Surviving members of Murderdolls, the horror punk supergroup that included the late Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison on guitar and backing vocals, are currently arguing over the details surrounding a 20th anniversary reissue of the band's debut album.
That effort, Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls, initially emerged in August 2002. Murderdolls broke up two years later but briefly reunited in 2010.
This month, a Murderdolls website at murderdollsofficial.com began taking pre-orders for a vinyl re-release of the album. Subsequently, former Murderdolls guitarist Acey Slade (Dope, Misfits) and ex-bassist Eric Griffin celebrated with a reunion event at the Ice Nine Kills-curated Silver Scream Con in Massachusetts on Sunday (Aug. 28), according to Blabbermouth.
But former Murderdolls lead singer Wednesday 13 responded with statements against the band activities that he insisted are unofficial. Slade countered with claims that he engaged in reissuing the album via official channels and with the act's obtained trademarks.
Last week (Aug. 25), Wednesday 13 said on social media, "It's unfortunate that this has to be said, but here it is: Murderdolls was created in 2002 by Joey Jordison and Wednesday 13. The name, the look, the lyrics, the music was all created by Joey Jordison and Wednesday 13."
The musician whose real name is Joseph Poole continued, "Anyone besides Wednesday or Joey claiming to be the Official Murderdolls is NOT OFFICIAL. Any merchandise being advertised using Joey and Wednesday’s original Murderdolls logos, music and lyrics is NOT Approved or Authorized."
Two days later (Aug. 27), Slade responded in a post, outlining how he said he obtained the rights to market the band's first album and surrounding legacy legally.
Slade relayed, "It became apparent before 2020 that none of the Alumni wanted to shoulder the responsibility of maintaining the legacy or the business of the band. All of the business/legal ends of the band were abandoned. Reinstating the assets was time-consuming and expensive as you can imagine."
He explained, "It also came to my attention that we were approaching the 20th Anniversary of Beyond… I reached out to Warner Brothers to see if they had any plans for a re-release and I was informed they did not. But they also indicated that they would be elated if I would like to license the album and all of its assets. This means the re-release of Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls is officially licensed! And with that, any images, photos, music videos, artwork that came with the album."
Slade added, "I'd like to invite Jack [Tankersley], Racci [Shay], Roman [Surman], Jason [West], Eric and obviously Wednesday and Dizzy [Draztik] to join in on this celebration. And should they ever need to use the band as a platform for their own endeavors, it would not only be welcome but encouraged, but that will be their choice. Reconnecting the alumni with the Murderdolls fans and us extending the legacy of everyone who built it is what this is all about."
Still, Wednesday seemed unsatisfied with the explanation on Sunday. "My issues have nothing to do with any ex-members celebrating the 20th anniversary" the singer said. "I have been celebrating the anniversary as well on my tours this year. However, I have been celebrating it as Wednesday 13, not Murderdolls."
He added, "This was Joey's band, he invited me into this world, and I am able to do what I do today because of him and the Murderdolls name, and that’s what this whole situation is about. Murderdolls trademark had lapsed. This was unknown to Joey or I as the band was inactive and no one was watching for this. However it seems Acey was watching for it."
There's "no other way I can view this other than he stole the name from Joey," Wednesday stated.
Read each post in full down below.
