L.A. Punk Vol. 4- The Dils

I'm back with another addition to my L.A. Punk series. This time the subject of the article is The Dils. They were a hard band to track down concrete facts about. Neither of their CD reissues have any biographical information but here's what I've pieced together. The Dils formed in 1976 and go their start in Los Angeles. They later permanently relocated to San Francisco but their original ties to the L.A. scene make them an important part of the early L.A. scene. The core of the band are Chip and Tony Kinman who play guitar and bass, respectively. The band had a few drummers throughout their existence. The original drummer, Andre Algover (Endre Alqover), played on their first single and possibly their second. Other drummers included Rand Mcnally (co-founder of Dangerhouse Records), Zippy Pinhead, and John Silvers. Their first single was released by Chris Ashford on his What? Records label which had just been put in place to release the first Germs single and their second was released on Dangerhouse Records, both iconic labels associated with the birth of punk in Los Angeles. They were also featured in Cheech and Chong's Up In Smoke in 1978 during the battle of the bands scene beating out many other classic L.A. punk bands for the part in the movie, including the Germs whose "Sex Boy" found on their first single was recorded during the try outs for the movie held at the Whisky a Go Go.

They were an overtly political band which seemed to get them in trouble a lot. They were self proclaimed socialists constantly calling for class wars. They never really seemed at home in the fun loving early L.A. punk scene which I'm sure was one of the factors which led to the move to San Francisco though getting banned from the Whisky may have also contributed. There are a lot of published interviews from the 70's to read if you want to get the Kinman brothers' perspective on punk and the new wave. I always found that they tend to come off as slightly pretentious in interviews. Whatever their politics and opinions may have been, the music speaks for itself.

The band broke up in 1980 but the Kinman brothers never stopped. They started Rank and File soon after the Dils which continued in the rock direction the Dils took on their final release. After Rank and File they regrouped as Cowboy Nation and later Blackbird.

I Hate the Rich b/w You're Not Blank

For those of you keeping track, this was released in 1977 on What Records as What 02. (What 01 was the Germs' first single.) "I Hate the Rich" is a lightning fast guitar onslaught. It also serves as an introduction to the Dils' politics which lean pretty far to the left. "You're Not Blank" is one of my favorite punk songs of all time. The mix, by today's standards, isn't very good but the fact that the guitar is so loud, just as loud if not a little louder than the vocals, adds to the charm.



198 Seconds of the Dils (Class War b/w Mr. Big)

This, their second single, was also released in 1977 but this time on the legendary Dangerhouse label. For their second outing the sound is bigger, the production is better, and the songwriting and playing is a little more rock & roll. "Class War" is up there with the best of the Dangerhouse catalog. The guitar is hard but catchy and the vocals are intense. "Mr. Big" is a great song but not the greatest tune of its time. The vocals are catchy but he lyrics aren't the greatest you'll ever hear (Hey Mr. Big/You look so big to others/Hey Mr. Big/I can see you're nothin); typical socialist punk lyrics.



Made in Canada (Sound of the Rain b/w Red Rockers Rule b/w It's Not Worth It)

Fast forward to 1979. There isn't a hint of punk left in the Dils' sound. They went soft. On this record there are acoustic guitars and vocal harmonies. It's not bad if you're not expecting punk. It holds up with the softer of the power pop stuff coming out around this time. "Red Rockers Rule" rocks the hardest (but it doesn't rock THAT hard...). "It's Not Worth It" is the catchiest of the three and "Sound of the Rain" is the softest. All in all not a bad release but I won't lie and say I wasn't disappointed the first time I heard it.



Class War

This is the first of two CD reissues by Bacchus Archives. There's no reason for there to be two because there's barely 80 minutes spread out between the two but they had to split up three singles worth of material with some live stuff so that fans would have to buy both...Anyway, This release opens with their first single, "I Hate The Rick" and "You're Not Blank" (Don't ask me why they called it Class War if the Dangerhouse single isn't on here...). In addition to those two classic pieces of punk history you get a decent live recording from 1980. Within those ten live songs you get a pretty cool version of "Mr. Big", a slower version of "You're Not Blank", a cover of Buddy Holly's "Modern Don Juan", "Red Rockers Rule", It's Not Worth It" and a few others. I would never have bought this for the live material, it's just not that great. But, the first Dils single IS that great.


Dils Dils Dils

This, number two in Bacchus's series of Dils reissues, covers far more ground than the first. The CD opens with "Blow Up", a demo from 1977 and The Dils first recording. It's a great song. It's got catchy vocals reminiscent of what they would end up doing on the Made In Canada EP but it's punk and the guitar is really crunchy. Next up is the two songs from their second single and all three from their third. Rounding out the CD are 9 songs recorded at 2 different shows in 1978 and 1 song recorded live in 1979. The band was about to go soft and there are definite hints of that on these 1978 recordings but they aren't entirely there yet. The first four live tracks are the best, being the most punk and the best recording quality; it even contains an 8 minute version of the Velvet Underground's "What Goes On".

Top 5 of 2010

As 2010 comes to an end I like to look back on all the CD's that came out throughout the year. This year I fell behind. I really focused on filling in a lot of gaps in my collection that I didn't buy a lot of new albums. The new discs I did buy, though, are incredible.

Here's my Top 5 of 2010:


5. Bigger Thomas- Steal My Sound

Bigger Thomas formed back in 1988 in New Brunswick, NJ. They started as Panic! and then changed their name to Bigger Thomas and in 1989 put out their first album. 21 years later they are still playing and still recording. This, their 5th album, contains some of their best songs yet: "Matinee Idol", "Permanent Error", and "Pure". They are keeping that 1980's sound alive and doing it well. In keeping with that theme they even got John "Teflon" Simms, the artist behind much of the 2 Tone artwork, to design the cover. I've known these guys for about 6 years and I've never been disappointed with a show or an album and they've certainly kept the streak alive with this one.



4. Budos Band- III

Budos Band exploded onto the scene back in 2005 with the release of their debut full length. It is now 5 years later and they have released their 3rd album on Daptone Records. This might be their best one yet (I haven't spent enough time with it yet to say for sure). Budos Band are one of the best instrumental bands out there. The rhythm section never falters and they have the best sounding horn section I've heard in a long time. I bought this album as soon as I saw it and I was blown away. The production is far superior to their first two albums and the grooves are darker and scarier but just as funky.



3. Mondo Drag- New Rituals

I got turned onto this band pretty soon after this album was released and I bought it immediately after hearing it. I hadn't been so excited about a new band in a very long time. This album is a hard one to write about because it doesn't really fit under any umbrella terms other than "modern psychedelia" but that doesn't really tell you anything about what it sounds like. It is as bluesy as it is spacey. The guitar goes from heavy to soft from song to song and the bass player takes a page out of Geezer Butler's book and doubles the guitar melody/riff a lot throughout the album. Start to finish it's an amazing album but it was one specific song that made me buy the CD as soon as I did after my first listen. The song is "Serpent Snake" and it's equal parts early Queens of the Stone Age and Hawkwind.


2. King Hammond- The King and I

I went to England in June/July of '05 and bought tons and tons of records and CD's. It was like a trip to Mecca for me. I was finally able to get the Madness CD Box Set with all of the studio albums, a ton of 2 Tone singles, some Dave Clark 5, etc. One specific CD I found was a comp called Ska Crazy. It's focus is post 2 Tone British ska. This CD is soley responsible for getting me to look at the fact that there was a gap between 2 Tone and the so called "3rd Wave" which has now become something of an obsession of mine. It had songs by Bad Manners, The Loafers, The Hotknives, Maroon Town, Judge Dread, and King Hammond. I always loved the King Hammond song from this comp, "Skaville UK", and I noticed Bad Manners did this song too but I always preferred the King Hammond version. I always tried to find out more about this King Hammond guy but there never seemed to be any information about him on the internet other than a few other compilations he was on. It wasn't until recently that I found out the history of King Hammond thanks to The Duff Guide to Ska breaking the news that King Hammond was putting out a new album. Turns out King Hammond is the alter ego of Nick Welsh (late 80's Bad Manners and Skaville UK). He put out two albums back in the day and returned after many many years to put out The King and I. It's a fantastic album filled with great, danceable skinhead reggae like only King Hammond can do.


1. Danzig- Deth Red Sabaoth

This one should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me or read my Danzig/Misfits/Samhain article from last Halloween. I fuckin love Danzig and this is his best album since Danzig IV. His last album, 2004's Circle of Snakes was decent but not nearly as exciting as this one. For this album, as on Circle of Snakes, Tommy Victor(Lead singer/guitarist for Prong) plays guitar and adds a really interesting new sound to the band. The pinch harmonics mixed with the vintage, 1970's bass amps Danzig decided to record a lot of the guitar tracks through give it a really classic heavy metal sound. This album has Danzig's best songwriting since the early 1990's and the package features lots of busty undead women. Classic Danzig.

My Favorite Christmas Songs

It's Christmas Eve and as I laid in bed this morning watching the Dr. Who marathon I began working on a list of my all time favorite Christmas songs. Here are the 15 songs I came up with:


15. Jona Lewie- Stop the Cavalry (1980)
Jona Lewie was an interesting character. He had a few singles on Stiff Records and this one was his biggest hit.

14. Vandals- Oi to the World (1996)
Who doesn't love this song? The No Doubt cover doesn't even compare to the original.

13. Run DMC- Christmas in Hollis (1987)
I always loved this song. It's a great beat (sampled from Clarence Carter's "Back Door Santa") and some great rhymes.

12. Crucial Youth- X-Mastime for the Skins (1988)
This song, from the Crucial Yule single is a punk rock Christmas classic. These guys had a sense of humor and this song's pretty funny.

11. Fishbone- Slick Nick, You Devil You (1987)
This one's from the It's A Wonderful Life vinyl only EP but you can get all 4 tracks from that on the Fishbone 101 CD. It's a funny song about a drunk, unruly Santa Claus.

10. James White and the Blacks- Christmas with Satan (1984)
10 minutes of James Chance singing a song about hanging out with Satan on Christmas while squeaking his way through holiday classics in between the verses.

9. Kinks- Father Christmas (1977)
This is a Christmas classic. Only the Kinks would write a Christmas song about a bunch of kids beating up a mall Santa. It is more of a criticism of the British economy at the time disguised as a Christmas song.

8. Bad Manners- Christmas Time Again (1989)
This is a re-recorded version of "Skinhead Love Affair" with some lyrics about Christmas.

7. Weezer- Christmas Song (2000)
6. Weezer- Christmas Celebration (2000)
Both of these Weezer songs come from a 2 song promo release simply titled The Christmas E.P. Both songs are great Green Album era tunes.

5. Waitresses- Christmas Wrapping (1981)
This one is from the first Ze Records Christmas album. This has been a Christmas favorite since I was young. The Waitresses were an amazing band and should be known better than just by this and "I Know What Boys Like".

4. Fear- Fuck Christmas (1982)
Do I even have to explain why I love this song?

3. Sonics- Don't Believe in Christmas (1965)
2. Sonics- Santa Clause (1965)
These two are from the Merry Christmas album on Etiquette Records and were added to the CD reissue of Here are the Sonics!!! along with a third Christmas tune that didn't make the list called "The Village Idiot". "Don't Believe In Christmas" was also released as a split single with the Wailers' "Christmas Spirit" on the flip. Both of these songs are classic fuzz rock at its finest.

1. Pogues- Fairytale of New York (1987)
It doesn't get much better than this song. This has been a favorite of mine ever since I first heard the album it comes from, If I Should Fall From Grace With God. It's a beautiful duet between Shane McGowan and Kirsty MacColl (fellow Stiff Records recording artist and daughter of Ewan MacColl who penned "Dirty Old Town" which the Pogues covered on Rum, Sodomy and the Lash).

Long Songs

In revisiting the blog I decided I want to start getting a little more editorial and a little more personal. I love exploring the discographies of bands and labels I find to be criminally underrated but I want to start to branch out. I decided to start by posting some lists. I love making lists of favorites because of the challenge. It's hard to pick favorites but it's also fun and I think you can learn a lot about someone by what they love enough to call their favorite.

I also thought that this would be a good way to get some discussion going (if anyone is actually reading this).

So, for the first list I have compiled a list of my ten favorite long songs. There are two criteria for this list: the song has to be over 15 minutes long and it has to be a studio track. I've always loved long, epic songs. It takes a lot of talent to record a song this long and keep it interesting the whole way through.

The list is laid out like this:

Band- Song Title [Album Title, Year, Length]


10. Kyuss- Odyssey/Conan Troutman/N.O./Whitewater [Welcome to Sky Valley, 1994, 18:19]

9. The Cure- Carnage Visor: The Soundtrack [Faith, 1981, 27:51]

8. Hawkwind- You Shouldn't Do That [In Search of Space, 1971, 15:42]

7. Yes- Ritual (Nous Sommes Du Soleil) [Tales from Topographic Oceans, 1973, 21:34]

6. Pink Floyd- Atom Heart Mother Suite [Atom Heart Mother, 1970, 23:44]

5. Frank Zappa- Big Swifty [Waka/Jawaka, 1972, 17:22]

4. Count Ossie and the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari- Grounation [Grounation, 1973, 29:50]

3. The Velvet Underground- Sister Ray [White Light/White Heat, 1968, 17:31]

2. Rush- 2112 [2112, 1976, 20:33]

1. Monster Magnet- Tab... [25......Tab, 1991, 32:15]

Moon Records Vol. 2

So, It's been almost a year since my last post. I don't know what happened but time really got away from me. I have recently resurrected the blog, though, and have been going through an updating old posts and preparing some new articles for the near future. First up is the next volume of my trek through the Moon Records catalog.


Dieter Osten- East of Eden (Toast 11/ Toast 12)

This is another weird one from the early Moon catalog. This is a full length album released in 1986 by Dieter Runge, the man who brought you the East of Eden 7" single 2 years earlier, both songs from which can be found on this full length LP. There are only two reggae/ska songs on the album, one being "Sea of Happiness" from the single. The rest of the album is just really good rock and roll. Some of it almost borders on having a Mod influence.

Toasters/Beat Brigade split 7" (Toast 13/ Toast 14)

This 7", released in 1987, contains one song each from The Toasters and Beat Brigade. The Toasters song is "Talk Is Cheap" and is the same version of the song found on their album. The real gem is the Beat Brigade song, "Try and Try Again." Last time we heard from Beat Brigade it was "Armageddon Beat" from N.Y. Beat. That song was a catchy, fun calypso number. This time around it's completely different. "Try and Try Again" is a fast and incredibly catchy ska tune. It might be the fastest song they ever wrote and it's definitely my favorite. From that infectious guitar hook, to the horn lines, to the vocal melody that will have you singing the chorus in your head for weeks after hearing it, it's just about the perfect modern ska song.

Legal Gender/ The Scene split 7" (Toast 15/ Toast 16)

This split 7" between two very cool bands also came out in 1987. Legal Gender only released this one song before going through a slight personnel change and becoming the NY Citizens (more on them later). Their contribution to this split, "Overcast," sounds nothing like the fast, fun, danceable ska the Citizens would become known for over the next couple of years. Instead, it is more of a midtempo, dark, moody ska song with a punk chorus reminiscent musically of what The Scene and The Press were doing at the time. The Scene were a NY punk band who alligned themselves with the NYC ska scene. They had their song "Walking" on NY Beat a year earlier. This time they give us an even better song, "Bruise In Me." It has traces of the Oi the Press were doing at the time, while channeling the mod/punk of early Jam (circa In The City/This Is The Modern World). Where "Walking" was fast and fun in the spirit of '77 punk, "Bruise In Me" shows how they'd grown musically in just one year with a slowed down song that showed off much better and more intricate songwriting while maintaining the catchy, sing-a-long feel of "Walking."

Second Step- Do You Know This Man? b/w 2 Men In Suits (Toast 17/ Toast 18)

Another 7" was planned for release in 1987 but it, unfortunately, never saw the light of day. It's a real shame because Second Step were fantastic and apparently unstoppable and unmatched in a live setting from what I've heard from people who were lucky enough to have been there. There are obvious parallels to be made between Second Step and The Selecteras both had charismatic front women with the occasional male vocal. Neither bands had large horn sections either. The Selecter sometimes used Rico Rodriguez and Dick Cuthell on recordings for trombone and trumpet respectively and Second Step had a permanent sax player and, at least for part of their career, a trombone player. All similarities aside, Second Step did their own thing and did it well. They generally went for a slower reggae sound as opposed to the uptempo ska happening all around them though they indulged in the Manhattan funk/rock sound which permeated through the scene in the late 80's with the song "Friction" (See Urban Blight and the Skinnerbox's Tales of the Red). It's really a shame this single never came to be because both songs are amazing. I have an interrupted live version of "Do You Know This Man?" and a demo of "2 Men in Suits." "Do You Know This Man?" is a very fun song with an incredibly catchy horn line. The verses border on early reggae and ska and is the fastest and most upbeat song I've heard by the band while the chorus goes into a darker reggae before the horns come back in and speed it up. "2 Men in Suits" is a slower reggae with a hypnotic sax riff and a very mod/soul chorus. I recently had the opportunity to see Remi (Second Step's lead singer) perform "2 Men in Suits" with the Beat Brigade at B.B. King's. I'm sure it was the closest I'll ever get to seeing Second Step.

*thanks to Marco on the Bass and Dave Barry for hipping me to more Second Step music than just the one track on the New York Beat LP. They were always one of my favorite bands on the comp and finding out there was more and actually being able to hear it was a great surprise.

Learn more about the Moon Records catalog by reading my previous article on the label here.

Moon Records Vol. 1

The Music

Toasters- The Beat b/w Brixton Beat (Toast 1/Toast 2)

This was the single that started it all. It was released in 1983 and technically wasn't even released on Moon Records, the label on the record says Ice Bear Records. This single is incredibly rare, however, the two songs are available on the out of print Thrill Me Up CD Reissue on Moon Ska (which is WAY easier to find). If I had to compare the A-side, "The Beat," to anything I would compare it to The English Beat. The English Beat (or just The Beat in the UK) were a big influence on Bucket and I hear that in this song. It has that great mod guitar and is only barely a ska song (the keyboard and the drummer are the only instruments that maintain a typical ska beat, and the keyboard cuts in and out throughout the song) however, that doesn't make it any less of a ska masterpiece. "Brixton Beat" is the first version of what would eventually turn into the Toasters' classic "East Side Beat" on their debut LP, Skaboom!. It starts out as a slow dirge and then turns into a mid-tempo, dark ska song with very prominent bass. There's also some chilling female vocals harmonizing with Buck at points but mostly singing Ooooooooh's during the verses. The only thing similar to the more well known version found on Skaboom! is that the horn line on that one is played by the guitar once or twice on this original version.

East of Eden- Mystic Mood b/w Sea of Happiness (Toast 3/ Toast 4)

This single was released in 1984 and was the first release with a proper Moon Records imprint. My info on this is a bit hazy, but from what I understand the main musician is Dieter Runge, and he used a revolving cast of characters for this and the full length he put out a few years later. What I know for sure is he is German and was in a punk band called Rotzkotz from 1977-1981 before moving out to New York and recording this. (I've tried to find some Rotzkotz singles on the internet and the few times over the years they've popped up, they go for far too much money for me to afford.) His East of Eden material is very interesting. "Mystic Mood" is a cool mod-rocker. "Sea of Happiness" is a simple yet incredibly catchy ska song. The chorus will have you singing along immediately and you'll have the melody stuck in your head all day.

Toasters- Recriminations (Toast 5/Toast 6)

It's now 1985, and the Toasters are back with a 4-song 12" EP. This is the beginning of my favorite period of the band's music. These 4 songs are where they begin finding that classic late 80's sound they would perfect on the Skaboom LP. The first side is "Recriminations" and "Razor Cut," two of my favorite Toasters tracks. The flip side is "Run Rudy Run" and "Radiation Skank." This record is their most new-wavey, and since the band still hadn't added any horns to the lineup it's heavy on the guitar and keyboards and "Run Rudy Run" features the melodica work of Joe Jackson, of "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" fame. Bucket knew Joe Jackson through working at Forbidden Planet in London. One day after Buck moved to New York City to work in Forbidden Planet's Manhattan location, Joe Jackson walked into the comic shop and the two caught up. The two British expatriats became friends and drinking buddies. Joe Jackson ended up producing this EP under a pseudonym, due to contractual obligations, and would play melodica with them live whenever he was in town. This EP was re-released twice in 1988 with a new cover on Unicorn Records in the UK and also on Moon Records. It was also added to Skaboom! on both CD reisssues (Moon Ska and Megalith).

Kill Me- s/t (Toast 7/ Toast 8)

This is a funk rock LP released in 1985. I haven't heard it yet (but I did just find a copy which should get to me in the mal in a week or two) but apparently the band consisted of a couple members of the Toasters and Bucket's friends from Forbidden Planet, a comic shop he used to work at.

Various- N.Y. Beat: Hit & Run (Toast 9/ Toast 10)

This comp came out in 1986 and is a landmark album in American ska history in that it was the first American ska compilation. It also means a lot to me as an album because this album is what got me into '80s American ska. Unless you really look deeper, not much is said about American ska music from the 1980's. The Toasters, Fishbone and Bim Skala Bim are the only bands that really get any credit. While those bands are/were great, they were not the only ska bands in town. N.Y. Beat opened my eyes to the fact that there was a coherent ska scene in New York City in the mid-eighties. There was more than just The Toasters, and some of the songs on this LP are arguably better than the 2 Toasters tracks. The bands on this comp are: The Toasters, Beat Brigade, The A Kings, Cryin Out Loud, City Beat, The Daybreakers, The Scene, The Press, Urban Blight, Second Step, The Boilers, Too True, and Floor Kiss. Every song is amazing and every band should have gotten the fame they deserved. My personal favorites are "Armageddon Beat" by Beat Brigade, "Escape from Reality" by Urban Blight, "Oppurtunity" by Second Step, "Brighter Days" by the Boilers, and "Why is the Boat so Small?" by Floor Kiss.

For more info on N.Y. Beat, you can check out the Marcoonthebass blog here and join this Facebook Group to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the album and read up on all of the bands that were featured on it.

Also, for those of you who love scene comps as much as I do, there is a NY Beat-esque comp devoted to what was going on in Boston called Mash It Up that you should definitely check out if given the chance. The LP is pretty hard to come by, but like NY Beat it was released on CD by Ska Records under the title Skaville USA Volume 2.



****As will be the case in all of these posts dedicated to the early days of Moon Records, The Duff Guide to Ska and Marco On The Bass provided invaluable information. I couldn't have written it without them, and EVERYONE should read those two blogs!*****

Danzig

It's getting close to Halloween, and with Halloween comes a few traditions. First, I always watch at least the first Halloween movie on Mischief Night, over the past few years it has turned into a full on Halloween marathon consisting of as many movies in the series I can stay awake for. The second is, since college, I've gone to a show every October 31st. Two years ago it was World Inferno's Hallowmas, last year it was The Flaming Tsunamis/The Fad/Hostage Calm/My Heart To Joy/Coldsnap in Connecticut and this year I'm going to Hallowmas again. The third tradition is that I start listening to a lot of Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig. Nobody gets me pumped for Halloween quite like Glenn Danzig. So in the spirit of my favorite holiday this post is all about Danzig.
Glenn Danzig is a personal hero of mine. He's a run of the mill Jersey kid who made it big and all on his own terms. He also kept a variety in his career, never sticking to one sound for too long. His story starts in 1955 in Lodi, New Jersey. He grew up as an outsider, liking "dorky" things like comic books and b-movies. He formed the Misfits in 1977. They went through many lineup changes, had a handful of releases and broke up in 1983. In 1984 he began work on his next project which would be called Samhain. The band released 2 LP's and 1 EP, then around 1987 morphed in the band Danzig. Danzig released its first album in 1988, and the band has continued ever since though Glenn Danzig is the only original member remaining. On top of these three bands, which account for the vast majority of his work, he has also released a solo 7", 1981's "Who Killed Marilyn" b/w "Spook City USA", had the song "You and Me(Less Than Zero)" appear on the Less Than Zero Soundtrack credited to Glenn Danzig & The Power and Fury Orchestra, though it's actually played by the everyone in the original lineup of Danzig except Eerie Von. He has also released two CD's of classical compositions called Black Aria and Black Aria II released in 1992 and 2006, respectively.

The Misfits
The Misfits formed in 1977. I'm not going to go into much of this history, because I'd have to name a ton of people who went in and out of that band over the 6 years they were together. I'm not going to go release by release either, because they put out a fair amount of 7"s that are so incredibly rare I doubt I'll ever own them and some of them are so rare I'll probably never even see one in real life. I'm instead going to talk about what's available on CD and what I know about them off the top of my head. In order to have as complete of a Misfits discography as you can you need 3 things: The Box Set, Static Age, and Walk Among Us.

The Box Set has almost everything in it. It is 4 discs and contains Collection, Collection 2, Evilive, Earth A.D., Legacy of Brutality, Static Age, and a disc of unreleased demos. It's a lot of music. It runs the gamut of the entire Misfits lifespan, from the very first 7" ("Cough Cool" b/w "She" which was never released in their original mixes before) through the 7"s, the Static Age Sessions, and their hardcore period when they released Earth A.D. It does not contain their final LP, Walk Among Us due to licensing issues but it does contain every song on that album found throughout the collections and the disc of unreleased demo sessions. This set was also the first time the Static Age sessions were ever released in their entirety. A lot of it had made its way onto 7"s and compilations like Collection and Legacy of Brutality, but some were still unreleased. It is my favorite Misfits material, however, you really need to get the reissue by itself.

Static Age is my favorite Misfits release. It was recorded during 1978, my personal favorite time period of the band, and contains some of my favorite Misfits songs, including "Bullet," "Angelfuck," "Hybrid Moments," and "Last Caress." The CD reissue is necessary because it was remastered and expanded after its original release with the box set. Not only is the sound remarkably better but they give you 3 songs that were claimed to have been found since the release of the box set. Those songs are "She", "Spinal Remains" and "In The Doorway." The last track is studio outtakes, like an audio blooper reel from the recording sessions.

Last on the list is Walk Among Us, their final LP, released in 1982. One year earlier, the Misfits had dabbled in hardcore with Earth A.D. and it was great. For this album they took that hardcore and mixed it with the classic Misfits sound for the most varied release of their career. It went from classics like "Skulls" and "Night of the Living Dead" to really heavy hardcore with "All Hell Breaks Loose" and the live version of "Mommy, Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight?" All of it is amazing and absolutely necessary for any Misfits fan.

Samhain
Samhain was Danzig's next band. They formed out of the ashes of the Misfits. Originally, the band featured Brian Baker and Lyle Preslar, formerly of Minor Threat. Neither of them remained in the band for very long, although Preslar's guitar can be heard on four tracks on the band's debut album, Initium ("Black Dream" "Macabre" "Horror Biz" and "The Shift). The band was a transitional band for Glenn Danzig. The sound was much darker than the Misfits, but not yet the outright blues/metal sound he would perfect once changing the band's name to Danzig in 1988.

Samhain released Initium in 1984, Unholy Passion in 1985, November Coming Fire in 1986, and Final Descent, a posthumous collection of unreleased material, in 1990. All of this can be found in the Samhain Box Set, along with a live CD featuring 2 shows, one from 1985 and another from 1986. The box set also contains a VHS (it's never been updated from VHS to DVD) of a few live shows which were heavily bootlegged, and a reprint of a Samhain comic book.

Samhain is an interesting period of Glenn Danzig's career. It usually goes overlooked and is his least celebrated work. Don't let that fool you though, the music is great. It's got the horror-themed lyrics you loved in the Misfits but the music is much darker and heavier. They also reworked a few Misfits classics ("Horror Business" "All Hell Breaks Loose" and "Halloween II").

Danzig
In 1988, Glenn Danzig changed Samhain's name to Danzig when they signed on to Rick Rubin's Def American label. The band now featured Glenn Danzig on vocals, Eerie Von on bass, John Christ on guitar, and the legendary Chuck Biscuits on drums. There was also a distinct shift in style. The band now played bluesy riff-based metal. Danzig are still playing together and occasionally release albums, however this original band only lasted through 1994. In that time Danzig released four amazing albums, Danzig in 1988, Danzig II: Lucifuge in 1990, Danzig III: How The Gods Kill in 1992, and Danzig IV in 1994. All four of those albums are great, though the first two are really essential. Those two albums were landmark albums in Glenn Danzig's career and in what was happening in metal at the time. The metal genre mostly consisted of thrash bands at the time, and the stoner metal scene was just beginning, but not many bands were bringing it back to the basics and just focusing on a good, heavy, and bluesy guitar riff.



All of this music is great year-round, but every October when I start getting psyched on Halloween I start listening to copious amounts of Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig.