
In a world where it's all too easy to point out everything that's wrong
about music, Murderdolls represent everything
that could be right. And with the release of their
self-titled debut, everything that will be right
That may sound like a bold mission statement
from a band whose songs include such frightfully
decadent ditties as "Love At First Fright,"
"Grave Robbing U.S.A." and "Kill
Miss America," but don't lose their point
in the same self-righteous haze that's clouding
over too much of the modern music scene.
"I think a lot of kids will be medicated
by this record, because it's not just another
record with the depressing lyrics," says
Murderdolls guitarist Joey Jordison, all too aware
that he's treading in provocative water with the
new outfit, a drastic change of pace from his
other band, Slipknot. "To me, that's the
point What would be the point of doing
something remotely like Slipknot? I don't play
drums in this band, I don't wear a mask in this
band, and the music is a polar opposite. While
still being heavy, it's a breath of fresh air
compared to what I normally do, because it's fun
It's catchier, more easily digestible,
and has that fun factor to it, and there's nothing
wrong with that, because everything can't be so
heavy and depressed all the time."
"It's not like we're writing Weird Al Yankovic
comedy stuff," clarifies frontman Wednesday,
"but how do you take these Friday The 13th
movies seriously? They put funny things into them,
and it's like that with our songs. There's not
anything on this record that's been based on personal
experiences They're all like short stories
"
So when the frontman sings, "I'd rather
cut you than the wedding cake, and your bloody
guts on my rented tux, and 'I do,' 'I do,' 'I
do wanna kill you,'" he's not exactly making
his case for the sociopath of the month club.
Instead, he's offering us a slice of Americana
through the eyes of the slightly disenfranchised.
"I live in North Carolina, my life is boring,
so what am I supposed to write about? I'm a movie
junkie, and horror movies are all I watch, so
my lyrics are inspired by everything from Ed Wood,
to Fantasm and Night Of The Living Dead
"
Not to mention a musical cross-section that would
shatter any semblance of sanity, ranging from
the most obscure outfits on the outskirts of the
'80s glam-metal scene, to the sexual ambiguity
and punk rock piss and vinegar of Jane County.
"What the fuck is going on with all these
bands that look normal? Maybe that's why kids
identify with them, because they can look like
these guys, but I'm from a different schoolIf
it didn't look cool, I didn't fucking buy it.
They had to be glam, and they had to look cool,
and I'm still like that with bands. It's important
for people to see that there is something like
us today, because a lot of kids don't remember
The Plasmatics I want to do a show like
that. I want to bring the danger element back,
just the way it needs to be, something new for
today
Something as simple as singers who
don't use mic stands anymoreI'm going to
hold mine proud, like a battle axe!"
"But it really doesn't even matter what's
going on in music today, because we'd be doing
this regardless," says guitarist Tripp Eisen,
also of the industrial-metal powerhouse Static-X.
"Bands are out there trying to do something
with an image, but we're going to go out there
and annihilate all of that. We had all the elements
in place, but Wednesday was the lynchpin that
we needed to really make it happen
"
Murderdolls began as The Rejects more than seven
years ago, the brainchild of Jordison long before
Slipknot became this millennium's metal revolutionaries.
His lineup experienced substantial growing pains
before he met Eisen while touring together in
'99, and the guitarist then of Dope
recruited Wednesday as a bassist. Bringing new
songs of his own into the fold, it wasn't long
before the bassist made the shift to lead singer,
and Eric Griffin and Ben Graves rounded out the
band's current lineup. A garage band in every
sense of the word, they'd played only four shows
with the duo of Jordison and Eisen on guitars,
and had yet to perform with their new frontman
upon the completion of the album. In fact, Jordison
didn't even meet Wednesday until the day they
entered the studio to record.
"It takes a lot of balls for Tripp and I
to do we're doing right now, because there are
going to be people that don't understand it and
don't get it, but we believe in it that much,"
says Jordison. "There are some songs on this
album that were written in '95, and that's one
of the things that I really like about this musicTwenty
years from now, this music will still be good,
and it won't sound dated at all. There are a lot
of songs like "Die My Bride,"
"Slit My Wrist" and "Dead In Hollywood"
that have a very metal-esque influence
to them, as well as just being punk, glam-metal,
blood and guts rock 'n' roll. It's all very trashy,
too, just like the people that are in the band
"
"We're taking stuff from our favorite bands
and doing it the way that we've always wanted
it done, taking it to a place where we've never
seen anybody try and take it," continues
Wednesday, citing Mötley Crüe, Twisted
Sister and Alice Cooper as significant influences
on his share of Murderdolls' "violent Sex
Pistols" sound. "We're bringing the
danger aspect back
"
"I'm a danger addict, I can't get enough
of it
" laughs Jordison, "and believe
it or not, I'll probably be in more danger with
these guys than I was with Slipknot, because I
won't be protected by the kitIf those guys
ever tried to get me, I could just rise up or
move backwards
Now I'll have Tripp's guitar
head stuck up my ass, and there won't be anything
I can do about it
"
Murderdolls - Dead in hollywood
Murderdolls - Let's go to war
Murderdolls - Dead in hollywood (You'll need Quicktime to view this movie)
This album is due out on the 19th of august in the UK and the 20th in the USA.
Track List:
01. Slit my wrist
02. Twist my sister
03. Dead in hollywood
04. Love at first fright
05. People hate me
06. She was a teenage zombie
07. Die my bride
08. Grave robbing U.S.A.
09. 197666
10. Dawn of the dead
11. Let's go to war
12. Dressed to depress
13. Kill miss America
14. B-Movie scream queen
15. Motherfucker, I don't care
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