cB News____issue #1, read all about it Options

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Editors’ Notes

This is the first issue of the cB Newletter. The idea of a cB newsletter spawned from and quickly took over a thread entitled “news and announcements” (sorry Justin) in the new feedback subforum. We currently have eight active staff members to bring you cB news and editorials as well as news related to your lives outside of cB.

If you haven’t read our interview about the CreateBlog’s illusive creator--Micron, the review about Transylvania, or Advice Abby’s latest responses, read them and other articles now in our first CreateBlog News publication.

Staff who participated in this issue:
Editors: MarchHare2UrAlice (James), CrackedRearView (Justin), Suddenly She (Ruth), ChasingLife87 (Meli), uninspiredfae (Fae)
Reporters: sadolakced acid (Mr. Acid... erm, Justin), CrackedRearView (Justin), Despise (Brie), Ichigofan (Carolina), allthatglitterss (Grace)
Runner: mzkandi (Kiera)

If you would like to contribute to cB news or join its staff, contact Fae (uninspiredfae) or James (MarchHare2UrAlice)

[cBNewsStaff]

Album review: Transylvania 90210 - Songs of Death, Dying, and the Dead by Wednesday 13.
Brie [Despise]
June 2005

For those of you that enjoyed either The Murderdolls or The Frankenstein Drag Queens, you'll surely want to check out Wednesday 13's lastest album, Transylvania 90210 - Songs of Death, Dying, and the Dead.

This album is remarkably different from his past albums and past bands. Sure, he is still into the drag queen scene and he is still all about the zombies, but this album is quite different. You'll notice the change as soon as you put the album in your player. Wednesday 13, formally known as Joseph Poole, apparently decided to branch out and progress a little bit. He branched out of the glam metal scene a bit. He seemed to get in touch with his black metal roots a bit more in this album.

Here's a play-by-play on this songs of the album:

1) "Post Mortem Boredom" -- The introduction to the album at a mere fifty-seven seconds certainly sets the mood. Eerie bells clang at the beginning of the track with a staticy record noise coming about every few seconds. Then a voice comes on, warning the listeners about the album. Personally, I think this is an excellent introduction. It leads right into the next song perfectly. Also, it sets the mood wonderfully. I rate this track an 8.5 out of 10

2) "Look What the Bats Dragged In" -- Using an old phrase and altering the words to fit the genre, Wednesday and his crew blast out with a catchy tune. There is a pretty decent guitar solo halfway through the song. Like I previously stated with the introduction, it comes out of it perfectly. So far so good when it comes to smooth transactions. Overall, I rate this track an 8 out of 10.

3) "I Walked With a Zombie" -- This is definitely the most catchy track on the album. It starts out very upbeat. Wednesday and his scratchy style of vocals set it perfectly for the upcoming chorus. After listening to this track, you're sure to be walking around repeating, "I walked with a zombie" in a sing-song style. This isn't really a personal favorite of mine, but nonetheless, I rate this song a 6 out of 10.

4) "Bad Things" -- This is probably my favorite on here, but that is just me. This song is pretty classy. It basically talks about how much he dislikes a person or persons and wishes they were dead. Then it leads into a catchy and traditional chorus. Overall, the actual music of this particular song is very good. The lead guitar has a nice solo a little over a minute into it. I would rate this song a 9 out of 10.

5) "House by the Cemetery" -- This track starts out eerie, with the traditional creaking of a door and a scream. Are you starting to think of Halloween just yet? This track is definitely enjoyable. This particular song may get those in the religious fields complaining. Part of it goes like this: "I hear the devil and he's calling me, in the house by the cemetery, ghouls and creeps f***ing gather around, for the evil that's going down, get down!" Overall, I would have to rate this song a 7.5 out of 10.

6) "God is a Lie" -- This is an exceptional track. With a more mellow chorus, this track has a few lines that will get stuck in your head very easily. There is a nicely written guitar part at the end of this track. This song has a different vibe to it. There is more singing in this rather than screaming or any other form of that. Overall, I'd have to say that this track gets a 7 out of 10.

7) "Haunt Me" -- This track starts out very eerie as well. You hear the wind howling, a maniacal cackle. Also, it is a bit quieter in the introduction. It isn't quiet for long, however. The next thing you hear is a guitar ripping out part of the soon-to-be chorus. The vocal style in this is very unique. I like it quite a bit. Some may find it depressing or strange, but I find it unique and interesting. This track gets an 8 out of 10.

8) "Transylvania 90210" -- Yet another windy track. Wednesday starts it out by whispering and speaking about how the "gods gave him his own TV show, and they called it 'Transylvania 90210'," hence the title of the album. This is a decent track. It starts out a bit slow. Some may find that boring, but some may find that interesting. I find it unique. It gets a little boring if you listen to it too much, though, of course. I'd have to say that this track gets a 7 out of 10.

9) "I Want You....Dead" -- Cynical much? That phrase is repeated a lot during this track by both Wednesday and his back-up singers. It gets a tad bit repetitive, but the interesting music and unique style of the backing vocals certainly makes up for that minor flaw. At the end of this track, the music appears to sound 'broken up' or even a little bit distorted. This track gets a 7.5 out of 10.

10) "Buried By Christmas" -- Wednesday starts out basically singing about how he didn't behave for Santa Claus this year. The phrase, "I'll be buried by Christmas" is repeated many times for the chorus. After the choruses, Wednesday talks about what he would actually like for Christmas, and then he sends his wishes to Santa, which aren't exactly positive wishes. I am giving this track an 8 out of 10.

11) "Elect Death For President" -- Ahh, another personal favorite of mine. The track starts out with an awesome bass part and some light drumming. Then a voice comes on encouraging us to elect 'death' to be the next president. Next, Wednesday comes on basically doing the same thing. The song is encouraging us to elect 'death' to be the next president. There is a unique saxophone part during the chorus. This track is very decent. It's catchy, but not necessarily in an annoying way. The bass and saxophone in this track are exceptional. I give this track a 9.5 out of 10.

12) "Rot For Me" -- This is another interesting track. It starts out eerie once again, with the noise of someone wretching. There is almost a subliminal whisper done by Wednesday and then the regular vocals come about. The drumming in this track is very well done. Very decent. The drumming is probably my favorite part. I will give this track an 8 out of 10.

13) "The Ghost of Vincent Price" -- The introduction contains a lot of eerie synthesizer noises and some traditional drumming. At just over five minutes long, that makes this track the longest on the album. Wednesday talks about hanging out with the ghost of Vincent Price during this track. There isn't really anything in this track that makes it stand out a whole lot, so I will give this one a rating of 7 out of 10.

14) "A Bullet Named Christ" -- This one starts out slowly and melodically. There is a nice piano part, and then you hear some whispering. It's somewhat eerie, but also very melodic at the same time. What a wonderful way to wrap up a great album. The singing is very slow, but the message is clear: they're not going anywhere anytime soon. I give this track a 7.5 out of 10. What a great way to end this album.

Overall, I give the album itself an 8.5 out of 10. It is very, very well done. It shows that Wednesday and his crew put a lot of work into this. They wanted to make it different, and they certainly succeeded at that.

If you're into The Murderdolls and possibly even Cradle of Filth, you should give this album a shot.