61-480: Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13 was an American horror punk band from North Carolina . The band was formed in 1996 by Wednesday 13 , who recruited friends and former Maniac Spider Trash bandmates Seaweed and Sicko Zero. The band's history is riddled with a 'revolving door' lineup with 13 being the only member to have never been replaced. After breaking up in 2001 when Wednesday 13 left to perform vocals with
122-467: A Des Moines, Iowa -based band Joey Jordison played in, named The Rejects, which was fronted by vocalist Dizzy Draztik. The sound of the band was somewhat comparable to what the Murderdolls would later develop, minus the horror themed lyrics. The Rejects split up as Jordison's other band Slipknot were signed to a major label. During the 1999 Ozzfest tour, Jordison met Tripp Eisen and asked him if he
183-489: A "collaboration" between Jordison and Tripp Eisen . At the time Wednesday 13's importance as songwriter wasn't known by the public. The lead single from the album was titled "Dead in Hollywood", the promotional video featured a guest appearance by Marilyn Manson , who had previously become friends with Jordison and was returning the favor of him earlier appearing in the video for " Tainted Love ". In July 2002 Eisen announced he
244-457: A DVD which features footage from a 1998 concert. It was released on Restless Records . Former members Horror punk Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies . The genre was pioneered by the Misfits in
305-742: A band, with a third recorded at the time being released posthumously in 1990. By this time the band's members were instead pursuing the heavy metal band Danzig . In the early 1980s the death rock genre was pioneered in Los Angeles by groups like 45 Grave , Christian Death , Super Heroines and Kommunity FK . Although death rock and horror punk are separate styles of punk, they bear a significant overlap through emphasis on horror themes and imagery. Death rock band 45 Grave, in particular, are massively influential on horror punk. The Misfits reformed in 1995, this time featuring Michale Graves on vocals, releasing two albums before his 1998 departure. Although
366-412: A bassist. Tripp Eisen has claimed that he suggested that his friend Acey Slade was brought into the band around this time, but was turned down. Soon, Wednesday 13 was moved to the frontman position after Dizzy left the band to take care of his ailing mother. The band changed their name to the Murderdolls and would soon adopt a horror themed approach. In fact, in terms of material used Wednesday 13 became
427-526: A compilation album for Metal Sludge. He then released a greatest hits album under the name Wednesday 13's Frankenstein Drag Queens, featuring a few new songs. The frontman then decided to put the band to rest and began to record under the Wednesday 13 name. Shortly after this, 13 and his former bandmates in the Graveyard Boulevard patched up old feuds (with the exception of Seaweed ) and decided to bring
488-505: A four date tour of the UK supported by English psychobilly band Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster . Murderdolls played their last show on January 17, 2004, in Corona, California . After this they went on an indefinite hiatus with Jordison returning to Slipknot. Since the hiatus begun, both Wednesday 13 and Jordison maintained that the band had not split up for good, and that they would return to record
549-663: A headlining tour of North America in December, followed by a tour of the United Kingdom in January, before returning to Australia for the first time in 8 years to co-headline the Soundwave Festival . The band announced that, along with their North America tour, Violent Night, Deadly Night Tour , they were releasing a music video for the song "Nowhere" from Women and Children Last on November 29, 2010. However, On November 29, 2010, it
610-495: A large interest in horror movies, from which they take most of their images and references. Lyrically, the group most often present themselves in a " tongue-in-cheek " manner, covering topics of necrophilia , grave robbing , cross-dressing , amongst other things. The Murderdolls are often described as " Mötley Crüe meets the Misfits " by critics and fans alike. Some consider the Murderdolls history to go back as far as 1994 to
671-473: A period of the band often demeaned by its fanbase, the Graves era of the Misfits played a significant role in increasing the notoriety of the band and horror punk in general. Prior to the reunion, they were a band influential amongst the punk and metal scenes however were obscure outside of that circle. It was only during the 1990s that "the majority of rock fans woke up to them". A new wave of horror punk emerged in
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#1732884501318732-499: A popular style of songwriting which emphasised horror during the 1950s and 1960s. These elements continued into the 70s with the advent of glam rock and heavy metal . Pioneering groups such as Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath used horror themes extensively throughout their careers. One of the most prominent influences on horror punk was the Cramps ' merger of rockabilly and Shock Theater influenced imagery and lyrics. Furthermore,
793-508: A second album together in the future. Additionally, in a 2009 interview, Slade revealed that he would have been happy to reform the Murderdolls by now, but it always proves impossible due to other commitments of the band members. In February 2010, whilst embarking on a solo tour in Australia, Wednesday 13 spoke with Drum Media and told them he was tossing up whether to record another solo album or record another Murderdolls album. He stated that
854-410: Is defined by its fusion of punk rock music with the imagery and lyrical topics common in the horror film genre. Typically it references B movies , doing so in a way that emphasises cheesiness . However, some artists and songs in the genre also discuss events of real life horror. Due to this, horror punk generally eschews the political lyrics found in conventional punk rock. The genre also asserts
915-399: Is such a product or a fucking formula these days... Fuck formula! Fuck the norm!" It was revealed on the band's official website that the band would feature a new lineup without Slade, Griffin or Graves. Drummer Racci Shay joined the band alongside guitarist Roman Surman and bassist Jack Tankersley. Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars recorded a guest appearance on the new album, whilst he
976-603: Is the first time they "sat down together to write songs and the production is a far better than from Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls . They also revealed to the magazine that the CD was recorded in a mansion upon the Hollywood Hills, which encouraged them "to create their own sound with no influence from the outside world", as they were secluded. The album was released on August 31, 2010, through Roadrunner Records . The band promoted
1037-631: The Hellbilly Deluxe 2 World Tour and after the untimely death of his Slipknot bandmate Paul Gray . This led to the band performing only two shows in California in mid-June to promote their new album. The first show was captured on video and was released on DVD for the special edition of the album. Jordison resumed touring with Zombie in early July. For Women and Children Last , Jordison and Wednesday 13 confessed to VerdamMnis Magazine that they consider this new release to be their very first album, as this
1098-521: The Murderdolls , the band reformed for a brief reunion in 2005, releasing a box set containing their entire library of recordings except for the track "Look Mom I Killed A Chicken" because Wednesday 13's master copy was "destroyed beyond repair". This track is exclusively available on the 197666 7-inch LP and the band-released "Chop Off My Hand" CD-R. The music of the Frankenstein Drag Queens
1159-553: The Murderdolls . The Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13 recorded their fourth album, Viva Las Violence . This time the sound was more hard rock -centered, but with some shades of their Night of the Living Drag Queens album remaining. Seaweed recorded some tracks on the album but had left by the time it was released. A local young bassist named JaCkY Boi replaced him and finished the tracking. In support of
1220-456: The 1999 reunion lineup of Samhain. This lineup released one album Songs from the Earth in 2001. Another key figure from this period was Wednesday 13 , who Metal Hammer writer Rich Hobson termed a "horror-punk hero". In 2002 he formed the Murderdolls alongside Joey Jordison , which began writing by "cannibalising" the music of 13's prior band Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13 . Following
1281-579: The Australian festival Big Day Out , going on after Queens of the Stone Age and Foo Fighters headlined the event. They were received favorably and one reviewer commented on the band's performance as a "mangled, choked and psychotic version of the Sex Pistols ." The other major festival dates during this time were Download Festival and Rock am Ring , Iron Maiden headlined both of the festivals. Together,
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#17328845013181342-527: The Damned one of the earliest English punk rock bands made use of a horror influenced aesthetic. In particular, the band's vocalist David Vanian shaped his stage persona around the 1931 film Dracula and its leading actor Bela Lugosi . The Misfits formed in 1977 and began creating music influenced by the then-burgeoning punk rock scene. After recording the album Static Age in 1978, they began writing music inspired by science fiction and B-movie horrors. At
1403-494: The Drag Queens, who had formed a new band themselves, the Graveyard Boulevard. With the Murderdolls, 13 toured the world and played several high key festival dates such as Summer Sonic Festival , Download Festival , and Rock am Ring , playing with bands such as Iron Maiden , Queens of the Stone Age , Foo Fighters , and many more. After Murderdolls went on hiatus, Wednesday 13 put out a new song, "Your Mother Sucks Cocks in Hell", on
1464-502: The Frankenstein Drag Queens back as a part-time project. They officially reunited onstage in Greensboro, North Carolina on August 20, 2005. The lineup featured Wednesday 13, Abby Normal, and Sicko Zero. They released a 10th anniversary box set in May 2006 titled Little Box of Horrors . The box set features almost every song the band has ever recorded, with alternate versions of some songs, and
1525-453: The Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13 reformed. Seaweed returned to the lineup and brought a guitarist named Creepy and a drummer named Scabs with him. However, the latter two only remained with the band for two weeks. Abby Normal, previously of Maniac Spider Trash, and drummer R.S. Saidso joined the band. Along with 13, the 3 recorded and along with Saidso, 13 co-produced the Frankenstein Drag Queens cassette-released demo EP. This cassette
1586-519: The Frankenstein Drag Queens were not garnering much success and wanted to try a new project. In November 2001 Wednesday 13 joined the Rejects as a bassist. By 2002, Draztik was out of the band, 13 was the frontman and they had a new name, the Murderdolls . 13 would use many Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13 songs on the Murderdolls debut album Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls . This would cause relationships to fray between 13 and former members of
1647-540: The Living Drag Queens and Songs From the Recently Deceased. During this time keyboardist Ikky was brought into the band, but Sicko Zero was uncomfortable with this and he soon left for the second time. During 2001, Scabs the drummer, who replaced Zero the first time around in 1997, was brought into the band to replace him once more. Although the band still wore make-up during this period, they removed their wigs and began to adopt an image which would later be seen in
1708-627: The USA. Each release featured a different front cover and the US edition came with a sticker. Also released the same year was 197666 , limited to 500 copies and containing the rarely heard track "Hey Mom I Just Killed a Chicken". After playing in support of the Songs From the Recently Deceased album, the band secured a European record deal with People Like You Records (which is backed by Century Media Records ). The company re-released digipack versions of both Night of
1769-664: The United States, their album and singles charted well in Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia and Japan. Their second album, Women and Children Last , was released in August 2010. Wednesday 13 confirmed the band's split in an interview in July 2013. The sound of the band is made up of their shared influences, which musically are punk rock and as well as from some of the 1970s hard rock acts (such as Kiss and Alice Cooper ). The band also share
1830-470: The aforementioned tracks himself. The song "Welcome to the Strange" was featured on the soundtrack for the movie Freddy vs. Jason . This track was later available as a bonus track on an expanded release of the debut album along with the single White Wedding; a Billy Idol cover. Upon its release the Murderdolls album was promoted to the public as the "other band" of Joey Jordison, the drummer of Slipknot, or
1891-638: The album on the Women & Children Last World Tour, on which they supported Guns N' Roses on a handful of European dates, performed on the main stage at the UK edition of the Ozzfest , supported Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper on the Halloween Hootenanny Tour (Jordison performed double duty with Zombie and the Murderdolls), and performed on Fuel TV 's The Daily Habit . The band was expected to embark upon
Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13 - Misplaced Pages Continue
1952-556: The album, the band played many shows, and recorded some songs which would later appear on a Greatest Hits compilation. The band played their last show in Atlanta, Georgia during early 2002 and were disbanded by leader Wednesday 13. 13 had been asked to join a band named the Rejects by two musicians from Des Moines, Iowa named Dizzy Draztik and Joey Jordison , the latter of which played in Slipknot . 13 felt that after six years and four albums,
2013-513: The band "keeping horror punk alive" in the late-2010s. Following the release of their debut album Eternity, in Your Arms (2017) the band changed their sound towards glam rock . However, after this shift the band's vocalist Will Gould began Salem , a band reviving Creeper's earlier sound. This led Punktastic writer Tom Walsh to describe Gould as "on a crusade to single handedly revive the horror punk genre". Murderdolls Murderdolls
2074-621: The band recorded a cover version of Billy Idol 's " White Wedding ". A promotional video was recorded for it, in which they mocked popstar singing contests such as the Idol series . It was released as a single in the United Kingdom and they even performed it on the UK chart show Top of the Pops . Mid 2003 The Murderdolls co-headlined a tour of England with fellow Roadrunner Records band, Stone Sour , which contained two of Jordison's fellow members of Slipknot; Corey Taylor and James Root. Murderdolls toured at
2135-468: The band set to record their second album, Night of the Living Drag Queens . This album and the one previously recorded were released via the band's own label Uncle God Damn Records and were made available by mail order and at their gigs. After touring in support of the album, guitarist Sydney left the band. 13 then decided to keep the band a trio which ironically had returned to its original form with Wednesday 13 on guitar and vocals, Sicko Zero playing
2196-570: The band's 2004 hiatus, he began a solo-career. At this same time, horror punk-influenced bands also gained notability, including My Chemical Romance , Alkaline Trio and Tiger Army . During the 2000s, the distinction between psychobilly and horror punk became increasingly obscured. The Creepshow were one prominent band blurring these genre lines. During this same period, Blitzkid 's merger of "goth's stretching shadow and pop-punk's teenage humanity" too gained notability alongside Calabrese . Kerrang! writer Chris Krovatin credited Creeper as
2257-453: The band's first album. Because of the association of Eisen and Jordison's other bands, was to be released on Roadrunner Records . Primarily the recording features Wednesday 13 and Joey Jordison playing all of the instruments and vocals, however Eisen recorded some of the guitar solos on it. Around this time in late March 2002, Ben Graves and Eric Griffin, two musicians native of Boston, Massachusetts but were living in Hollywood, California at
2318-482: The band, he formed New York horror punk band the Undead . Steve Zing who was a part of the band's local Lodi, New Jersey following was one of the earliest musicians influenced by the Misfits. Zing formed his own horror punk Mourning Noise in 1981. Following the 1983 breakup of the Misfits, vocalist Glenn Danzig formed Samhain , a similarly horror-themed punk band. The band released only two albums during their time as
2379-452: The blueprint for their future recordings. Lyrically the album featured songs about killing Miss America , religion, and rape, and horror movie themes such as a song mentioning the Wolf Man . By the end of 1996, 13 fired Seaweed from the band and Rat Bastard took his place. Soon after, Sicko Zero quit the band, 13 lost contact with Rat Bastard, and the band folded. The following year, in 1997,
2440-496: The distinction feels like splitting hairs". Some psychobilly groups even take influence from horror punk imagery, notably Tiger Army . The meeting of horror imagery and rock music has existed since the genre's earliest years. 1950s rock and roll singer Screamin' Jay Hawkins and his single " I Put a Spell on You " is a prominent example of this, through its allusions to voodoo . Additionally, teenage tragedy songs such as " Teen Angel ", " Endless Sleep " and " Moody River ", were
2501-402: The driving force for it. Most of the tracks on the Murderdolls debut album were covers from his previous band Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13. These covers which would later introduce a whole new audience to the past music of Wednesday 13. Wednesday 13, Jordison and Eisen went into the recording studio to record a demo consisting on an albums worth of material. This demo ended up becoming
Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13 - Misplaced Pages Continue
2562-456: The drums, and Seaweed on bass guitar. The trio went into the studio and recorded their third album, Songs From the Recently Deceased. This was, in comparison to their previous recordings, a far more horror-themed album. Also during this time three 7-inch limited singles were released. The first, commonly referred to by fans as "Hello Horray", a split with the Spook, was released in both Germany and
2623-493: The end of 2003 in support of the single and the re-release of their debut, which included their Billy Idol cover as well as five other bonus tracks and b-sides: "Let's Fuck'", "I Take Drugs", "Crash Crash", "Welcome to the Strange" and "I Love to Say Fuck". The latter two had previously been recorded by Wednesday 13 with the Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13. The tour went through many European countries including Spain, Italy, Croatia, and Scandinavian countries before ending with
2684-541: The gothic rock genre death rock , with its emphasis on influence from punk rock, contains significant overlap with horror punk. Although, death rock lacks horror punk's rockabilly and doo-wop influences, instead paying a greater attention to musical atmospheres. Psychobilly is also a closely related style to horror punk, particularly during the 2000s when the genres became increasingly intertwined. In an article by Kerrang! , writer Chris Krovatin stated that "the two [genres] have become so accepting of one another, that to make
2745-504: The idea was still in talks, but would be his number one priority if the opportunity arose. In March 2010, Jordison officially revealed to Kerrang! magazine that Murderdolls had officially reunited with him and Wednesday working with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris. Jordison said about the reunion, "It's been an ongoing conversation between Wednesday and I from 2006 until now. We were bored with everything out there, and thought we had something to piss people off and shake things up. Everything
2806-455: The influence of 1950s–inspired doo-wop and rockabilly sounds. During the earliest stages of the gothic rock genre, "horror punk" was one term often misapplied to the genre. While both horror punk and gothic rock pull from many of the same points of reference, and sometimes early horror punk groups, particularly the Misfits, are themselves cited as being "proto-gothic", the two genres are distinctly separate by modern definitions. However,
2867-434: The late 1970s and early 1980s. Subsequent bands formed in the Misfits' wake like Mourning Noise , the Undead and Samhain , solidifying horror punk's first wave. In the late 1990s and early 2000s the genre gained attention through the reunion of the Misfits and success of groups like AFI , Son of Sam and the Murderdolls . This popularity continued to the modern day with Blitzkid , Calabrese and Creeper . Horror punk
2928-482: The late 1990s and early 2000s. AFI , who had previously been established as hardcore band, transitioned into a horror punk sound following their 1998 recruitment of guitarist Jade Puget . A 2022 article published by Metal Hammer credited their 1999 album Black Sails in the Sunset as having "reinvented the horror punk of the Misfits for a new generation". In 2000, AFI vocalist Davey Havok formed Son of Sam alongside
2989-526: The music of the Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13 , a horror punk band from Charlotte, North Carolina , fronted by vocalist Wednesday 13 . Draztik persuaded the band to invite the Drag Queens frontman to play with the Rejects. The pair had previously considered bringing Wednesday 13 into the band before Eisen joined. Wednesday joined them in November 2001, where he was brought into the Rejects as
3050-464: The same time, they began using the titular character from the Crimson Ghost (1946) as their logo, wearing makeup, clothes with skeleton patterns during performances and employed a style of hair inspired by Eddie Munster that they came to term a " devilock ". Through this stylistic shift, they laid the groundwork for all future horror punk bands. After Misfits guitarist Bobby Steele departed from
3111-401: The time joined the Murderdolls. They were brought in after Eisen showed Jordison a video of himself jamming with the pair, they decided the duo would be right for the band. And although they would feature on the debut album artwork, they did not actually play on the album itself. The band played their first show together as the Murderdolls on July 30, 2002, at San Diego 's Epicenter club. An EP
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#17328845013183172-463: Was an American rock band formed in Hollywood, California in 2002. Its lineup consisted of core members Wednesday 13 and Joey Jordison while former touring members included Ben Graves, Acey Slade , Eric Griffin and Tripp Eisen . The band released two albums, the first in the form of Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls which was released in 2002. Though the band had limited initial success in
3233-570: Was announced that the Violent Night, Deadly Night Tour was canceled, due to family issues. The last time the Murderdolls performed together was April 24, 2011. This final gig marked the last time Joey and 13 spoke. In March 2013, Wednesday 13 announced in an interview that the Murderdolls had split for good in 2011. In 2017, Wednesday 13 stated his interest in resurrecting the Murderdolls, and that Joey may also be interested. Further speculation came in July 2018 when Jordison claimed new material
3294-690: Was at the Summer Sonic Festival in Tokyo, Japan during August 18, 2002, two days before their debut album was released. This helped them gain a fan base in Japan. Following this they played some dates in Europe, including a tour of the United Kingdom with AntiProduct (the lead singer of which, Alex Kane, briefly replaced Griffin on bass when he had to return home during the tour) and Ireland. Their restless touring continued throughout 2002 into 2003, where they played in several major festivals; first, they played at
3355-610: Was interested in a project he had in mind, the reforming of the Rejects with Draztik. Eisen agreed to join the project and a friend of his from the band Dope and previously the Genitorturers , Racci Shay played drums with them. Also a bassist named Ian, who had played in New York based band the Vampire Love Dolls (fronted by Acey Slade who was known as J at the time), played with them live. Dizzy Draztik introduced Joey Jordison to
3416-536: Was leaving the band and returning to his main band Static-X as they were due to record a new album at the time. Eisen's former Dope bandmate Acey Slade was brought in to replace him on guitar. The first tour dates of the Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls World Tour took the band through parts of the United States including; Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago and Jordison's native Iowa . Their first major date
3477-587: Was played in a punk rock style. Lyrically the band were inspired by horror B-movies and references in popular culture. As well as a large leaning towards punk, the band's live show and appearance took cues from glam rock acts such as Alice Cooper , New York Dolls and KISS . They were known to wear dresses and make-up on stage as part of their performance. The band wrote their debut album The Late, Late, Late Show within two weeks of being together, and recorded it in two days. The album contained 11 tracks of nihilistic but trashy horror punk tracks. This would be
3538-399: Was ready to go and a reunion could happen when the time was right. However, in a February 2019 interview, Wednesday 13 stated that no progress on a reunion had occurred and that Joey and he were still friends. On May 9, 2018, former drummer Ben "The Ghoul" Graves died of cancer at the age of 45. Wednesday 13, along with former members Eric Griffin and Acey Slade performed with each other for
3599-433: Was recording material for his debut solo album in the same space. On April 15, the band confirmed that they had finished recording their upcoming album Women and Children Last . Joey Jordison has said that he considers Women and Children Last as really the first true Murderdolls album. The band was expected to embark on a tour of North America, but the idea was scrapped after Jordison began touring with Rob Zombie on
3660-479: Was released in early 2002 named Right to Remain Violent and featured some tracks from the forthcoming album. The full-length album soon followed, titled Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls . The initial release featured fifteen tracks; twelve in total had previously been recorded by Wednesday 13 with Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13 and one from his earlier band Maniac Spider Trash. 13 did however write all of
3721-632: Was sent to record labels and sold at live shows with a free FDQ sticker. Syd replaced Abby Normal the same year on guitar and after a tour-related inter-band conflict R.S. Saidso played his final show New Year's Eve December 31, 1997. He had announced already it would be his last show with the Draq Queens. Saidso went on to record some demos under the name Dragster "66" with Abby Normal. Shortly after that he formed Electra-Kill in Paris, France, where he moved to vocals. In 1998 original drummer Sicko Zero rejoined and
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