Wednesday 13: “Murderdolls is just resting in the grave”

(Image credit: Jeremy Saffer)

Fresh off the back of his sinister eighth album Necrophaze, we asked the Duke Of Spook himself, Wednesday 13, to answer the best questions you lot could dig up. Luckily for you, he’s not scared of anything… except earthquakes.

What are your favourite horror movies from the last few years? It feels like everyone milks the ‘classics’ but there’s so much good shit around at the moment!
Cat Hanner (email)

“So you say! People tell me there’s a lot of great new horror movies but every time I try to watch them, they’re just not good. Maybe it’s because I’m older and I’ve got my favourites. I like older music and movies, it’s just one of those things. People kept telling me Get Out was good but I wanted to get out of the cinema, I hated it so much. I’ve only been up for a few hours today and I’ve already watched the original Poltergeist. The old stuff never gets old to me, I find new stuff in it all the time. Newer stuff doesn’t have that quality to me, there’s nothing that’s got me knocking walls down for something new. I’m OK parking my time machine in the 80s.”

Will there ever be another Murderdolls reunion, or is that dead in the grave?
@skold113 (Twitter)

“At the moment it’s just resting in the grave. I won’t say it’s dead because I didn’t think the last one would happen and crazier things have happened. Joey [Jordison] and I have a contact with each other, he speaks with other dudes in the band, the communication line is open. There’s nothing at all in the works, but that’s not to say something won’t happen in the future. I’m doing me right now, y’all.”

When was the last time you were genuinely scared by something?
Rikki Patel (email)

“The 2011 earthquake in Tokyo was the last time I was genuinely scared I was going to die. We were in Sendai, 200 miles away from Tokyo, it was a 9.5 earthquake all over the country so you could feel it non-stop all day with aftershocks. To get your balance outside, you had to stand like you were riding a surfboard on a really intense wave. I had trauma from it for a couple of years; I still get weird dizzy sensations every now and again where I instantly grab the wall. I love horror movies but natural disasters are the most intense, scary things ever – when the earth is saying ‘fuck you’, there’s nothing you can do except hold on. I was terrified but I can say I survived the second-biggest earthquake in recorded history!”

What’s the best horror movie soundtrack ever?
Jennie Stoddet (email)

“If you want variety and a rock’n’roll soundtrack, there’s The Return of the Living Dead. That’s got 45 Grave’s Partytime and lots of cool stuff. I don’t know if it’s one of the best but it’s one of my favourites that I put on every October 1 and rock it all the way to Halloween. Then there’s any soundtrack from John Carpenter’s Halloween, Escape from New York or The Fog. That’s entrancing to me and I listen to it all the time.”

(Image credit: Jeremy Saffer)

Was growing up in Carolina difficult because of the ultra-religious environment considering the things you were interested in? @Danyoun38133810 (Twitter)

“I don’t think it was as bad as people would think. Once you’re there it’s normalised and I didn’t think about it until I got older and wanted to piss people off, learned what made older people tick and pushed buttons. I always loved getting a reaction out of people and in my town it really wasn’t hard to get a reaction. It wasn’t a struggle; we’d call up church hotlines on Sundays pretending to be concerned parents saying, ‘Our son is possessed, he’s listening to Frankenstein Drag Queens!’ We basically threw ourselves at the religious people, they weren’t after us. They knew who we were because we’d call in, taking up all their time for pledges and talking to locals. We were just trying to push our band!”

If you could dream cast The Addams Family in 2019, who would you cast in each role and why?
James Tibbut (email)

“It doesn’t need to be remade! The first remake was excellent because it was a new take on the black and white series. William Forsythe from The Devil’s Rejects would make a good New York, pissed-off Gomez. Just to be weird, I’d cast Christina Ricci as Morticia after she dressed up like her for a photoshoot a while back. I’d throw myself in as Wednesday just for fun – either that or Cousin Itt because I’d get all kinds of shampoo endorsements. I could make a cameo as Thing because I’m a professional hand model, too. You know what? I’ll pull an Eddie Murphy and play all the characters.”

What bands would you like to tour with and why?
@misterliam13 (Twitter)

“All my favourite bands have called it a day but I’m always happy and lucky to get to tour with Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson. I’m a huge fan of Killing Joke but I think I’d attend as a fan instead of the hassle of being an opening band. I don’t think their audience needs to hear what we have to say or see our look. Kiss are never really going to retire, so it’d be cool to do a show with them.”

Who would win in a fight – Godzilla or 20 Draculas?
Callum Patersen (Facebook)

“One of my favourite things is people pluralising Draculas. It’s funny to say so I like to say it at all times. You’ve gotta go with Godzilla, though: look at the size of him! Twenty vampires would just be like 20 leeches on Godzilla sucking the life out of him over time, but in a fair fight, Godzilla would destroy them all. Trust me, I’m team Dracula but I just don’t think we could do it.”

Who would be in your dream supergroup and why?
Hannah Richardson (email)

“Not to be sentimental but the guys I have right now are my supergroup. I have my favourite drummer, my favourite guitarist because Roman [Surman] makes his guitar sound like a fucking spaceship. Assembling these guys is like the ultimate Frankenstein made out of my best friends. Outside of my guys, I’d want to play rhythm guitar instead of fronting the band. I’d want to sit back and watch. I’d get both Steven Tyler and Alice Cooper on vocals – they’re buddies so I’m sure they’d do it. I’d resurrect Mick Ronson from David Bowie’s band, he’s the ultimate glam rock guitar player and nobody gives him credit. On bass, I’d use a time machine to take a non-talking, scary Gene Simmons circa 1972. Then I’d take Keith Moon on drums because I’d get a killer drummer and afterwards I could watch him drive a car into a pool.”

Originally published in Metal Hammer #328