Review Summary: The horror metal master brings us his darkest, heaviest offering fresh from the cemetery.
Joseph Poole has been the mastermind behind a lot of projects; Frankenstein Drag Queens, Gunfire 76, Bourbon Crow, the ever infamous Murderdolls and his eponymous solo project Wednesday 13.
What started out as a more Misfits and Alice Cooper hybrid with his first 2 albums (Transylvania 90210 and Fang Bang) slowly evolved into a more metal project from his 3rd record Skeletons, which took a more campy turn with Calling All Corpses before shifting into more menacing tones with The Dixie Dead and Monsters of the Universe: Come Out and Plague. Now on his 7th album, Wednesday kicks up the metal to 11 with catchy riffs, menacing vocals and dark lyricism.
The theme of the album from the man himself is death, from all perspectives, from being the victim, to the killer, to the funeral, life after death and everything in-between.
Not counting the intro and interlude tracks, we have 11 songs. These songs have something for every W13 fan.
What the Night Brings, the 1st song and lead single, kicks off with an incredibly ear worming Pantera style rhythm guitar, with an eerie lead and spooky synths providing the foundation. Upon the first line you can immediately tell this album is going to be heavy, Wednesday's unique vocals paint a picture of horror with lines such as:
"Slow creeping death
From the depths of the damned and possessed
Call to you
To carve upon your flesh"
What the Night Brings and Cadaverous have a definite Skeletons vibe to them, which may not please fans of W13's early work, however Blood Sick, Lonesome Road to Hell, Good Riddance, You Breathe I Kill and Omen Amen all kick up the tempo to near thrash levels.
Lonesome Road to Hell certainly has Fang Bang vibes in terms of speed and structure, yet the guitar tone, vocals and lyrics all have a Dixie Dead feeling. This song has one of my favourite choruses on the album
"I'm not turning back
I already hear the bells
I will leave a trail of blood
On this lonesome road to hell"
The title track, as has been promised, is truly an epic song. At just under 7 minutes in length, it is the longest song this project has released. After a solemn piano intro and a dark, bottom heavy chugging riff which repeats throughout the song along side melodic clean lead guitar, Wednesday repeats the same lines for the chorus:
"Sorry for your loss
Sorry for your loss
Condolences
Condolences"
Near the bridge of the song is an incredibly dark, yet melodic solo, one of many on the album. To end the song, the metal backs away to chilling piano work, incredibly soft, almost ASMR spoken word from Wednesday before kicking back into the chorus and repeating "Condolences" as the song fades into nothing, which fits the theme of the track and the album, Wednesday is dead, and the title track is the funeral.
The track and all the tracks on the album have incredibly clarity and production, thanks to Zeuss from Planet Z who produced, mixed and mastered the album, a first for the group, who normally is self produced. It is also the first W13 album to be released on a label, Nuclear Blast Records. The playing is tight, the instruments all crisp and clear, nothing overpowers anything.
This album is, in my opinion, the best W13 has released. The music is incredible, unites both past and present, W13's vocals are really menacing and evil, yet really melodic at the same time. The themes of death are a good fit, but of course being Wednesday there is still some cheesiness (take Cruel to You, which sounds like a Calling All Corpses B-Side and the lyrics of Cadaverous)
Favourite tracks:
What the Night Brings
Cadaverous
Lonesome Road To Hell
Condolences
