# Wednesday 13
**Wednesday 13** is the stage name of American singer, musician, and horror enthusiast Joseph Poole (born 1976 in Lexington, North Carolina), best known as the frontman of the horror-punk/heavy metal band [Murderdolls](https://www.edgepedia.org/murderdolls) and for a solo career launched in 2004 that blends punk, glam metal, and horror-movie imagery.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000079120) He has released ten solo studio albums under the name, most recently *Mid Death Crisis* (2025), and continues to tour internationally.[2](https://live-metal.com/2025/04/24/review-wednesday-13-mid-death-crisis/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Real name / origin | Joseph Poole, born 1976 in Lexington, North Carolina[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000079120) |
| Stage name | Taken from Wednesday Friday Addams of *The Addams Family*, a show he is a fan of[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5153572/bio/) |
| Early bands | Mizery/Psycho Opera (from 1992), Maniac Spider Trash (1992–1996), Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13 (1996–2003)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000079120) |
| Murderdolls | Joined at the request of Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison; albums *Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls* (2002) and *Women and Children Last* (2010)[4](https://pennyblackmusic.co.uk/Home/DetailsMobile?id=22899) |
| Solo debut | EP *6 Years, 6 Feet Under the Influence* (2004); album *Transylvania 90210: Songs of Death, Dying, and the Dead* (2005), which reached number 34 on the US Heatseekers chart[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000079120) • [5](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/interviews/wednesday-13-i-walked-with-a-zombie-story) |
| Chart peak | *Necrophaze* (2019) reached number 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, his highest-charting effort to date[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000079120) |
| Tenth album | *Mid Death Crisis*, released April 25, 2025 via Napalm Records[2](https://live-metal.com/2025/04/24/review-wednesday-13-mid-death-crisis/) |
## Early bands
Poole began his music career in 1992 playing guitar in the band Mizery, which later became Psycho Opera.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000079120) • [4](https://pennyblackmusic.co.uk/Home/DetailsMobile?id=22899) From 1992 to 1996 he fronted Maniac Spider Trash, then left to form Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13 with fellow "Spider Trashers" Abby Normal and Sicko Zero.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000079120) That band released five full-length albums and six EPs over seven years before calling it quits in 2003 as Poole's Murderdolls side project rose in profile.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000079120) A 1999 review in *Rockpile* praised his "leather-lunged voice" as the band's vocalist and guitarist.[6](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Rockpile/90s/Rockpile-1999-04.pdf)
## Murderdolls
Poole joined Murderdolls at the request of Slipknot drummer [Joey Jordison](https://www.edgepedia.org/joey-jordison).[4](https://pennyblackmusic.co.uk/Home/DetailsMobile?id=22899) The band, described by *NME* in 2002 as mixing Misfits-style B-movie lyrics with "pure Mötley Crüe/Faster Pussycat trash," featured Eric Griffin on bass, Ben Graves on drums, and Tripp Eisen, with Wednesday 13 as frontman.[7](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/2002/NME-2002-09-07.pdf) After a successful run and one studio album, *Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls* (2002), the band disbanded in 2004; they reformed for a second and final album, *Women and Children Last*, in 2010 before quitting for good in 2011.[4](https://pennyblackmusic.co.uk/Home/DetailsMobile?id=22899)
Murderdolls activity was always constrained by Jordison's Slipknot commitments. After the 2002 touring cycle ended, Poole recalled being told to wait eight months for Slipknot's tour to finish, a wait that never materialized into band activity.[5](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/interviews/wednesday-13-i-walked-with-a-zombie-story) In later years he has performed full Murderdolls sets on tour, including a 2023 tour celebrating the band's music with songs from both albums.[8](https://beat.com.au/wednesday-13-on-murderdolls-without-joey-jordison-he-heard-the-end-result-before-you-ever-thought-about-it/)
## Solo career
In 2004, after a solo UK acoustic tour called "Graveyard A Go-Go" performing Murderdolls and Frankenstein Drag Queens songs, Poole began recording under the name Wednesday 13, releasing the EP *6 Years, 6 Feet Under the Influence*.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000079120) • [5](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/interviews/wednesday-13-i-walked-with-a-zombie-story) He chose the solo name deliberately: as he put it, if he formed a band, members would quit within a month, but "if you just call it Wednesday 13, you'll never quit the band."[5](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/interviews/wednesday-13-i-walked-with-a-zombie-story)
He was still signed to [Roadrunner Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/roadrunner-records), which initially declined to release his solo album but reversed course within a week when another label offered a deal.[5](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/interviews/wednesday-13-i-walked-with-a-zombie-story) The debut album *Transylvania 90210: Songs of Death, Dying, and the Dead* followed in 2005, and its first single, "I Walked with a Zombie," became his signature song. Its video inserted the band into footage from the original *Night of the Living Dead* film, an editing job he described as taking one hour per second of footage.[5](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/interviews/wednesday-13-i-walked-with-a-zombie-story) The album reached number 34 on the US Heatseekers chart.[5](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/interviews/wednesday-13-i-walked-with-a-zombie-story)
Subsequent albums ran through *Fang Bang* (2006), the heavier *Skeletons* (2008), *Calling All Corpses* (2011), *The Dixie Dead* (2013), the concept album *Monsters of the Universe: Come Out and Plague* (2015), and *Condolences* (2017), his first release for [Nuclear Blast](https://www.edgepedia.org/nuclear-blast).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000079120) For the eighth album, *Necrophaze* (2019), he worked with producer Michael Spreitzer of DevilDriver and featured guest spots for the first time, from [Alice Cooper](https://www.edgepedia.org/alice-cooper), Stone Sour's Roy Mayorga, and [Lacuna Coil](https://www.edgepedia.org/lacuna-coil)'s Cristina Scabbia; it became his highest-charting release at number 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000079120) *Horrifier* (2022) drew on '80s slasher films such as *Halloween* and *Christine*.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000079120)
**Mid Death Crisis and later work.** His tenth album, *Mid Death Crisis*, was released April 25, 2025 via [Napalm Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/napalm-records), a return to the punk rock and '80s glam metal roots of his early records after the darker direction of the 2010s.[2](https://live-metal.com/2025/04/24/review-wednesday-13-mid-death-crisis/) Taime Downe of Faster Pussycat guests on "No Apologies," a collaboration that arose when Poole's producer remarked that the song resembled [Faster Pussycat](https://www.edgepedia.org/faster-pussycat); Poole credits that band's first album with teaching him guitar.[9](https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/wednesday-13-interview-australia-tour-kim-dracula-more-87092/) A live album, *Un-Alive from Pol'and'Rock 2025*, recorded before more than 750,000 attendees at the Polish festival, was released September 25, 2026 via Napalm Records.[10](https://label.napalmrecords.com/wednesday-13)
## Style and persona
His music mixes horror-punk, glam metal, and goth and industrial elements, with lyrics built on horror-film references and dark humor.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000079120) • [11](https://www.kerrang.com/album-review-wednesday-13-necrophaze) He has said he did not know "horror-punk" was a term until others applied it to him, and that he does not stick to one style.[12](https://ramzine.co.uk/interviews/interview-wednesday-13/) He cites Alice Cooper, KISS, Twisted Sister, and W.A.S.P. as formative influences.[8](https://beat.com.au/wednesday-13-on-murderdolls-without-joey-jordison-he-heard-the-end-result-before-you-ever-thought-about-it/) The stage persona, including a [Wednesday Addams](https://www.edgepedia.org/wednesday-addams) dress worn in early performances, was created as a character.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5153572/bio/) • [13](https://www.nobarriers.au/in-conversation/interview-in-conversation-with-wednesday-13) He prefers the stage name in professional contexts, comparing it to not calling Alice Cooper by his birth name.[14](https://www.kerrang.com/interview-horrifier-13-questions-with-wednesday-13)
## Other projects and live career
Poole has also been connected with the bands Bourbon Crow and Gunfire 76 alongside Maniac Spider Trash, Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13, and Murderdolls.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000079120) His live shows are career-spanning: a 2026 setlist at the Shocktober Blood Tour mixed solo songs with Murderdolls covers ("Summertime Suicide," "Nowhere") and Frankenstein Drag Queens covers ("197666," "I Love to Say Fuck").[15](https://www.livenation.com/artist/K8vZ9175tB0/wednesday-13-events) He has toured Australia every year since 2009 apart from the pandemic period, and in 2026 announced a European co-headline "Cursed Blessings" tour with [The Birthday Massacre](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-birthday-massacre) plus a 2027 run with John 5 & The Creatures.[9](https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/wednesday-13-interview-australia-tour-kim-dracula-more-87092/) • [16](https://officialwednesday13.com/2026/06/wednesday-13-the-birthday-massacre-european-co-headline-tour/) • [17](https://officialwednesday13.com/)
## References
1. [Wednesday 13 – Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000079120)
2. [REVIEW: Wednesday 13 – 'Mid Death Crisis', Live Metal](https://live-metal.com/2025/04/24/review-wednesday-13-mid-death-crisis/)
3. [Wednesday 13 – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5153572/bio/)
4. [Wednesday 13 - Interview, Penny Black Music](https://pennyblackmusic.co.uk/Home/DetailsMobile?id=22899)
5. [Wednesday 13's I Walked With A Zombie: the story and meaning of the song, Louder/Metal Hammer](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/interviews/wednesday-13-i-walked-with-a-zombie-story)
6. [The Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13, Rockpile (April 1999)](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Rockpile/90s/Rockpile-1999-04.pdf)
7. [Murderdolls feature, NME (7 September 2002)](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/2002/NME-2002-09-07.pdf)
8. [Wednesday 13 on Murderdolls without Joey Jordison, Beat Magazine](https://beat.com.au/wednesday-13-on-murderdolls-without-joey-jordison-he-heard-the-end-result-before-you-ever-thought-about-it/)
9. [Wednesday 13 on Australia Tour, Kim Dracula and More, Rolling Stone AU/NZ](https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/wednesday-13-interview-australia-tour-kim-dracula-more-87092/)
10. [Wednesday 13, Napalm Records](https://label.napalmrecords.com/wednesday-13)
11. [Album Review: Wednesday 13 – Necrophaze, Kerrang!](https://www.kerrang.com/album-review-wednesday-13-necrophaze)
12. [Interview: Wednesday 13, RAMzine](https://ramzine.co.uk/interviews/interview-wednesday-13/)
13. [Interview: In Conversation with Wednesday 13, No Barriers](https://www.nobarriers.au/in-conversation/interview-in-conversation-with-wednesday-13)
14. ["I got fried-chickened at the chicken joint!": 13 Questions with Wednesday 13, Kerrang!](https://www.kerrang.com/interview-horrifier-13-questions-with-wednesday-13)
15. [Wednesday 13 – 2026 Tour Dates & Concert Schedule, Live Nation](https://www.livenation.com/artist/K8vZ9175tB0/wednesday-13-events)
16. [Wednesday 13 / The Birthday Massacre European Co-Headline Tour, official site](https://officialwednesday13.com/2026/06/wednesday-13-the-birthday-massacre-european-co-headline-tour/)
17. [The Official Gravesite of Wednesday 13](https://officialwednesday13.com/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Rock, metal, and popular-band musicians › Punk rock › Hardcore and underground punk musicians*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license