Murderdolls

Finally getting around to issuing a sophomore album some eight years after debut Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls, it's obvious who the true genius behind metal-influenced gothic glam brigade Murderdolls is. Vocalist Wednesday 13 has been bumming around, waiting for the coattails of principal writer and guitarist Joey Jordison to come spinning back during downtime from his day job as Slipknot's drummer; he hasn't exactly done anything to advance the state of hard/heavy music. Amusingly, that's about all that can be surmised of this 15-track affair. As the main writer, Jordison's guitar riffs are brutally thick, featuring a rather brusque attack, but 13's vocals sound contrived and modestly goofy when coming from a 30- or 40something struggling to keep the Marilyn Manson flame alive. Regardless, when taken purely in the context of once-in-a-while side-project, Women and Children Last is a fun bout of Mötley Crüe-meets-Misfits rumble good for spinning about as often as Murderdolls get around to releasing records.