When Wednesday 13 embarked on his solo tour during his Murderdolls hiatus, he demonstrated his ongoing expertise of the horror rock genre by picking Florida’s ghoul punks DBY (Death Becomes You) to become his backing band. Even the most cursory listen sees the wisdom in the choice, as a distinct bloodline can be traced from songs like Planet Graveyard and Bats In Your Belfry.
Although the sleeve photo makes the band look like serious exponents of Scandinavian black metal, their lineage is more clearly picked out from the bubblegum horror-punk of Misfits et al, and a faithful rendition of the Ramones’ "I Wanna Live" pays homage to another serious influence.
Snatches of horror movie dialogue bracket each song, and even without the quartet’s ambitious stage shows – all blood and fire, Alice Cooper and Kiss on a budget - this is invigorating and full-blooded fare. Lyrical delights spring up as repeatedly as Freddie Krueger from a dumb teenager’s wardrobe - singing gleefully of “looking into your cadaver eyes” over frantic, accomplished drums and chugging melodic riffs.
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Although clearly this isn’t a genre one turns to in search of innovation, and while a certain roughness is evident in this debut recording, there’s plenty of gleefully morbid entertainment to be found for those who appreciate Hammer Films as much as a good rock and roll record.
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