With fond memories of WEDNESDAY 13 at the Manchester Academy last year, I wasted no time in signing up for another a dose of horror inspired rock. With a respectable crowd in, it was time for the band to make an entrance. Maybe be supports had run over (can’t break those curfews, can we!) but their were none of the theatrics that I was expecting to open a WEDNESDAY 13 set. The venue plunged into darkness as the scene was set with ‘I Want You…Dead’, and the simple brand of no frills punk infused rock’n'roll sounded as crunching as ever through the Sugarmill PA system.

The old MURDERDOLLS tune ‘Die My Bride’ was good to hear mid set, but it’s the more horror flick songs like ‘American Werewolves’ and ‘Happily Ever Cadaver’ that really do the trick for the crowd. As well as the odd illegal substance, WEDNESDAY 13 does have a love for his b-movie horror, and such an addiction inspires the lyrics for many of his songs. Such songs have created a niche in the market for WEDNESDAY 13, with the ‘horror metal’ genre almost single handidly created, after of course, a little direction from ALICE COOPER and KISS.

With a set comfortably covering over an hour, WEDNESDAY 13 had once again proved his worth as a good frontman. OK, his songs are hardly grammy winning material, but they are simple and easy to sing a long to, hence, they work really well in the live environment. This is a band that always play a good set, and will always be regarded as the ultimate hallowe’en partry band.

WEDNESDAY 13 Setlist: I Want You…Dead / My Home Sweet Homicide / House By The Cemetery / American Werewolves / Die My Bride / Happily Ever Cadaver / God Is A Lie / Graverobbing USA / Faith In The Devil / Rambo / 197666 / Curse Of Me / Haunt Me / Mr Motherfucker / Buried By Christmas / Dawn Of The Dead / Bad Things / I Walked With A Zombie / I Love To Say Fuck

Rating: 4.2/5.0

Review by James Allman

Photography by Alexander Shaw(click here)