Review: “Necrophaze: Antidote” by Wednesday 13

Any self respecting Wednesday 13 fan will tell you that the self proclaimed Duke of Spook has made a habit of releasing re-recordings, covers and b-sides over the course of a career going back as far as 1992 with his various projects. There have been some real highlights like 2008’s “Bloodwork” EP that should have had more fan fare than it actually did and now that two years have past since the release of their last album it seems natural that the band would want to put themselves back in the spotlight once more before touring can resume. Whether these are new recordings or left overs from the sessions with DevilDriver guitarist Michael Spreitzer who recorded and mixed “Necrophaze” is unclear but he is credited with performing the same duties here while Jonny Bush created the artwork in classic creature double feature style.

Starting out with “Your Mother Still Sucks Cocks In Hell“, a reworking of the fans favourite “Your Mother Sucks Cocks In Hell” from 2004’s “6 Years, 6 Feet Under the Influence” by Wednesday 13’s Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13 which is served well by the updated production value while retaining all the class of the original. A hilarious chant along Metal meets Punk meets Glam Rock tune, it’s pure unadulterated fun. 1998 saw the release of the original “Screwdriver” under the same moniker, this time on their sophomore album “Night of the Living Drag Queens” and this sequel of sorts retitled “Screwdriver 2: The Return” does the same thing; injects new life into a Hammer Horror classic, updating it without detracting from the integrity of the original. These are both songs that the band have performed live in the past two years and rightly so; they’re exactly what Wednesday 13 is about. INXS cover “Devil Inside” is a little tame until a mid song breakdown lifts things but still remains a suitably creepy take on the original in Wednesday 13 signature style even if it could do with being a little bit shorter. Increasing the creep factor with a synth heavy version of “Films” by Gary Numan that features a guest appearance from Calico Cooper, the daughter of Alice Cooper, a singer, actress and director in her own right, is certainly an interesting move. The cut is something of a throwback to 2015’s “Monsters of the Universe: Come Out and Plague” that makes this EP something that strangely comes full circle and encapsulates the whole of the Wednesday 13 sound career wide. A stop gap it maybe, but it’s certainly great fun and easily listenable [7/10]

Track listing

1. Your Mother Still Sucks Cocks In Hell
2. Screwdriver 2: The Return
3. Devil Inside  (INXS cover)
4. Films (Gary Numan cover ft. Calico Cooper)

“Necrophaze: Antidote” by Wednesday 13 is out now via Nuclear Blast