Having made a splash with Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13, Wednesday 13 hit the jackpot when he teamed up with Slipknot’s Joey Jordison for Murderdolls. But when they announced an indefinite hiatus in 2004, Wednesday forged ahead with his own band and made four albums of tongue-in-cheek odes to necrolust.
We know what to expect from the horrorpunks on their fifth studio album – they dabble in a witch’s brew of Ramones and White Zombie, and draw on the theatrical elements of Alice Cooper, Mötley Crüe and Twisted Sister. But The Dixie Dead offers something a little different from the punk-rock tunes that get their fans bouncing.
Maybe it’s connected with Wednesday’s involvement with outlaw country side project Bourbon Crow but there’s a real sound of the South here. Instead of Andrew WK-style party riffs, we get dirtier and heavier chugs that we’ve heard from Pantera and BLS. But before you go crying to your grave, the W13 essence is kept – it’s just got gristlier.