Toledo’s Medusa’s Ex is releasing its first self-titled album on November 18, 2022. The band consists of Johnny Cappelletty on drums, Andy Kunkel on bass, Jay Shrodek on guitar, Dave Harms on guitar, and Zak Shaffer on vocals. The new album also features guest appearances by local musicians Carmen Miller, Donovan Black, and Jeff Stewert, who all contributed backing vocals. The album is available digitally on all major distributors such as Spotify, iTunes, and Amazon, as well as CDs available at Medusa’s Ex, shows, and from band members. 

 

Medusa’s Ex was formed in 2019 and has built its reputation on high-energy, quality live performances. Medusa’s Ex does shows with International artists UFO, Last in Line, Jack Russel’s Great White, Saliva, Scott Austin of Saving Able, Scott Stapp of Creed, George Lynch, Blackfoot, Lines of Loyalty, Last in Line, and many others. Medusa’s Ex also headlines their own shows. The members of Medusa’s Ex are not new to the scene, collectively drawing from Damien, Wolfgang, The Hunter Brucks Band, Angola Road, Fetish Doll, Battery, Tinfoil, Chemical Zoo, 13, Aint Your Mama, and Keys to Eden.

 

The first single off the album is “Return Ward,” written about an 1855 convicted serial killer from Sylvania, Ohio, who confessed to murdering his wife and burning her body. Sylvania investigators found bones in the ashes from his fireplace dumped behind his house. After arrest, he admitted to killing two traveling salespeople while running a bed and breakfast in Mansfield, Ohio. Return Jacob Meigs Ward was sentenced to death and hanged in Lucas County on June 12, 1857.

 

Another song, “Medusa’s Child,” was written about two band members, Ex’s, who turned into different unrecognized people after the breakup. The piece incorporates the mythological story of Medusa; a Gorgon envied for her beauty. Medusa was turned into a monster by Hera for having children with Poseidon. “Crash and Burn” was written about a narcissist who continues to do the “same things over and over again, expecting different results.” The song features Medusa’s trademark harmony guitar envisioned by Shrodek. Medusa’s Ex recorded their album at bassist’ Andy Kunkel’s GNOB studio. Kunkel apprenticed at Ardent studio in Memphis before returning home to Toledo to open his studio. Two songs are reworkings of tunes written by other artists, “She Gave Me Ghosts” by JupiterStone and “Sweet Jesus” by Chemical Zoo. Although both songs were regional hits in the Memphis area, Medusa’s Ex was able to take them and make them their own with their unique Toledo sound while giving the nod to the original artists.

The band released a three-song EP in the fall of 2021, which featured alternate mixes of “Faceless,” “Crash and Burn,” and “These Eyes.” Check out their videos on Medusa’s Ex’s youtube channel. You can find additional information about Medusa’s Ex on their official website: www.medusasex.com. You can also follow their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds.