Saturday, December 2 Columbus and the King of Clubs welcomed Wednesday 13 with a show honoring the life and music of former band mate and Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison. Jordison passed in 2021 leaving behind several bands and two records with the Murderdolls with Wednesday spending the last months of 2023 playing tribute and reeducating the country on all things Doll related. Black Satellite, Infected Rain and Gemini Syndrome came along as part of the haunted horde.
Murderdolls recorded two records Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls, and Women and Children Last. Over 35 dates criss-crossed the country between late October and early December spreading the murder gospel, for those that never got to hear them live. Columbus got an early Christmas present from Wednesday on Saturday.
The lantern and moon lit set was a best of both records from debut and sophomore sets with few cuts spared on the slabs. For long time fans it was a blast back to familiar audio mayhem, for casuals and newbies it was a live forensic education and the best the morgue could offer with gently used tools.
Wednesday spread personal narrative around the set with jokes and stories about songs, admitting he worked at Kmart in his younger days and was no longer ’27.’ He told a really cool story of Mick Mars playing in the studio and bleeding on his strings. His blood is on our record, he said with great pride. He mentioned his ex-wife thought their second record (a parody of a Van Halen album) was named after her. He grinned, shaking his head no, “Yes it was!”
Combining the charm, fury and aesthetic of Mad Max, an oldschool DGAF plasmatic attitude and people you don’t wanna see waiting in a dark alley Black Satellite stormed the stage early. Helmed by vocalist Larissa Vale and guitarist Kyle Hawkin, the NYC brood resembled what a modern day merger between The Runaways and Misfits might look like. “Broken” opened filling the stage with lyrical candlelight, with Vale and grabbed the crowd’s attention by the throat. “Here It Ends” darkness, emotion and melody filled the speakers as Vale shot emotional lasers at Columbus. She payed homage to classic vocalists with a vintage hand held mic.
We entered the “Void,” getting an early taste of the coming sophomore Aftermath, crawling through the dark prism of losing one’s self. Taking a flame-licked, turbo inferno page from the book of Rammstein they finished with the fury of the “Sonne.” It wasn’t Unleashed in the East but their modern namesake might be their electric eye keeping them acting like live hellions.
Moldovan dreadlocks flew and thrashed like barbed wire in a tsunami as Infected Rain emerged to scream, roar and sing. A band many standing came to see played over a handful of tunes showcasing their most recent release Ecdysis and 2019’s Endorphin hit like a steel cage slamming shut rattling ears with the “Fighter.” Though getting hit with any of the flying hair would have worse effect than a right or left heart-punch. Lena Scissorhands armed with new bassist Alice Lane and company blasted into “The Realm of Chaos” with the first pounding, hair whipped, calming/tranquil/euphoric aura mid-section of “Earth Mantra” with plenty of endorphins to go around. It was akin to headbanging in lyrical nature.
From inside the clock tower came the first taste of their sixth upcoming gospel “Dying Light,” as Time will drop in February. Scissorhands directed the crowd to sit down for a few minutes and take a breather mid-tune. A unique, odd moment for a metal show, humorous to some, through she stopped short of having Columbus chant or find inner Zen. Though they made up for it with the evenings first pit.
Covered in their personal history, “Never to Return” was doused by the sands of time, entrenched in Middle Eastern effect and vibes. “Black Gold” thumped speakers and ears before “Sweet Sweet Lies” went back to the beginning leaving Columbus with a vintage classic. It was definitely modern ‘hair’ metal done the extreme opposite with no sunset strip but tons of dreads.
Gemini Syndrome came out dressed to kill with vocalist Aaron Nordstrom leading the way. It was pseudo Angus Young without the school boy look and guitar. Drummer Brian Steele looked devious, lurking behind the kit, like the curtained mastermind while bassist Alessandra Paveri spent the show shrouded in robe, darkness and ambiance. They sported a nice balance of visual diversity and wardrobe personality with Nordstrom the suited maestro.
The “Stardust” poured from the speakers and mic, as the Syndrome started, dressed to the nine’s. The majority of the set came from third effort 3rd Degree – The Raising.
Things got basic, beastly and “Primordial” fast, as does human nature and metal in general. The “Conquistador” conquered securing their stature in history. They invited Columbus to meet the god in them and “Die With Me.” The “Children of the Sun” burned brighter than a thousand suns with blinding brilliance. “Remember We Die” finished with a medical heartbeat and spiritual embrace from the other side.
Women and children got thrown to the wolves straight out the gate with vengeance opening the chapel doors loud, blasphemous, unholy and unpretty with evil intentions. From the chapel to death valley, it takes knowledge from beyond the grave to survive the heat and hellfire out there. Wednesday and crew looked corpsed up and ready for the post mortem shoveled party.
“197666” marked a blasphemous birth, foretelling a future musical icon. “Love at First Fright” and “She was a Teenage Zombie” gave the faithful a few tales of love and woe but nothing a romantic exorcism couldn’t fix.
“Graverobbing USA” brought post mortem pursuits past the moon and over the witching hour, though technically it’s all exhumed back to Gein. “Die My Bride” and “Blood Stained Valentine” painted a deadly wedding day diary with forensic lyrical evidence. Whether by chainsaw or cleaver “Pieces of You” celebrated the decorate beauty of dismemberment while “Drug Me to Hell” threw everyone into the grindhouse bone guzzler with a stalkers compassion.
It was the dawn of a new day, for the dead to rise to full potential going “Nowhere” fast. Hey little sister, it was a nice night for some horror glammed up vital idol and a blood splattered “White Wedding.” The R-rated umbrella came out, twirling in the air, with a special obscene gesture and message, “I Love to Say Fuck.” The tribute in black ended with “Dead In Hollywood,” a fitting, final deadly kiss goodnight and goodbye till the next crime scene taped off meeting with the ghouls from Hollywood Forever six feet under. .
Images by Mike Ritchie
Black Satellite- https://blacksatellite.com
Infected Rain – www.infectedrain.com
Gemini Snydrome – https://synnersociety.com
Wednesday 13 – https://officialwednesday13.com
