Transylvania 90210: Songs of Death, Dying and the Dead marks the first solo effort from Wednesday 13 who most would know as the lead singer of Murderdolls. His musical roots however were planted long before that project, first with the short lived (and honestly quite terrible) Maniac Spider Trash and followed by his much longer and respectable run with the Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13.
Now just hearing the names of these bands and reading the track listing should start giving you an idea of what Wednesday 13 is all about. He’s basically an obsessive horror movie fan putting out a creative twist of metal fused with the punk rock mentality of “less is more.” He’s famous for his snarling vocal delivery of hilarious, fun lyrics that all seem to play off his love for the inherent campiness and mindless joy of horror films.
This is not the album to go to if you want to hear incredibly complex song structures or insightful meaningful lyrics. This album really is like a B Horror flick. It’s not overcomplicated or deep but what it does it does well and if you can see past some of the silliness of it you can really appreciate the music and have a lot of fun listening to it.
Let me talk about the music for a second, basically what you’ve got on this album is a great mixture of punk and metal/hard rock mentality the songs are rather formulaic with the oft-repeated verse-chorus-verse-chorus-solo-chorus trademark that has been with Wednesday 13 for most of the music spanning his now over 11 year career. It’s a basic formula but it gets the point across and makes for sing-along fun songs, exactly the kind of music Wednesday is aiming at making.
This is also a solo album in the truest of senses with Wednesday 13 providing almost all of the instrumentation on the album as the liner notes put it “Produced and Directed by Wednesday 13. All lyrics, vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, samples and stunts performed by Wednesday 13.” The drums on the album were covered by Ghastly who is also part of Wednesday 13’s live band and some backing vocals were performed by Kid Kid. Speaking of which here are the members of Wednesday 13 as of this writing.
The Cast:
Wednesday 13: Vocals, Guitar
Kid Kid: Bass, Backing-Vocals
Pig: Guitar, Backing-Vocals
Ghastly: Drums
Alright I think that’s more than enough background information so let’s move into the track-by-track shall we.
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1) Post Mortem Boredom
Not a song at all but an introduction to the album. It starts off with some creepy effects and bells going off in the background before warning you “The following audio contains songs of death, dying and the dead. To avoid fainting keep reminding yourself it’s only a recording… recording… recording.” Cheesy? Yes. A good opener for what’s to come? Yes. (N/A)
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2) Look What the Bats Dragged In
Right after the intro we’re treated to a very addictive guitar riff backed by some great drum and bass work. It’s not the most technically complex on the album but it’s a fun riff and gets the blood pumping. Once the vocals start you‘ll need to decide on your own if you like them or not. The lyrics are cheesy and not really about much but it‘s a cool song nonetheless. The solo is actually one of the more difficult on the album to play and is a pleasant surprise to the metal head and hard-rocker in all of us. (3/5)
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3) I Walked With a Zombie
The first single and I would say rightfully so. This track starts with a fun intro that sounds like it came right out of a 50’s horror movie and quickly shows Wednesday’s expertise at making fun punk inspired music. It’s simple and addictive and complete with a great sing-along chorus. It’s sure to make you want to get up and dance and is arguable the best punk song that Wednesday has put out so far. In place the the usually requisite solo we‘re treated to a fun post-chorus of “Whoa-oh-oh-ohs“ accompanied by hands clapping that is sure to become a stable of their live show and will make you want to clap along to the album. (5/5)
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4) Bad Things
If you take this song seriously it can easily be criticized as being very immature. Then again if you just got past the love song about a zombie you shouldn’t be taking this stuff literally anymore. The song off the bat is one of the funniest on the album with some hilarious lyrics that can put a smile on your face. Basically the song is just about someone Wednesday 13 hates, the rhyming as I alluded to earlier is a little juvenile but it’s still very funny. This song also sees the return of some very awesome guitar work with an effects-heavy solo that impressed me quite a bit. Actually up to this point all of Wednesday‘s musical talents have been impressive as he has never fully highlighted them before this album. (4/5)
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5) House by the Cemetery
Starts with a simple horror movie scream sample and moves into some very B-Movie inspired lyrics accompanied by a lead guitar riff that can be appreciated by any fan of old horror movies. The song is pretty good and contains some excellent drum work with some nice fills thrown in as well as a decent solo. The highlight really is the old fashioned horror-movie feel though. (2.5/5)
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6) God Is a Lie
From the first guitar notes you can tell this song is going to be something special. It has a feel completely different from anything on the album so far and will stand out in your mind right away. The lyrics are surprisingly serious and deal with suicide in a mature manner, definitely not standard Wednesday fare. Th lead guitar really does define this track along with the strongest vocal performance by Wednesday thus far. He still has his trade mark snarling voice but he‘s singing with real emotion and it comes across very well. A great surprise is the solo that follows a scream of “Somebody save me!” by Wednesday 13. It‘s excellently done and my favourite on the album starting with a slow old-school feeling and suddenly bursting into a note picked unexpectedly fast. A highlight of the album and something that could be enjoyed by anyone. (5/5)
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7) Haunt Me
One of the stables of Wednesday 13’s songs are writing love songs about horror movie characters, B-Movie scream queens and zombies have all gotten the treatment in the past and it’s time for a ghost to get some. It’s a surprisingly serious sounding song, it honestly doesn’t feel like a joke but more like a genuine love song for someone who has past away. Musically it has a slow rhythm held together by more solid drumming, not flashy but effective and a great opening bass line. (3.5/5)
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8) Transylvania 90210
The title track and I would argue rightfully so. This is definitely a new direction for Wednesday 13 and shows that he’s evolving as an artist without abandoning the music that he’s grown to love making and his fans love to hear. The song is very slow with a haunting feeling and some very surreal lyrics that create a trippy atmosphere that I really wasn’t expecting when I picked up this album. For me it was a very pleasant surprise and I would call this song, although musically simple, one of the highlights of the album. (5/5)
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9) I Want You… Dead
So how do you follow a soft introspective sounding song? Kick the listener in the teeth with a full-on assault of speed of course. This song starts with a very fun riff played a little slow before Wednesday 13 unleashes a wicked 9 second scream and the guitars start going full-throttle with an awesome lead that will make you want to start moshing right away. The lyrics are typical Wednesday fare, funny and angry but without taking themselves seriously. This includes the too awesome for words lyrics “Forget misunderstood, I’m necro-feelin-great necro-feelin-good!“ The chorus is pure sing-along goodness and the solo is another of the best on the album. I also think the drums are best on this track and the outro is just addictive. Basically it‘s the main riff but played with stops and it really adds a cool end to a great song. (5/5)
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10) Buried by Christmas
A little out of season at the time of release I know but this is still a hilarious song with a catchy guitar section and one of the most sing-along choruses on the album. I mean if you can‘t smile at lyrics like “All I want for Christmas is a custom fit casket with black velvet interior, oh yeah, and a bucket of chicken.” you really shouldn‘t have read this review for this long. (3/5)
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11) Elect Death for President
This is one of the longest songs on the album at 4:22 and it feels like it. This song just feels tedious to listen to and is the only song in this album that I frequently skip. The song is about exactly what the title suggests, elected Death for president. It’s a funny concept but it just doesn’t go anywhere interesting, the bassline is above average but the vocal delivery just feels boring. I should also mention that Ziad makes a guest appearance playing Sax on this track. It’s an interesting change in sound but it just wasn’t enough to save this from being a yawn-fest in my opinion. (1/5)
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12) Rot for Me
This song starts with a quick sample that I can’t identify for the life of me but either way it acts as a cool introduction to pretty good song. It’s another basic I’m pissed so I killed you song that as I’ve said before shouldn’t be taken seriously. Wednesday provides some very cool screams of “Rot!” during the chorus and the solo in this song is simply fantastic. It’s one of the better songs on the album in my opinion. (4/5)
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13) The Ghost of Vincent Price
Let me just say that I can’t give an unbiased opinion of this song. I’m a huge Vincent Price fan and I think he was the greatest horror movie actor of all time. I was almost in tears listening to a tribute song by someone who can lay claim to being a true expert on horror films. The song is the longest on the album weighing in at 5:08 and every second is spent well. The songs starts with a keyboard riff that sounds like it came directly from a horror movie and then the lead guitar kicks in and continues that awesome riff through the majority of the song. The drums, bass and rhythm guitar are all top-notch and Wednesday 13 gives a good vocal performance throughout. Add in a slow-paced but great sounding solo and excellent lyrics and you’ve got an album highlight. (5/5)
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14) A Bullet Named Christ
Here we are at the last song and it takes off where Transylvania 90210 left off. This song brings the haunting quality and surreal atmosphere to even higher levels. The only instrument besides the steady beat of the drum are the keyboards and it adds a very interesting effect. Wednesday performs some of the most surreal and excellently written lyrics he‘s ever written while showcasing sides of his voice he rarely highlights. This is another song sung with true emotion and again it comes off and leaves the listener hanging on his every word. An excellent album closer and a great addition to an already great album (4/5)
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Well that’s it! I’d like to thank you all for reading through this rather hefty review and I hope it could at least make you want to look into a band that I feel is being overlooked by not only the mainstream but also the more underground fans of music. I know that Wednesday 13 appeals to a niche market lyrically, namely the horror movie fan, however I feel that if you just have a listen you too will enjoy hearing a fun blend of punk and metal with some great musicianship and vocals that, while not appealing to everyone, at least have an original quality to them that can be very interesting to hear.
Recommendations
For the punk fan: I Walked With A Zombie
For the metal fan: I Want You… Dead
For the horror fan: The Ghost of Vincent Price
For anyone: God is a Lie
Looking for something new: Transylvania 90210
It’s been great reviewing this album and any feedback would be appreciated this is my virgin review so please be gentle. (That just means no senseless flames, feel free to point out why I’m a douche but don’t just say I’m a douche.)
