Wednesday 13
Skeletons

Third solo album for the ex-Murderdolls Wednesday 13, who continues a musical journey whose roots are always well present and represented.

Album after album, however, the personality of Joseph Poole - the artist's real name - surfaces, and influences that were once merely hinted at come through strongly. In particular, the dark gloominess of a piece like "I Will Remember You" is much more than just a simple shard as it was in previous works, and the constant musical references to Alice Cooper, especially the modernist elements of "Brutal Planet" and "Dragontown", complete the more obvious references to his entire visual side.

The beginning of "Skeletons" is one of those sick ones, with "Scream Baby Scream" taking us not far from the territories of Rob Zombie, whose imagery, after all, Wednesday 13 can increasingly be likened to. The song to shout out loud is undoubtedly "Not Another Teenage Anthem", a chorus that's damn in-your-face and effective. In the more direct pieces, there are also surprisingly classic models evident, even Metallica in an episode like "Put Your Death Mask On" or, much more understandably and naturally, the aforementioned Alice Cooper in the title track. The conclusive "All American Massacre" (rock'n'roll!) and "Dead Carolina" are explosive.

Wednesday 13 confirms himself as very skilled in writing catchy choruses that can carve into the mind from the first listen, but this time increases the dose of introspection, an element that makes "Skeletons" an extremely intriguing work, though not suited for everyone's tastes: the Marilyn Manson-like vocalizations (the artist who fooled us all), in fact, remain and may lead astray those encountering Wednesday 13 for the first time. However, pieces like the title track or "My Demise" are new nuances that justify and retrospectively enhance the artist's entire strict musical journey, prompting one to look curiously at his future career.

The short duration of the album and the absence of fillers make it a work to delve deeper into listen after listen, starting with the "easy" choruses and venturing into the explicit sarcasm (also coming directly from Alice Cooper) of titles like "Gimmie Gimmie Bloodhsed" or verses like "I Got An Addiction To Ammunition". At this point, there really is nothing more to add.

Users of dubious utility (see Mukkiodossa and Hell) are requested to post sensible comments.