I never expected to write a part 3, but here we are... (part 1, part 2)
Maybe something bad, maybe something good
4 years ago this month, I ventured with some friends to the annual "This is Hardcore" fest in surly, yet wonderful Philadelphia, PA, I went for the camaraderie and not to really see a specific band per se. The Jerry Only fronted version of the "Misfits" were headlining Saturday night, which had the most bands playing that I was interested in (Killing Time, Cro-Mags, and after the fact, surprisingly, Biohazard were a highlight) so I was kinda looking forward to that, especially when I saw they were going to play Earth AD in it's entirety. Alex, Milford and I had traveled to "Natefest" earlier in the year and it was a solid crew to be travelling with.
Alex, Milford and the Author.
The shows were what festivals always are: fun at times, but arduous at best. The Misfits came on late on Saturday and the Crowd was initially amped, but without a front man, the 39 song set just seemed to drag after like the 8th or 9th song. As the set steamed a long, Milford turned to me and said "I'd never thought I'd be so bored hearing these songs." I agreed. This line up was not BAD they played just fine and was certainly better than some of the late 90's and early 2000's shows I had seen, but it was unbelievably NOT captivating. If you watch the video of the set, it seems like they lose the crowd pretty fast.
After that, I pretty much thought I was done seeing the Misfits (again), why would I want to watch songs I absolutely love be so absolutely mundane? Not to mention, but I had seen the whole "Danzig and Doyle" thing twice and they absolutely crushed the 8 or 9 Misfits songs they did for those shows, plus they were sandwiched in between absolute classic Danzig material. On that 2005 tour, Danzig had his best post-John Christ era guitarist, Joe Fraulob, on guitar. Sad that he didn't make it longer, he could actually play the leads with the skill and feel they require. On the 2006 tour he had Kenny Hickey, another totally legit stand in for John Christ. Those dudes, plus Doyle, put the 2015 Jerry trio to shame. Not to mention in 2006, they did a bunch of Samhain songs too, apparently at Kenny's behest.
Joe Fraulob and the 'Zig 2005, by Maurice Nunez
Kenny Hickey, lifted from a Myspace fan page (lol)
Listen, I love Danzig... Misfits, Samhain and the eponymous band, it just strikes a chord with me. But this love comes with conditions. Danzig's last two records, Skeletons and Black Laden Crown were bargain bin fodder and the Misfits without him is so fucking spotty, it's really not worth the effort. But two weeks ago, tickets for the June 29th "Original Misfits" show in LA practically fell in my lap and I made plans to go and I am so glad I did.
Werewolf bar mitzvah, spooky, scary
I gave my spare ticket to Adrian, who plays guitar in Tuning on the condition that we take his car. It also worked out that we could stay at his brother's place in Ventura. The trip was planned and actualized fairly quickly and soon enough we were at the Banc of California stadium. We ran into, and then hung out with, Andy Coretex (who was responsible for the Tuning record even happening) and his family the whole day. The thing is, although we checked out where our far-away-from-the-stage seats were, we never actually sat in them, as there was a snack area, with a much closer view of the stage had a railing you could watch the show and eat at- and that's where we stayed for the whole show.
I'm having the time of my life here.
The Cro-Mags set was hit and miss, I'm not sold on this latest Harley incarnation, the Age of Quarrel songs sounded terrible, but the Best Wishes songs ruled. Anti-Nowhere League sucked, flat out and The Distillers were terribly uninteresting in this setting. Rise Against were pretty good, I really like their first few records and don't terribly mind the radio rock hits, plus Dead Hearts played with they when they were on the way up and they were really fucking cool. The crowd started to fill out 1/2 way through their set- by the time the Misfits took the stage, there were A LOT of people in that stadium.
The Misfits raged through 30 songs, all played with intensity and with 100% devastating effectiveness. I've gone over the set a hundred times in my head the past three day and it's been tough to really find the words to describe it aside from the typical- AWESOME! AMAZING! INCREDIBLE! But that's exactly what it was, awesome, amazing and incredible. I highly doubt the Misfits reunion shows that came before or that will come after will be as good. I think this is the prefect show to finally put the Danzig baby to rest, end on a high note. Especially considering there will be no higher note than the HILARIOUS $10 parking lot bootleg I got with a terribly drawn likeness of the current band on the front and the MICHAEL GRAVES era on the back! Bravo!
As I alluded to last time I touched on the subject, I saw a Danzig show in 2003 that literally helped change my life. Certainly, after reading this post, it may seem circumstantial to you, but I credit the Dazing show I saw in Poughkeepsie, NY in 2003 to have a direct and positive impact and put me on a career path that has been exciting, rewarding, and ever changing.
During the early afternoon of November 15th, 2003, I saw that Danzig was playing a show downstate at what I perceived as “near Albany.” Albany is roughly a four hour drive from Buffalo, where I grew up, and I have certainly made it fewer than four on some road trips. So the decision was made to go, we could purchase tickets for will call online and we’d make it there by 7pm, so all would be well; knowing the ‘Zig shows I’d been to before, he’d hit the stage by 9:30 or 10 and the whole thing would wrap up no later than 11:30. I was confident in this time frame, as I started my new Job the next morning at 7 am. I couldn’t have involved myself in a larger error of distance and time if I wanted to.
We arrived at the Chance in POUGHKEEPSIE NEW YORK at 9pm, because, well, the roads were bad, and because Poughkeepsie is an hour and a half past Albany. WHOOPS. Still, the openers were playing and I figured they’d be wrapping it up quickly and we’d get to have our summer in the winter time. But then there was another opener, and another and yet ANOTHER, all obviously pay to play bands that sold tickets to get on the gig.
11 pm came and went and I was starting to get nervous, but when Danzig hit the stage around 11:30, the world became Glenn and company. This was the best set I have ever seen by Danzig, I swear the stars must have been aligned properly because it was perfectly executed; with newer songs having a life they do not have in the studio or at any subsequent show I have witnessed since. Black Mass/ I Luciferi/ Twist of Cain/ Do You Wear the Mark/ Her Black Wings/ How the Gods Kill/ Kiss the Skull/ Unspeakable/ Lilin/ Snakes of Christ/ Angel Blake/ Until You Call on the Dark/ Bringer of Death/ Am I Demon/ Mother/ She Rides/ Dirty Black Summer/ Long Way Back From Hell. At some point, Glenn was right in front of me with his leg up on a monitor, and I made a terrible realization; I WAS LOOKING AT HIS BALL SACK. You see, Mr. Danzig was freeballing that night, going al fresca, total commando style, yet had a rip in the seam of his “stage jeans” causing one of his balls to be forced out under the pressure; much like the Alien Sigourney Weaver forced out into the vacuum of space. There was a little biker dude next to me, who witnessed the horror at the same time as I, looked at me and said “Ew man, you can see his nuts!” still, it was a great set and Glenn rewarded the crowd with his necklace as thanks for the reaction and support.
not the ballsack we saw
At 1:30 am, we started the trek back to Buffalo, where I had to start my new job at 7am. The weather was bad and I made it home with enough time to shower, throw on my uniform and make it in by the skin of my teeth. This was the first day of a new account and the former account holder literally left nothing to work with except a crinkled piece of paper with the security panel code on it. So there I was, in charge of a shipping a receiving intake office with no procedures, no direction and no sleep. I did have a coffee maker with supplies and a pad of paper, so I walked into the office next store and started asking them about procedures, what they would like to see and what they would expect from the receiving intake office. I then went to the plant manager and asked the same thing. 10 cups of coffee and 8 hours later, I had a 50 page document of procedures typed out.
The evening of the 18th and still riding the buzz of the great show from over the weekend, we decided to catch Danzig (and this time with Deicide!) at Club Laga in Pittsburgh, but sadly this show was the polar opposite of the show just a few days earlier. Plagued with equipment and prop issues (watching stage hands trying to duct tape pointed things that kept breaking was a highlight) the band just never got going and left their energy and enthusiasm at the door. It was a huge disappointment and getting home at 4 am, with work at 7 offered a repeat of the weekend, but without the payoff of a great show. Still, at work the next morning, I added another 30 pages to the document, which my operations manager looked over and praised. By November 27th, I found myself the director of security for a billion dollar a year corporation in no small part to my efforts in organizing procedures and because I had seen the greatest Danzig show ever… and Glenn’s nutsack.
I think the late 90’s were a time nearly completely devoid of good
music. Those of us who invested time is some sort of “underground” music scene
had just fought off the big business of alternative rock as hard as we could,
only to have "nu metal" explode and bring an even bigger type of douche bag
sniffing around. Everyone suddenly went from trying to show how introverted and
emotional they were to showing how fucking “extreme” they were. People were down with the sickness, doin’ the
Dew, all for the nookie, feeling like a freak on a leash, and generally annoying
as fuck.
Take us seriously.
Even Glenn Danzig, after the huge misfire of Danzig 5: Blackacidevil enlisted the help of two of the fucking guys from Orgy to mix his 6th album- Satan’s Child. I have mixed feelings on the record, 17 years later and though I saw Danzig many times during the touring cycle for it; latex shirts, rubber pants (Todd Youth, I’m looking at you) and the bass player’s baggy board shorts just made me wonder what his new backup band had against black jeans and looking/ being cool. Still, The Dorkzig era was pretty decent live and much better than what was going on during the tour for 5. The most exciting part of the announcement for the initial Satan’s Child US tour was that Samhain, Glenn’s prior band and kind of the transition band from the Misfits to Danzig, was going to perform each night. I felt at the time, and still feel to this day, that Samhain is the only one of Danzig’s bands that is untarnished.
My friends and I bought up tickets as soon as they went on sale for the Cleveland gig in November of ’99 and made the nearly 3 hour trek. Our money and time was not wasted; Samhain belted out a seriously intense set. At the time, I thought that Samhain had largely been forgotten about, but people lost their damned minds during the set and I was no exception.
Samhain
Black Dream
All Murder, All Guts, All Fun
He-Who-Can-Not-Be-Named
Unholy Passion
All Hell Breaks Loose Misery Tomb
To Walk the Night
In My Grip
Mother of Mercy
Halloween II
November's Fire
The Birthing
The most interesting thing about the show was that right after the blood soaked Samhain set was over, two members swapped out and Danzig played and Glenn’s on stage persona changed. During Samhain’s set, his on stage antics were less rehearsed, more “punk” for lack of a better word, and just raw. During the Danzig set we got the same, fired up, but disappointingly more “I’m in a rock band” delivery. The set, overall, was decent, with a nice surprise of the ripping Misfits track Earth A.D. at the end, but nothing to write home about, all that was on my mind was Samhain, Samhain, Samhain.
I saw some rather stale Danzig sets the next two years, but in November 2003, I saw the best Danzig show and one of THE BEST shows I have ever seen in Poughkeepsie, NY that as a result of directly changed my life and began the career path that I am still on 13 year later. But, as the end of Conan the Babarian says ” that is another story.”
Remember that awesome Misfits reunion show in Toronto I posted about two weeks ago? I'm sure anyone who read that and knows how far the band and brand has fallen might be skeptical; but I had discovered photographic evidence! I stumbled across a flickr account with a few pics from the gig; it looks like a classic show. Thanks Shawn Merrill, whoever you are. STILL I wish there was video of that set.
Portrait of the author wearing his favorite misfits shirt summer 1997.
So, I was singing the praises of the reunited Misfits to anyone who would listen in 1996. I had seen two incredible live gigs and AT FIRST couldn't really tell the difference between the classic era and the current. No new songs had been released and the shows were just filled with maniacs going bananas. Although a couple shows the following year were so-so, I still carried the torch. Then something happened. Something terrible. Something that would have me cowering in the corner in fear. That something was called American Psycho.
Granted, if the album had any other name on it, I may have liked it, but I saw it as one misstep in a great catalogue and thought "fuck it, they'll still do old stuff." So when I found out that they were playing with KILLING TIME in Albany the summer of 1997, some friends and I went. After staying at some weird feminist college "we hate Jeremy compound," we got to the show really early, as we didn't have tickets and wanted to make sure we got in; and as luck would have it, we got there as Doyle and Jerry were carrying a workout bench into the club- SWEET.
While we sat our pale lumpy bodies against the wall outside the club, the promoter Ted Etoll walked up with a grocery bag and handed it to Jerry; they then began rummaging through the contents:
"Hey, I got you some Fruit Loops!"
"FRUIT LOOPS?! I LOVE Fruit Loops!"
Right there the mystique of the Misfits was dead to me. Maybe it could have clawed its way back, maybe the reunited Misfits could have won me over again... That is until I saw Dr. Chud and Michael Graves running down the street chasing after an ice cream truck.
Killing Time KILLED IT, Anthony had less girth back then and the crowd was way into it. The Misfits put on a great "Rock Show" set and I just wasn't into it, it all seemed like a cartoon. These ice cream eating- fruit loop loving guys singing "Die Die." It was over for me BUT they did film some footage that ended up in this video:
I guess I never made it into any of the footage, probably because of my bummed out face.
I actually forgot all about this blog. I know last year I planning on waxing poetic about all things Dead Hearts, but I don't know, my heart really wasn't in it. I think our reunion shows in December of 2012 really gave me closure and though I like telling a good tour story, I'm not going to explore it in the way I intended with my last post, 10 months ago.
Also, since my last post in this blog, I was made a contributor to the great 90's hardcore blog Stuck In The Past I have make 3 or 4 posts thus far there, where I get to relive my 90's hardcore glory; it's been pretty swell thus far.
Also a year ago, I wrote about how I wasn't going to the Judge reunion. Though what I wrote still stands on how I felt about it, as fate would have it, I AM going to a Judge reunion in Chicago next month. My brother's band BLACK X is opening and I am travelling with them; should be a good time. ANYWAY, on to a real update:
I got into the Misfits late in life, as far as "punk rock" goes. I was into Danzig first and equated the 'Fits with terrible live bootlegs I heard in the early 90's. When I was 20, my friend Nick played a tape on a road trip; the infamous Misfits "Collection I," I was hooked the second I heard "She" and by the time I heard the bombastic and ripping "Earth A.D." I had a new favorite band. This was about a year before I rediscovered Danzig and I immediately sought out everything they released, or better yet; WHAT I COULD FUCKING AFFORD. When they announced "Collection II" was coming out in November of 1995, I made sure the local go-to record shop Home Of The Hits held one for me on green vinyl so I could pick one up after work.
I was pretty pumped to head down to pick up my copy and hopped in my van with plans to screech out of the drive way to make it to H.O.T.H. before they closed. I don't know why I put a 20 oz bottle of root beer on the dashboard and not in a drink holder, but I did. I also don't know why I turned the wheel with my body motion to catch it when it nearly rolled off said dash, but I did. I don't know why I totaled my nextdoor neighbor's mint Firebird, but I did. But goddamn that root beer was good.
My van only required minor repairs (IE: sledge hammer to pushed in bumper corner) and the record was still held for me when I arrived the next day; but let's backpedal a little bit in my timeline. Before Collection II, Static Age was supposed to be released, but was blocked, probably due to the impending boxset plans. My friends and I got word that there was going to be a static age listening party at Coney Island High in NYC on Halloween 1995. There were also rumors that the newly reformed Misfits were playing. We all bought tickets and headed down. We sat through some terrible openers, The Voodoo Glow Skulls and a GRUELLING 2 1/2 hour set by Murphy's Law. but at 1am, sure enough, some buff dudes in ripped up T-shirts took the stage, and THEY KILLED. Graves was doing his best early Glenn Danzig impression and people went NUTS.
After the show and in an alley, there was a box of opened "Static Age Is Coming" posters just hanging out by their lonesome. My friends and I grabbed as many as we could carry. The record being shelved made the posters a collectors item. I sold a bunch for between 10 and 20 dollars eventually, some dickweed has one up on ebay now for $175! Anyway, that show was great and when I found out they were playing the Opera House in Toronto in May of 1996, I couldn't miss the gig.
The Opera House show was one of the best shows I have ever seen. Keep in mind this is still 2 years before American Psycho, so it was basically a greatest hits show with a one minute and a half new song (Blacklight) which was fine. Graves was still doing his best at aping Danzig and the show had no barrier and no bouncers. if someone accosted Doyle, he'd just lay them out with a punch. It was sold out, with legal capacity being 850, I assure you there was a lot more in there. There were so many people packed in that place going bananas, that during one of my many stage dives, I couldn't get off the crowd back on to the floor and to this day serves as the only time I've "crowd ridden." So for most of "I Turned Into A Martian" I was a Lollapalooza grunger, I'm not proud of it, but it was FUCKING AWESOME.
The thing I liked about the new Misfits at that time was, though they had a tight drummer who held it together, they still sounded like a legitimate mess. They missed cues and were often out of tune, but with the drummer holding it all together it was massive and satisfying. I sung the praises of these shows to my friends who missed them, hell, I told anyone who would listen. Little did I know that in two years time my bubble was going to be burst by an ice cream truck and a box of fruit loops...
In 1988- 89 I got a copy of the self titled debut by Danzig on cassette. This is the same copy I wrote about in my blog a few days ago. I thought the album was amazing. It was dark and subtle in its approach. It truly was unlike anything I had heard at the time and it got repeated plays on my walkman. I can't explain how, a mere year and a half later, when I saw the video for "Killer Wolf" the vastness of my disappointment was. At the time, I was listening to more aggressive music than I had when I bought the first Danzig outing and jingle- jangle blues jams just weren't what my ears wanted to hear. I remember walking down Robinson Rd in my hometown talking to my friend Bob about how much I thought it was terrible. I wrote the album off and Danzig got no love from me for the rest of my high school career.
In 1995, I moved into my first apartment; a practical flop house with 11 rooms and 14 roommates nicknamed "Headquarters." No one ever did the dishes, we stayed up ridiculously late and most of the time I lived there, we didn't have cable. However, aside from the usual UHF channels and major networks we did get a pay-by-phone music video request channel called "The Box." On Occasion, one would be lucky enough to catch a Slayer video, but mostly it was whatever songs were popular in the inner city at the time. One afternoon while eating whatever awful vegan meal I had just prepared, I saw a music video that grabbed me and didn't let go; it was dark, a little twisted and sounded like it had come from the sleazy depths of hell itself. That video was "Until You Call On The Dark" and it's still one of my favorites to this day.
I couldn't believe how amazing the song was and THAT NIGHT, I went to every record store I liked in the city and picked up everything I could by Danzig: The 4p 12", the Mother 12" on purple, The Mother '93 cd single and the original inverted cross cd version of "Lucifuge." I was a little upset about abandoning the band 4 years prior and reveled in the music I had rediscovered. I needed to repent and luckily that time was at hand, the following month Danzig and company were going to play in Rochester, NY a mere hour away!
A week later, I went to purchase a ticket so I could just see these amazing songs live and the woman at the ticketmaster booth destroyed my dreams. That's right, the show was CANCELED.I found out months later, that it was because both guitar player John Christ and Bassist Eerie Von had quit the band. It would be a few more years before I saw Danzig, but that was ok because the Misfits were back, right?
Well, not quiet, but I was at that show and had fun, the "Newfits' hadn't written new songs yet and M. Graves just aped Glenn Danzig's moves and sound the whole night. Like I said, It was great, as was the show I saw them play a few months later in Toronto. After that, it was all downhill, but thankfully I found out that a new Danzig album was coming out and that he was coming TO BUFFALO!
I went to the Tuesday release for Danzig 5; "Blackacidevil," got home, popped it into the CD player and was DISGUSTED at what I heard. It is one of the worst albums I have ever purchased by an artist I love. Those Blayze Bayley Iron Maiden albums are pretty bad, sure, but at least they're still attempts at playing their style. Danzig 5 is a complete 180, an abomination of songs that I STILL cannot abide. Nonetheless, I went and saw the new Danzig band play that February 2, (1997) and it was decent. I remember at one point turning to my friend John and saying "this riff sounds like Sabbath?!?" To which he reply "It is!" apparently it was "Hand of Doom" but it was just barely recognizable. Like I said the show was nothing to write home about but it wasn't terrible, just not what I really wanted. I don't really like electronic music aside from some Devo and very little industrial so the new songs didn't do much for me. I will admit that the song "Deep" from the X-files soundtrack that preceded Danzig 5, I do like. Eh, sue me.
1999's "Satan's Child" was an improvement and I like some songs off the album, especially "13" which is now a minor hit thanks to the movie "The Hangover." But that wasn't the surprise Danzig had in store for the end of the 20th century. A bigger, more massive announcement was coming; a simple, unthinkable onetime rebirth of an evil classic known simply as "SAMHAIN."
Although I had been borrowing music from my uncle Jimmy for years(mostly classic heavy metal)the year between turning 14 and 15 was really when I fell in love with music. Had there been a positive football or academic happening in that time frame, perhaps I wouldn't even be bothering with this blog, perhaps I'd be a different person, but I can only speculate. The fact of the matter is that when I was 14, not only did my uncle Dave take me to see Metallica, but he also took me to Cavages at the Summit Park Mall and let me pick out one album for purchase. This was a test of my coolness, I'm sure. A rite of passage to see if I had what it took to be a screaming heavy metal maniac. I was in middle school, and it would still be a year and a half before I discovered hardcore and straight edge and all the stuff that most people know I'm about. This was a young mulleted man-child who 21 years ago had to make a choice. A choice between 2 albums that interested him: Danzig: Danzig and Iron Maiden: Live After Death. Mainly these "choices" came from the fact that their cover art was intense and illustrated in a way that was appealing to my young mind.
I held both records in my hands, noticing they were "gate fold" layouts, like my Father's copy of Kiss: Alive. The 13.5" squares were heavier than the Sex Pistols, Ramones, Judas Priest, Devo, Motley Crue and earlier Maiden records I had borrowed prior to this meeting of two greats in my fists. I had to choose, I had to make a decision. I knew I liked both bands; but what to do? Ultimately, Live After Death won the battle. Why, you ask? Well, my teenage mind chose the record with more songs. A simple decision, made from a craving for more music, more content. Although I did purchase Danzig eventually in my 15th year on cassette, Live After Death left an impression that has forever stayed with me in a way Danzig (arguably #5 in my favorite bands of all time) couldn't have. So today while I was making my breakfast there was no question what I was going to listen to. Iron Maiden's Live After Death, the 21 year old copy, the record I never parted with, the record that is the most important in my collection, the record that still fucking skips on side two.
Last week, I received my copy of "Deth Red Sabaoth" the new album by Danzig and surprisingly, it made me think of fudge. With the past 15 years spent toiling in no- solid line up hell, poorly recorded and received albums and commercial failure, it's hard to think that this album, aside from maybe one or two "ok" songs, would be anything worth writing about. I am happy to report this album IS something to write home about.
I feel the album starts of with an OK foundation with "Hammer of the Gods, The Revengeful" and "Rebel Sprits," but REALLY starts to pick up with the bluesy "Black Candy" and rides out strong through tracks like "Deth Red Moon" and both parts of the 10+ minute "Pyre of Souls." In the center of the album, "On a Wicked Night," the album's first single, is arguably one of the weaker tracks, but deserves it's place and works with the sequence and flow, another area where Sabaoth triumphs. "Left Hand Rise Above" is a modern take on the classic Danzig template and closes an album that has a strong continuity with 1994's 4P. A continuity sadly missing from Danzig's work for the 15 years following its release.
Now, overall, Deth Red Sabaoth is not with out its faults. Excessive pointless guitar wanking/pinch harmonics, poor production and and a mix that seems to never quite "get where it should have" detract a little from the overall enjoyment, but the strength of the songs shines through. And much to my delight, absent is the sour taste that the "non classic line up" Danzig albums have left in the mouths of many fans. This album is not a challenge to accept as a Danzig record, nor does it offend with stooping into relying on nu-metal low brow playing like the last few outings.
Oh, I had mentioned that the album made me thinks of fudge, hadn't I? OK, I will explain: Danzig 1-4 are best described as your grandmother's amazing fudge she made while you were growing up: consistently tasty and enjoyable with hardly any faults. Danzig 5-8 is that crappy store bought stuff the aunt you can't stand brings to family reunions. Sure, it gets the job done, but it isn't good and just makes you long for the stuff your grandmother used to make. Deth Red Sabaoth is the fudge your mother makes, using your grandmother's recipe. It tastes good and is as close as it's going to get to that now idealized, perfect and timeless fudge from Christmas 1989.
