Released: 2008
I can't pretend to have been a big fan of Wednesday 13 previous to this release, but almost immediately Skeletons gave me the distinct impression that it was going to be a heavier and darker album than before, and I wasn't disappointed. The title appears to be an allusion to struggle in his personal life, a concept that he seems to have carried right across most of the endeavour. Purging their personal demons is always a good way for artists to make some of their best work, and it could be because of this that Wednesday 13 has made a pretty good heavy rock record.
The man did a lot of touring with Alice Cooper leading up to the recording of this CD, and it shows; Cooper's influence is all over this, as if 13 sat long hours in the dark listening to early 00s stuff like Brutal Planet and Dragontown over and over again. Skeletons sounds so much like Alice Cooper in fact that at times it's like a lost work that's been uncovered, polished off and beefed up with some modern production. That said, it also bears the hallmarks of 13's Misfits-like horror punk roots with less-than-subtle injections of White Zombie-style groove metal. "Put Your Death Mask On" is heavy with the latter's influence, manifested by a thunderous groove and a raspy growl. The opening track also has a solid metal vibe, ripping into an explosion of churning guitars after a deceptively slower intro. Other songs are more familiar, but with a degree of maturity, particularly in the lyrics that also mirror Alice Cooper's world-weary ironies and clever observations and reflect Wednesday 13's personal demons more than the imaginary ones he's served up before.
Musically Wednesday 13 is hardly re-inventing the wheel here, but he has made a solidly rocking album full of catchy tunes, something else he's learned from the master.
I can't pretend to have been a big fan of Wednesday 13 previous to this release, but almost immediately Skeletons gave me the distinct impression that it was going to be a heavier and darker album than before, and I wasn't disappointed. The title appears to be an allusion to struggle in his personal life, a concept that he seems to have carried right across most of the endeavour. Purging their personal demons is always a good way for artists to make some of their best work, and it could be because of this that Wednesday 13 has made a pretty good heavy rock record.
The man did a lot of touring with Alice Cooper leading up to the recording of this CD, and it shows; Cooper's influence is all over this, as if 13 sat long hours in the dark listening to early 00s stuff like Brutal Planet and Dragontown over and over again. Skeletons sounds so much like Alice Cooper in fact that at times it's like a lost work that's been uncovered, polished off and beefed up with some modern production. That said, it also bears the hallmarks of 13's Misfits-like horror punk roots with less-than-subtle injections of White Zombie-style groove metal. "Put Your Death Mask On" is heavy with the latter's influence, manifested by a thunderous groove and a raspy growl. The opening track also has a solid metal vibe, ripping into an explosion of churning guitars after a deceptively slower intro. Other songs are more familiar, but with a degree of maturity, particularly in the lyrics that also mirror Alice Cooper's world-weary ironies and clever observations and reflect Wednesday 13's personal demons more than the imaginary ones he's served up before.
Musically Wednesday 13 is hardly re-inventing the wheel here, but he has made a solidly rocking album full of catchy tunes, something else he's learned from the master.
- Scream Baby Scream
- Not Another Teenage Anthem
- Gimme Gimme Bloodshed
- From Here to the Hearse
- Put Your Death Mask On
- Skeletons
- My Demise
- With Friends Like These...
- No Rabbit in the Hat
- All American Massacre
- Dead Carolina
Rating: 83%
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