Enter the 'Land of the Dead' with the Misfits this Halloween...
Written: Oct 30 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Catchy horror film inspired songs. Artwork on Cover.
Cons: Second song doesn't live up to the first.
The Bottom Line: It's The Misfits!
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| Chris_Billings's Full Review: Land of the Dead by The Misfits |
The latest single, Land Of The Dead, by The Misfits has been in the works for many years now. It's the first piece of new material since Famous Monsters released in 1999. The song was originally suppose to be released around the 30th anniversary of the band, but instead was pushed back almost two years.
The current band line of consists of founding member and bassist Jerry Only, who has taken over lead vocal duties since the 2003 cover song album Project 1950, former Black Flag guitarist Dez Cadena, and drummer ROBO. Jerry Only was originally capable of delivering decent backing vocals, but since the departure of the bands' second lead singer, Michale Graves back in 2001, Jerry has improved on his vocals giving the band that old school "Elvis meets Frankenstein" sound they originally had.
The latest single uses George Romero's zombie movies as the overall theme with two songs; Land Of The Dead and Twilight Of The Dead. The first song, Land Of The Dead, is the better of the two songs included on the single. Jerry executes the deep rockabilly styled vocals better than Glenn Danzig did when he first founded the band. In my opinion when I listen to the older Misfits' albums, I find that Danzig's vocals were pretty sloppy. I know that's how they were supposed to sound, but I've grown accustomed to Jerry's vocals. Jerry has tried to bring back the old school 50's rock sound infused with punk they originally emulated when the band was founded. Critics have blasted Jerry for his campy and cliché lyrics based on classic horror and sci-fi films. But that's the whole point to what The Misfits are about; having fun. The first song off the single, Land Of The Dead, is pretty catchy from the upbeat verse to the nicely layered and harmonized "whoa...oh...oh's..."
¯...their armies still advance
From the murky depths they rise,
From their rotting bones, their souls, they scream,
For the flesh they need...
Tonight,
(Tonight...whoaaa...oh...oh...)
Zombies walk...
(Zombies walk)
Land of the Dead...¯
The "B-Side" on the album is Twilight Of The Dead which is pretty good, but doesn't have the same catchy lyrics as the "main" single. The song also features a grittier/punchy rhythm guitar section as well as being one of the few Misfits' songs to have an actual guitar solo. Dez lets loose about a minute and a half into the song. It's a short solo, but when it comes to East Coast punk, it's pretty long for an album. Playing live is another story. Jerry's vocals are a little sloppy and for the most part they don't "gel" with the instrumental part of the piece like it does on the first song. But it's not horrible enough to skip the song either. You can tell Jerry is having fun on the song with lines like "blood runs coldddd...." The song sounds like it's trying to be a blues piece at times too.
And like most classic "East Coast" punk bands, each song on the single comes in under 3 minutes in keeping with tradition. I used to criticize the band for having such short songs but as I have grown older I can appreciate them more than I used to. I'd get upset at a song being only just over a minute long, but since I've been recording music I can fully appreciate the work that goes into creating a 2 minute long composition.
The single was just released in a 12" vinyl format limited to the bands' online store (visit www.misfits.com for more details). I ordered the 1st Pressing (Translucent Red) and 2nd Pressing (Clear Green) which are limited to only 1000 pieces each. The 1st Pressing sold out and was shipped late this week and the 2nd Pressing will ship mid-November. I was so excited and impatient to hear the full length of each song I went to iTunes and downloaded both songs for $1.98 (total) the other day. There is also a Tour Edition (Translucent Orange) limited to 1000 pieces as well being sold at each concert. The single on vinyl only costs around $9.99 which I feel is a bargain. The vinyl will be released to retailers like Amazon and Best Buy at the start of the second week of December this year except you won't be able to choose what color of vinyl you get. The "rare" red and green vinyl will be randomly inserted into sleeves. And guess what...I preordered a couple form Amazon this morning as well. I can't wait to fire up my turntable and listen to these new 12" vinyl's. Whoever said that vinyl would completely die was totally wrong. They've been raised from the grave...no pun intended...
The cover of the single was illustrated by Arthur Suydam who is most famous for his artwork for the covers of the Marvel Comics series, Marvel Zombies. The artwork is inspired by the movie poster and book cover of Land Of The Dead. The cover to the single features a decaying head emerging from a swamp with a horde of hungry zombies stumbling around in the distance. The head resembles the famous "Fiend Skull" logo used by the band, except he's got "skin" on. Very well done cover and I hope that when a full length album comes along Jerry has Mr. Suydam illustrate that cover too.
Anyway, this new single from The Misfits was a nice Halloween treat and I look forward to a full length album from the group hopefully sooner than later. Jerry and the other two members of the band lead extremely busy lives but they always take time to tour and put on shows this time of year. A lot of "fans" have criticized Jerry for not releasing a full length album in a timely manner. But those who know Jerry also know that he runs a family business handed down from his father and he's married and has children which all come first. If it wasn't for Jerry there would be no Misfits in the first place. Glenn Danzig originally wanted all the Misfits recordings and related items destroyed after the band broke up in the mid-1980's. Luckily Jerry won a lawsuit in the 1990's that allowed him to save the image of the band.
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[ARTIST]
The Misfits
[ALBUM]
Land Of The Dead [Single]
[GENRE]
Punk/Horror Punk
[YEAR]
2009
[RECORD LABEL]
Misfits Records
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[TRACK LISTING]
SIDE A
[01]: LAND OF THE DEAD
SIDE B
[01]: TWILIGHT OF THE DEAD
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[CREDITS]
Jerry Only (Lead Vocals/Bass)
Dez Cadena (Guitar/Backing Vocals)
Robo (Drums/Percussion)
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© COPYRIGHT 2009 Chris_Billings
*This review is part of this year's Halloween Write-Off hosted by msbunnylicious. Please join us!
*Special Thanks also goes to Ben for adding this item to the database!
Recommended:
Yes
Great Music to Play While: Hanging With Friends
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Chris_Billings
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Member: Chris Billings
Location: Spokane Valley, Washington, USA
Reviews written: 188
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About Me:
"You know what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like this?"
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