Live Review: Wednesday 13 – KK's Steel Mill, Wolverhampton
14th April 2023
Support: South of Salem, Tarah Who?, Sick N' Beautiful
Words: Cat Finch
Photos: Tim Finch
It’s back to KK’s Steel Mill in Wolverhampton tonight for an evening of horror themed rock and metal headlined by the enigmatic Wednesday 13 and his band.
Opening proceedings are an act that crossed our paths just a few weeks ago. Californian’s Tarah Who? have only just completed a jaunt across the UK and Europe with Life of Agony and now they return with Wednesday 13.
Having won us over at the previous show, it seems somewhat of a travesty that they are so low on the bill, however we ensure we’re in the venue early to catch one of the hottest properties on the scene.
Those fat bass lines grab the audience’s attention from the start, until vocalist Tarah kicks in with her attention grabbing vocals. Their style melds hints of hardcore with elements of grunge but at the centre is a rock n roll heartbeat the drives their sound forward. It’s a brief half hour set, but with the room steadily filling up they win over yet more fans, we only wish their set was longer!
Up next is Sick N’ Beautiful who seem to have more style than substance but it leads to an entertaining set. Vocalist Greta di Iacovo, dressed in imitation/adoration of Alissa White-Gluz of Arch Enemy, the same body suit just with the edition of a light up bra to stand out in the murky lighting on stage.
The post apocalyptical alt metal outfit mix raucous guitars with a unique look, one guitarist akin to the Predator the drummer painted all in green, and at one point Iacovo takes an angle grinder to a guitar. The resulting sparks may have been the bright point of this set where the costumes and theatrics stand out ahead of the music.
Main support are south coast outfit South of Salem, who graced this venue just a few weeks ago with W.A.S.P. and it has to be said their show has taken a step up since last they were here!
They get things started with a bang and the high octane number ‘Let Us Prey’ mixing 80’s hard rock and metal perfectly to prove there is life left in that style of heavy music. The set changes slightly from a few weeks ago, but fan favourites ‘Made To be Mine’ and ‘No Plague Like Home’ remain.
The band show they can win over Wednesday 13 fans just as they did with W.A.S.P.’s fans a few weeks ago, the non stop on stage action delivering high voltage rock is a winning formula no matter what the crowd.
It’s up to Wednesday 13 to round out the evening, and with KK’s Steel Mill now full its time to get this party started.
The quartet, covered in various styled face paints and fronted by the marvel that is Wednesday 13, kick things off with ‘Blood Sucker’ and ‘Scream Bloody Scream’. The tempo is high, the heat is building, as is the atmosphere, enthusiastic fans have been hugging the barrier for hours waiting for this!
Wednesday 13 is a commanding presence on stage, his vocals a mix Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie, as does the bands sound in general. It’s an addictive style that gets the crowd bouncing along.
With a hour and a half to play with Wednesday and the band dig deep with the set list. ‘My Home Sweet Homicide’ a highlight amongst ‘Get Your Grave On’, 'I Want You… Dead’, ‘Good Day To Be a Bad Guy’ and more.
A drum solo leads us into the tail end of the main set which see’s Wednesday delving elsewhere in his repertoire. Murderdolls number ‘Nowhere’ and Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13 ditty ‘Die My Bride’ are lapped up by the fans before they finish off with ‘I Walked With A Zombie’.
Not content to finish there, the encore finishes this crowd off, ‘What The Night Brings’ and ‘Bad Things’ get the blood pumping one last time before they close the evening with the wonderful ‘I Love To Say Fuck’.
Wednesday 13 actually surprised me this evening. Having seen the band one festival dates before, this intimate indoor show highlighted their talents, especially that of Wednesday himself, and the show allowed the band to shine. An enjoyable night of horror inspired tunes at Wolverhampton’s finest venue.
All photo credits: Tim Finch Photography
