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The power of Poole

Rock musician Joseph Poole a.k.a Wednesday 13, has been part of several other bands over the years including Murderdolls. Since their hiatus, Poole has been able to focus on various other outlets for his creations, including Wednesday 13. When I saw Send More Paramedics perform I could never quite describe the band under one specific heading. After hearing about Wednesday 13, and their horror punk styling, I think they sum up a genre both fall into pretty well. This style, originally defined by the Misfits, mixes a lot of punk rock metals, lyrical themes occasionally inspired by horror movies and some of the most outrageous outfits seen.

With this recent Ep ‘Bloodwork’ Poole has carefully placed six very strong, dark numbers together. ‘B-Movie Babylon’, initiates the Ep’s mysterious ambience that flutters though each track. It is a deep felt opening with desperation and intensity building through the so-called zombie styles melodies. ‘Return of the Living Dead’ offers a lively encounter, once again seemingly discussing the undead and ‘Runnin' Down a Dream’ is a tad more impulsive rock.

Next is a song not to be offended by. ‘I Love to Say Fuck’, which he probably does over 50 times in the tracks 5 minute duration, is one to just let yourself go with. Say the F word to all your worries, and the burdens on your shoulders. The closing two songs are not something I expected. ‘My Demise B.C.’ is drenched in a dark melancholy with acoustic guitar as the main sound, while ‘Skeletons A.D.’ remains on a similar platform with misery backing the track; both however are incredible.

The hoarse vocals are on a steady path through each track, sometimes becoming mysterious, other times containing anger and a more direct approach. Even with the two slower songs, the vocals remain powerful though the use of lyrics; such lines as “pulls the wings off a fly, watch it suffer and die”, put a new twist on rhyming couplets. In all, this is quite a CD to get your hands on.