In 1993, I was learning guitar, playing in my first
band and completely obsessed with Metallica. They were the epitome of Bay Area thrash and I was quickly
diving into as much of their music, home videos and info on the band as I could
get my hands on.
Thanks to the popularity of the live version of
Mother getting airtime on MTV, I was exposed to Danzig around this time. These guys played a heavy, metal-edged
rock and had all the imagery that grabbed my attention instantly.. skulls, long
hair, black clothes, cool guitars, etc.
At this point, Danzig and Metallica were, without question, my two
favorite bands. I couldn't get
more of their music into my collection fast enough. If I had extra money, it was going to them.
I noticed the infamous Crimson Ghost in tons of
Metallica pictures. They were always wearing Misfits shirts but I didn't know
anything about the band. You
couldn't just find out anything you wanted to know on the internet at this
point. Through a Metallica
biography, I came across the fact that Glenn Danzig was the singer for The
Misfits. I was sold. I didn't need to know anything more, I
just needed a Misfits album.
I found a few CD's at the record store the next time
I was there. "Legacy of
Brutality" had cool skeleton art on it. "Walk Among Us" had an awesome ode to B-horror
movies going on with the cover art.
Then, there was "Collection I". The cover art was a little more plain but it had twenty
songs on it. Twenty songs! That was mine. I got home and immediately called my
friend, Adam (the drummer for my first band).
"Dude, I got a Misfits CD. You need to come over and check this
out with me."
He came over right away and I put it on for our
first listen. She is the first
song on the album... and it was... weird.
"What the hell is this?" "Did they record this in their
garage?" "This is
Danzig's old band?" These are
all thoughts that immediately came to us and I'm pretty sure each one of these
phrases spewed from our mouths.
By the time the second song, Hollywood Babylon, was
done, we were hooked, even singing along already. We weren't used to recordings like this and, though it was
dark subject matter, it didn't sound angry, it sounded fun. Once the shock of something new and
completely unexpected wore off, the simplistic genius set in. It sounded bad, but it sounded right
sounding so bad. This was
completely unpolished, full of 50's-style rock and roll chord progressions,
crooning, yelling on key, a little thrash towards the end, a healthy dose of
punk rock attitude and a ton of horror movie influence all in one.
Last Caress was the song I knew because Metallica
covered it live (someone I knew eventually dubbed their "Garage Days"
cassette for me so I could have Last Caress/Green Hell, but I don't think that
had happened yet) . Last Caress
wasn't on "Collection I".
I think that made me a true fan.
It made me listen to the whole thing instead of seeking out the one song
I knew and listening to it repeatedly.
As a horror fan, the imagery is right, the subject
matter is right. That unpolished
sound, even though it took about a minute and a half to get into, really just
works for me. Glenn Danzig's
almost Elvis-style vocals with the dirty, lo-fi sound; it all fits together so
well.
Metal and punk rock are definitely complimentary for
horror fans but no one's ever done horror rock (or horror punk) like The
Misfits. Legions of horror punk
bands have popped up since. Most
try to sound like The Misfits.
Hardly any could hold a candle to them, though.
This album, in particular, influenced my song
writing so much as a teenager and still it does. Almost every band I've been in where I was sort of the
"guy in charge" covered at least one Misfits song. Even in my current project, Werewolves
in Siberia, I covered Halloween and London Dungeon in a completely different
fashion; turning them into horror synth songs that fit in well with the rest of
my WIS stuff.
There are a few Misfits songs I'm not too into but,
for the most part, I really dig their entire catalog (original Misfits,
anyway). It doesn't matter what
mood I'm in, you can throw on The Misfits and I won't have a problem with
it. "Collection I" was
not only my introduction to them, but having twenty songs on it, it was also a
great way to get a grasp on the band, as a whole. This makes it THE necessity for me, rather than picking one
of the albums they originally released.
There are so many iconic songs on this album. She, Hollywood Babylon, Skulls, Where
Eagles Dare, Die Die My Darling, Vampira, I Turned into a Martian, All Hell
Breaks Loose, London Dungeon... I haven't even begun to scratch the surface
here! It's just awesome. It's probably the most listened to
album in my collection (in any format).
It just fits, no matter what, anytime.
She
Where Eagles Dare
Die Die My Darling
Horror Business
Green Hell
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