Wednesday 13: Fang Bang

“The next chapter of rock ‘n’ roll debauchery,” claims the sticker affixed to the new CD by the horror movie-obsessed, glam rock-influenced Wednesday 13. Led by one Joseph Poole, who assumes the moniker Wednesday 13, the singer/guitarist is best known for his Murderdolls side project with Slipknot’s Joey Jordison, but at the rate he’s going with this amusing but undeniably fun band, he’s well on his way to surpassing his more famous act. Combining ’80s LA sleaze metal with the tuneful LA hardcore of the Misfits and the flamboyant punk of LA’s Cramps, Plasmatics, and 45 Grave, this is nothing different from what we heard on the classic Return of the Living Dead soundtrack (in fact, the band delivers a rousing cover of Roky Erickson’s “Burn the Flames” from that very disc), but it’s so fun in its preoccupation with scary themes and so catchy, why bother complaining? The comically titled “Morgue Than Words”, “Happily Ever Cadaver” (!), and “My Sweet Homicide” boast the kind of vocal hooks that hearken back to the first LA Guns album, while the metal fury of “Too Much Blood” will remind many of Skid Row, circa 1992. Which is a good thing, trust me.