Misfits - Static Age

Static Age is probably my favourite "early" Misfits release (even though it wasn't released for sometime after). Earth A.D. is fast and even heavy, Walk Among Us probably the most legendary, but Static Age the most solid and consistent. Static Age to me, feels like a true long player, despite the fact that these songs have been released here there and everywhere over the last 30 odd years or so, in various guises and mixes. Static Age finally pulls together the early Misfits era into a genuine album.

I don't think there's a single track here that's not a total Misfits classic, or - some would probably agree - are not total punk classics in their own right. It's a weird, rocky and romantic take on punk music that hadn't quite fledged into the horror punk that Danzig's Misfits would become so renown for. It's like The Rolling Stones meets Electric Wizard at a Sex Pistols gig (if I could be so bold). The horrendous lyrics for "Last Caress" just don't seem to fit the swaggering vintage rock, but hey, I'm not complaining. I'll also say quickly that a lot can be said about Jerry Only, but fuck me this bass sound here is spot on. It tends to lead the songs, where the dissonant guitars fuzz out the remaining space. Banging, son, as us Brits say.

The title track seems like more of a intro that anything, and the album for me begins properly with the excellent "TV Casualty". "Return Of The Fly" is the best song in the world with the worst lyrics in the world (and again that warbling lead bass), and that's followed by the hat-trick of "Hybrid Moments", "We Are 138" and "Teenagers From Mars". "Theme For A Jackel" bring piano to punk in such a bad way as Embalming Theatre brought piano to grindcore ("Bulldozer Blues" haha) but the three tracks that round off this album are some of my favourite songs of all time. 

I googled this album because I was writing this review and I was fucking elated to find out that the band (or what's left of it) are currently touring Static Age, playing it in it's entirety, and are coming near me a few days before my birthday. Fuckin' A.

The Misfits - Earth A.D. / Wolfs Blood

This is one of the more 'brutal' Misfits releases. If anything, it is the fastest, grimiest (studio) recording the band have done. Even the cover art alone is something more crust/grind-looking, although it was released a while before those genres really came into their own. This spins at 33rpm, which is surprising considering how short it is, I was expecting it to be a 45. Still though, Earth A.D. / Wolfs Blood is a short and sweet rampage through some fast-paced, horror-themed hardcore punk.

The speed of this record doesn't stop the few (obligatory) massive Misfits-patent choruses sneaking into a couple of tracks ("Death Comes Ripping", or "Queen Wasp"), with plenty of "whoaaaaaa"s for good measure, but tracks like "Wolfs Blood", "Devilock" and the massively grind-before-grind-existed "Demonomania" (at an impressive 45 seconds in length) are in territory that The Misfits would never stray into again.

 

I have this, and a couple of other Misfits things, on CD already, but I had to get it again, cuz y'know, old punk belongs on vinyl. The CD version however, combines this LP with the Die, Die My Darling 12" single (which I also have separately), and also adds the bonus track "Mommy Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight?", which is recorded live. The CD sounds a bit flat though, as with a lot of old shit turned into a digital format, so I (perhaps predictably) recommend purchasing the vinyl version.