MURDERDOLLS Confirm 2027 Reunion Lineup

MURDERDOLLS have confirmed that vocalist Wednesday 13, guitarist Acey Slade and bassist Eric Griffin will take part in the band's 2027 reunion.

Earlier today, MURDERDOLLS shared a teaser video announcing the band's appearance at the 2027 edition of the U.K.'s Download festival in June. The clip was soundtracked by "Dead In Hollywood", a song from the band's 2002 debut album, "Beyond The Valley Of The Murderdolls", which will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2027.

"25 years ago, evil arrived. Next year it returns," a text message in the video reads.

MURDERDOLLS' 2027 shows will serve as a "memorial tribute" to the band's late guitarist — and former SLIPKNOT drummer — Joey Jordison and "Beyond The Valley Of The Murderdolls"-era MURDERDOLLS drummer Ben "The Ghoul" Graves.

The revered glam punk icons will also perform at next year's Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel, Belgium.

MURDERDOLLS' appearance at Download and Graspop Metal Meeting will mark the band's first performances since 2018 when Wednesday 13 reunited with Griffin and Slade on stage for the first time in over a decade at Lucky Strike Live in Hollywood. The event, which celebrated Graves's life, saw the trio performing some of MURDERDOLLS' classic songs.

After the completion of the touring cycle for "Beyond The Valley Of The Murderdolls", MURDERDOLLS went on hiatus so that Jordison could focus on his other band SLIPKNOT. In 2010, MURDERDOLLS released a sophomore album, "Women And Children Last", which did not feature Slade, Griffin and Graves, all of whom toured in support of "Beyond The Valley Of The Murderdolls" but did not appear on any of MURDERDOLLS' records.

Just a few days prior to "Women And Children Last"'s arrival, Slade gave an interview to Blog Talk Radio's "Zombilly's Horror Hour" in which he said that he wasn't invited to take part in the making of the LP.

"We waited around a long time — myself, Eric and the Ghoul — we waited around a long time to do this record. And when Joey and Wednesday said that they wanted to do it by themselves, that was a bit of a… like, 'Really?! That's not what we discussed,'" he said. "But, quite frankly, it's like, okay, well, it's been seven years. You can't hold somebody to something they said seven years ago. It's like, 'Okay, cool.'"

Acey went on to say that he didn't like the material on "Women And Children Last". "I think it sounds like all the things that the band said that we weren't gonna be," he said. "When I was in the band, it was, 'We don't drop-tune — we tune standard 'cause we're a rock band — it's all tongue-in-cheek, nothing's serious. And now it's drop-tuned, it's serious subject matter, and it's not something I wanted to be a part of. It's like, wow, we were supposed to be a fun band that pissed people off, not a pissed off band that is writing… I don't know… It sounds like DISTURBED to me. It sounds like DISTURBED with Rob Zombie vocals. That was the other thing, too. [Laughs] Everybody was, like, 'You guys are like ALICE COOPER meets ROB ZOMBIE,' and we weren't. And it seems like all the negative things that people thought about us before they heard us, the band has now become. I'm not interested in that. I have a lot more creativity than that. And those guys do, too. So I'm a little disappointed for them. But you know, hey…. whatever. I guess they're happy doing it, but it's not something that I would wanna be a part of. And it's, like, weird, the whole Joey and Wednesday… They've got pictures of just Joey and Wednesday. I think it's pretty clear that they didn't want anyone else at the party; they want it to be an exclusive thing for them, I suppose."

Graves, who also worked with PRETTY BOY FLOYD and DOPE, passed away in May 2018 after a year-long battle with cancer. He was only 45 years old.

The MURDERDOLLS did a number of major tours in support of "Beyond The Valley Of The Murderdolls". By the summer of 2003, the tenacity of the band was paying off. Tours with IRON MAIDEN, PAPA ROACH and the FOO FIGHTERS around the world and a Top 40 U.K. single with "White Wedding" made the band fan favorite in Metal Hammer, Metal Edge, Kerrang! and Rock Sound magazines.

Jordison died "peacefully in his sleep" in July 2021 of an undisclosed cause. He was 46 years old.

The MURDERDOLLS reunion comes more than four years after Wednesday 13 accused Slade of "stealing" the MURDERDOLLS trademark. The trademark had quietly lapsed, and Slade legally acquired it on his own without the knowledge or consent of Wednesday 13 or Jordison's estate. The feud became public when Slade and Griffin announced a 20th-anniversary deluxe vinyl edition of "Beyond The Valley Of The Murderdolls", along with new merchandise and an official web site. Wednesday 13 later claimed that he and Jordison had been actively discussing a MURDERDOLLS reunion before Jordison's passing and insisted that Jordison would be "furious" about the trademark acquisition, called Slade's actions a betrayal, and vowed to put an end to the dispute. For his part, Slade defended his actions on social media by stating that he was saving the band's legacy from completely disappearing into obscurity. He claimed that the legal step was necessary to get the album back on digital streaming platforms and pressed to vinyl. He also maintained that he handled the band's history with respect, treating all former members as "alumni" rather than current members.