ever put out. Tracks like ‘More Than Machines’ and ‘Human Sand’ are also amazing. They’ve almost added a progg element to their sound, sounding a little like Karnivool and Chevelle.

My only slight issue is that it all sounds just a bit similar. Most of the tracks follow the same sort of formula; slower, stripped-back verses and then the big riff that opened the track comes back for the chorus. At least it made ‘Creatures of the Fire’ feel different and unique, as the it the main exception to the rule. Still though, I’d LOVE to hear this stuff live, I feel like it would be one hell of a show. I need to check out more Bush now! 8/10

Queensrÿche: Digital Noise Alliance

I’m not all too familiar with the band outside of Mindcrime and Empire. However, I have heard that Geoff Tate’s replacement has done wonders for the band, so I’m curious to hear how this sounds!

Sadly, the opening track and biggest single didn’t actually grab my attention. However, the opposite could be said for ‘Chapters’. It’s an incredible catchy track, straddling the line between AOR and even some modern Iron Maiden. I do have to say though, the mixing on the vocals was a bit odd. It felt distant, quieter than it maybe should have been. Tracks like ‘Sicdeth’, ‘Nocturnal Light’ and prog epic ‘Tormentum’ are also highlights of the album.

And I would like to add that it is a good album. I wanted to stress that before I went on to say… it’s a little overdone at this point. I know Queensryche are very much one of the originators of the sound, but there is so much amazing AOR music these days, that I feel like it’s just already been done. I love this sort of music, but bands like Eclipse and Tygers of Pan Tang are just as good, and I am more familiar with their work. So it is definitely a good album full of good tracks, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as their older stuff, or as much as I could have done. Hence why I shall give it a 7/10

Wednesday 13: Horrifier

We had the chance to review this before it’s release. Spoilers, it’s awesome. To find out just how awesome, check out our full review here.

Everette: Kings of the Dairy Queen Parking Lot – Side B

Another album we’ve had the pleasure of reviewing, and another amazing one. Find the review here.

Goatwhore: Angels Hung from the Arches of Heaven

The extreme metal titans returned with their eighth album this last Friday. If you’re a fan of the genre, like I am turning out to be, you’ll love this. Don’t get me wrong, It got a bit much and repetitive by around the halfway mark, but then I also loved the epic, plodding closing tracked. It’s everything you could want from an extreme metal album and certainly had me wanting to mosh! I shan’t pretend to be an expert on these things, but I enjoyed it, so will give it a 6.5/10

Counterparts: A Eulogy for Those Still Here

This feels very much like a Max album. Unfortunately, his uni has kept him too busy to help out this week. Depressing lyrics, heavy, Djenty riffing, solid drums and hardcore, bordering on extreme harsh vocals. I have to say, it’s not for me. I couldn’t really get anything memorable to come away with out of it, I just know the general sound and that it wasn’t for me. While I can appreciate they are all talented players, nothing about this prompted my will for a second listen. Sorry for anyone who is a fan, and I know that they are a pretty big band, but I’mma have too give this a 3.5/10

Barrett Davis: The Ballad of Aesop Fin

The North Carolinan country singer songwriter put out his debut album last week after months of putting out some great singles. It has a real old-school feel to it all and shows off some real talent as far as playing and songwriting is concerned. ‘Carolina Still’ is a personal highlight of the album, showing off Barrett’s impressive vocal range and some great guitar and piano. It almost boarders on easy listening, at times. It’s a good, relaxing album that I’ll definitely be chilling out to a lot in the coming weeks and months. 7/10

Acid Witch: Rot Among Us

This was a whole lot of fun. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. I was ready for the stoner/doom metal riffing, but the almost Nightmare Before Christmas level of theatrical, extreme vocals over the top I was not. Honestly the duelling vocals and more stage-show style feel always does it for me in tracks, it’s why I love Ice Nine Kills so much.

‘Gather Each Witch’ and ‘Rot Among Us’ are the perfect tracks to open the album on, giving me a complete, great feel for what the band is about. The horror themes, big riffs and fun dynamics are all clear staples of the album. While not all tracks have the play-off style vocals, we still have some on ‘5508 Martin St.’ and ‘Evil Dad’. The later gives me ever so slight ‘Three Little Pigs‘ vibes with the higher vocals. Both tracks are amazing. However, saying that, there isn’t a bad track on this album.

I came into this not expecting to come away with one of my most enjoyable listens of the year, but there we go. It came out at the perfect time of the year but, honestly, I’m going to be listening to this way past Halloween. Great stuff, 9/10

VUKOVI: NULA

The Scottish rockers are back with maybe their most ambitious release to date. Just listening to opener ‘DEPARTURE’ sets up the epic feel they are going for. ‘TAINTED’ does a great job of continuing that feel and is a fantastic radio-rock track. ‘LASSO’ is another good track, the rapping being an interesting, fun addition. It has elements of Linkin Park and modern BMTH, while being a little lighter and indie/punky than both.

However, while I did enjoy the rest of the album, it only took me 4/5 songs to realise that it’s all going to be rather similar. Tracks like ‘I EXIST’ and ‘KILL IT’ are good and more highlights, but the album suffers from a similar issue and structure to Bush’s. It’s good, but I found myself getting distracted from the exact same formula in every song by the midpoint. It will most likely be more of a solo track album for me as opposed to listening through it front to back again. Because of that I can’t give it tippy top marks, but it still gets a very impressive 8.5/10

Borealis: Illusions

This is some of the most epic shit I’ve ever heard. Not many bands could have an epic intro track and then have a mega intro to the first proper song on top of it. And musically it’s like if Dream Theater did power metal. It’s definitely got that epic power/symphonic side to it, but the riffs wouldn’t sound out of place on a Djent album. I love it. The first three tracks are perfect. From a slow, epic intro to a radio track to the first epic prog track across 13 minutes, it’s fantastic. Then you have tracks like ‘Burning Tears’ and ‘Abandon All Hope’ and this is a damn good album. They deserve to be huge, and hopefully this album is the one to do it! 8.5/10

Reviews

Horrifier: The Album to Make Wednesday 13 a Household Name?

Born out of the ashes of Murderdolls, frontman Wednesday 13 has had, in my opinion, had a solo career that greatly eclipses what he did with the late Joey Jordison. I’ve been a big fan of the man and his band for years, so when we got the email through for a sneak peek at his new album, I had to check it out! Read on to see what I thought…

After a brief, creepy intro track in ‘Severed’, the album launches straight into a heavy, almost death metal riff to open ‘Insides Out’. It’s slow, crushing and downright evil. Wednesday’s low vocals come in over the top, sound really cool double tracked with more of a scream behind it. And if anything, the riff for the chorus is catchier than the vocals. They’ll be good to chant live, but the high note crying out between the low chugs is amazing. The bridge is just as slow and dark, with the drums being a particular highlight when the double bass drums come in. It’s a simple, fun, heavy track to open up the album with.

Check out more horror metal here.

‘Exhume and Devour’ bring back the punk and old-school horror elements simultaneously. A great bass riff and some distant drums behind Wednesday’s almost carny voice introducing the track. A huge guitar riff kicks in after that reminds me of ‘Get Your Grave On’. In fact, the whole verse does, especially with the drumbeat too. The chorus is alright again, but so far both have been the only slight disappointment on the album. They’ve just not got the hook to them that some of the bands previous track have. Still though, this is a good horror metal track none the less.

A great riff opens up ‘You’re so Hideous’. Wednesday teases us with the chorus before we head into a surprisingly uplifting instrumentation through the verses. Of course, the lyrics are still dark, making for an interesting contrast. The chorus is almost a classic rock riff with some mean but entertaining vocals over the top. We also even get the first guitar solo of the album in this track, with his talent being shown off well. We then get hit with a final chorus to close out another good song.

The uplifting punk riffs continue in ‘Good Day to be a Bag Guy’. It’s still heavy though, especially behind Wednesday’s dark verses. We finally get another catchy chorus, the lyrics being simple but easy to sing along to. They’re also punk AF and will get people having a bad day immediately on board. It’ll be another that’d go down a storm live, which feels like the main factor when writing this album. The solo was another nice one, especially when it vaguely followed the main vocal hook. And it dropping down to just drums and the chorus vocals after was a nice touch, again making it even catchier and something I can see them leaning into fantastically live. A great track, and one that easily makes the playlist!

‘Return to Haddonfield’ has an almost power metal feel to it from start to finish. It’s actually my favourite track on the album because of it. It’s somehow the ballad track of the album, think ‘Skeletons’. The chorus is huge and mega-catchy, the verses building perfectly towards them, and we even get my favourite solo on the album. It’s everything I want out of a Wednesday 13 track, and I’d put it up there among any of their previously released hits. It makes the playlist with ease. Damn, it’s such a shame that I don’t think this will end up in Halloween Ends in a couple of weeks, because it’d be the perfect song and fit for that movie and the band deserve that sort of hype.

The title track picks up the pace again with an almost thrash level of chugs. The track itself is another great one, heavy and balls-to-the-wall throughout. Even the chorus reminds me of a thrash metal song. That’s probably why I love it, being a thrash kid at heart. But the riffs are great, the solo is good and the vocals fit it all perfectly.

‘Hell is Coming’ features an almost Black Sabbath level of evil in its riff. It almost gives it a sleaze edge in the verses too, like a South of Salem/Falling Red type of feel. Again, the chorus is great, them having really picked up after I’d said the first few tracks weren’t great for them. While this song is pretty basic and mainly just based around variations of the AWESOME riff, it’s a great track and another that easily makes the playlist!

‘Halfway to the Grave’ feels the closest thing to their clear inspiration, Misfits, on this album. Having said that, there’s some of that sleaze/arena rock creeping in again with the huge chorus and catchy harmonies ans backing vocals. Honestly, it could have made a really good single, as the mid-tempo anthemicness of it all would definitely make a good selling point. Even still though, it’s a damn good track yet again. It’s simple, heavy and catchy and very Wednesday 13. Good stuff!

‘Christine…’ channels similar heavy thrash vibes as the title track does. It’s a quick, to the point and infectiously catchy track, but doesn’t do anything we haven’t heard already on this album. Then we reach the closing track and another slower, ballad-like track, ‘The Other Side’. The opening riff is huge and rather black metal. It drops out for the verses, Wednesday’s vocals giving off a little Axl Rose energy for some reason. It’s a HUGE chorus, the riff coming back in behind the anthemic vocals to make everything sound massive and emotional. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not my favourite ballad ever, some of the lyrics, while meaningful and full of emotion, were a tad simple and almost cringy. However, the sentiment is very much there and it makes for a heartfelt, catchy song, and a surprisingly good way to close the album.

Overall: This grew on me more and more throughout. I’ve not experienced such a bottom-heavy album before. I, like most people, usually love the opening tracks and then feel it peters off towards the back half. With this, however, I wasn’t too sold on the first three tracks, but then got into it after that. Everything from ‘Good Day…’ onwards was fantastic. Hopefully the rest will grow on me with a few more listens, but either way I loved this album and HAVE to see them live again soon!

The Score: 8/10