It has been quite a journey for the artist known as Wednesday 13. Amidst Murderdoll reunion shows and his back-breaking solo tours, he’s found time to release a slew of critically-acclaimed, blood-splattered albums. Previous album Horrifier was recorded during the lockdown and was informed by the darkness of that era whilst, in opposition, his latest album, Mid-Death Crisis, finds him stepping into the “light” to deliver a dozen tracks that come drenched in goofy gore. Mid-Death Crisis finds more light tempering the shade than on any previous album and, subsequently, has a dynamism that renders it a career best.
While age brings a host of problems and physical ailments, it can also provides invaluable experience and that’s precisely what Wednesday 13 brings to this album. Maybe years ago he would have arrived with all fists flying and guitars blazing, but nowadays he sets the scene with spooky intro ‘There’s No Such Thing As Monsters’, an instrumental that brings to mind retro sci-fi/horror, and it makes the perfect gateway into Mid-Death Crisis. It means that when the chuggy riff of ‘Decease And Desist’ kicks in, it kicks in hard; it’s prime Wednesday 13 and finds the band locking in with razor sharp precision to deliver a song that bubbles and fizzes like a mad scientist’s test tube. Never have songs about death and the dark side sounded so good; it’s the fusion of dark themes and insanely catchy tunes that makes ‘Decease And Desist’ (and, indeed, the whole album), such an enjoyable romp. Who’d ever thought a song titled ‘Decapitation’ would sound so catchy? Yet, with its super sweet harmonies (think the Beach Boys….really!), it does, and with adhesive earworm quality, you’ll find yourself humming it at all the most inopportune moments.
With each of these songs tumbling over the other in a race to burst from the speakers, Mid-Death Crisis is a record that has forward motion and it pulls the listener along in its slipstream. This is the type of record you engage with, rather than simply experience; it sucks you in instantly, and with no two songs inhabiting the same sonic space, continues to throw up surprise after surprise. One such treat is ‘No Apologies’, a track that features a guest spot from Taime Downe (Faster Pussycat) and proves a marriage made in heaven (hell?) and squeezes out the maximum ‘80s sleaze from its grooves.
Fusing horror punk, heavy metal and a healthy dose of shock rock, Mid-Death Crisis unleashes a torrent of rock bangers; ‘In Misery’, ‘Blood Storm’ and ‘Xanaxtasy’ all race towards closer ‘Sick And Violent’ and means that the ending comes far too soon, but don’t worry, you’ll soon be hitting ‘play’ again.
- Mid-Death Crisis is released via Napalm Records on 25th April 2025.
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Track List:
1. There’s No Such Thing As Monsters
2. Decease and Desist
3. When the Devil Commands
4. Rotting Away
5. No Apologies (feat. Taime Downe)
6. Decapitation
7. In Misery
8. Blood Storm
9. Xanaxtasy
10. I Hurt You
11. My Funeral
12. Sick and Violent
