CD Review: Wednesday 13 - Fang Bang

Here is a good example of a little research going a long way: I was going to describe the Wednesday 13 album, which is the first I have heard from him, as sounding like a combination of The Misfits, Murderdolls, and Dope. Now if you are familiar with Wednesday 13, you will probably already see where this is heading. I looked him up and found out that he was the frontman for the Murderdolls, which also had a former member of Dope, and now the touring lineup for the current Wednesday 13 tour has another former member of Dope on it. So, in the end, I stand by the description of the sound, but without the rest of this, I would have sounded foolish. Keep reading, I'll probably do it again.

Fang Bang is a flat out fun album. It has that glam punk rock sound, combined with ghoulishly clever lyrics that combine into something that, while not the greatest thing I have heard, blend into a sound that is a blast, something that you can turn up and rock out to. The entire album is catchy, the songs get stuck in your head and stay there, no matter how hard you try to carve them out.

Before you even put the CD in and press play, you should be able to get a good idea of what you are in for. If the album title doesn't clue you in, perhaps song titles like "Morgue Than Words," "My Home Sweet Homicide," and "Buried with Children" should be able to tip you off. The album is laced with halloween inspired humor, reminiscent of The Misfits' Famous Monsters album.

Wednesday 13 is the kind of artist that will make a lot of money for Hot Topic. Its over the top goth stylings seem perfectly suited to that mall emogoth kid scene, and I'm OK with that. This is a band that helps put the fun back into Halloween, the guy knows how to take his image to the hilt in the grand tradition of guys like Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie, could Wednesday 13 be the next shock rock horrorcore icon?

As for the CD itself? "Morgue Than Words" is a high energy kick start and will give you a good taste of what is to come. As for the standout tracks? Well, there is not a lot of variety to the music but I have to admit to being partial to a few tracks. "Home Sweet Homicide" has a good hook while "Faith in the Devil" reminds me of the 1980s rock excesses of bands like Motley Crue, and "Haddonfield" takes me back to the night HE came home. There is no way I could leave "Too Much Blood" out of the mix, with its odd to heavy drinking. Honestly, who am I kidding? This is fun from start to finish, just don't go looking for any great technical displays or any deep philosophical lyrical content, and you'll be fine.

Bottomline. Looking to have fun on a dark and stormy night while cruising the local graveyards? Add a little Wednesday 13 to your iPod alongside the Zombie and Manson tracks. I can only imagine what this guyh is like live.

Recommended.