The Devil s Rain [CD]

Foreword

Formed 1977 Lodi/New Jersey by Glenn Danzig (vocals/electric Piano) Jerry Only (bass) & Manny (drums) The Misfits released first single `Cough/Cool' on Blank Records the same year. The bands early music was hard to define beyond punk. Strange tales of violence & sex or humorous ditty's inspired by horror & Sci Fi films. In a few short years their sound was refined and came to be known as Horrorpunk- an entirely new sub genre. The Misfits guitar & drum personal changed frequently throughout the late 70's as they released a number of singles on Danzig's Plan 9 label as well as recording and shelving masterpiece debut album- Static Age. This changed in 1980 when Jerry's younger brother `PC Doyle' replaced then Guitarist Bobby Steele and remained until Misfits disbanded three years later.

With the arrival of Doyle the bands image and music would crystallize. In the year prior Misfits adopted the Crimson Ghost as their logo and now dressed in uniform tight black jeans, black engineer boots, black leather waistcoats ft. gigantic metal studs and grew out their dyed black fringes combing them into ghoulish Devilock's which can be credited to Jerry. By the early 1980's Misfits had built up a cult following across the states through sporadic touring and mailing out freebies DIY style via `The Fiend Club'. Some nights they would play in front of a thousand some nights 50 odd and shows were often violent- on occasion ending prematurely with the band fighting the audience. After releasing classic 1982 album Walk Among Us & recording 1983's hardcore/speed metal styled Earth A.D. LP, Glenn grew tired of the brothers limited abilities so they played one final show at Greystone Hall / Detroit on October 29th 1983 and called it a day.

1983-1994

Glenn continued his musical evolution with Death Rock outfit Samhain (1983-1987) and by the early 90's hit the big time with Blues Metal band Danzig. Meanwhile in 1987 Doyle & Jerry (now calling himself `Mo the Great') formed the unintentionally amusing christian Heavy Metal band- Kryst the Conqueror in the hope of turning Misfits fans away from the `Satanic' path of Samhain and one would assume, to make a living from it. In reality Kryst never played a show and instead served as a test ground for the new guitars the brothers had designed and built from the ground up- the Devastator bass & Annihilator guitar. Kryst recorded one full length album- Deliver Us From Evil which remains unreleased and put out an EP of the same name (album highlights) in 1990 which failed to do anything. Somewhere along the line Jerry and Doyle decided to file a claim for the rights to record/perform under the name of Misfits, and in 1995 reached an out of court settlement with Glenn that enabled them to do so.

Misfits 95

As apposed to the Danzig era where all the songs were written by GD and he was in charge, the Resurrected Misfits or Misfits 95 as they were often called was very much Jerry's band. He was the boss and under his vision all the sex and profanity of the Danzig era was excluded from new songs in favor of a more family friendly, almost Disney styled version of the band. Jerry would boast of how there was no swearing on their albums & that the music was positive for young people. You can attribute this to his catholic background and because he always wanted Misfits to be more commercially successful. Either way, sounds lame right? But despite this dilution of integrity Misfits 95 put out two killer punk-metal albums- 1997's American Psycho & 1999's Famous Monsters. The reasons for this being a) recruiting talented singer/songwriter Michale Graves & b) the fact that Jerry and Doyle had vastly improved as guitar players since 1983. Unfortunately this 2nd highly successful incarnation of Misfits was not to last and all frustrations boiled to the surface leading Graves & longtime M95 drummer Dr CHUD to walk off stage and quit the band at the House of Blues / Orlando Florida on 25th October 2000.

Turned out Graves & CHUD never actually signed any record contracts themselves despite the two M95 studio albums on which they featured being issued on big labels Geffen & Roadrunner. Instead they simply worked under Jerry as hired hands. For a longtime Jerry seemed to be under the impression that Danzig was going to return as singer, even telling audiences `Uncle Glenn' would be back soon at shows in the early Noughties. This reviewer always got the feeling Jerry viewed M95 as a stopgap and Graves & CHUD as expendable. The Danzig reunion never happened, but recently Doyle announced that in 2002 they were in talks for a full reunion with Danzig inc an album & tour but it fell through due to `Jerry put[ing] a f**kin' monkey wrench in it' (disagreeing on drummers, amongst other things).

In 2001 Misfits 25th anniversary tour began which seemed to drag on forever with no predetermined end date in sight, eventually becoming the 30th anniversary tour. The `M25 Special Guest Line Up' originally consisted of Jerry- bass and vocals, Doyle- guitar, Dez Cadena (Black Flag) - 2nd guitar & Marky Ramone- drums. However Doyle would leave Misfits in 2001 because as he would reveal on a radio interview years later,- with Jerry on vocals and a series of revolving drummers it was no longer a real band and he felt embarrassed to continue. Doyle then moved to Las Vegas and began work on his solo project- Gorgeous Frankenstein.

Misfits 3.0

Following Doyle's departure Misfits became a three piece- Jerry, Dez & Marky, but Jerry never actually confirmed Doyle had left. Instead when asked after shows about his brother he would say `Doyle is taking a break', `he injured his back lifting', or `his wife is having a baby so he is having some time off' etc. In 2004 in conjunction with distinguished Japanese toy manufacturer- Medicom, Jerry released a series of vinyl figures of himself and his brother misleading fans to think Doyle was still on board. After the burst of new albums in the late 90's, the Noughties would be the total opposite. As the decade dragged on Jerry's Misfits 3.0 failed to release any new material (unless you count an album of covers -Project1950) yet from a financial pov it did not seem to matter. Jerry slapped the bands logos on every bit of merchandise under the sun and the Crimson Ghost T-shirt wound up becoming a fashion accessory. Ironic how something that once represented the antithesis of popular trends eventually became one.

Increased merch sales combined with the bands exhaustive yearly touring schedule insured Jerry was able to do OK. Although perhaps it's worth considering without Doyle & Graves a new album would require a lot more songwriting on Jerry's behalf. This change of priorities also meant the fanbase changed. While Misfits shows previously entertained hardcore kids & punks of all ages, live audiences now mostly comprised of the Hot Topic generation- teens who had never seen past eras of the band but who were only too happy to keep the gravy train rolling. In recent years Michale Graves had been in contact with Jerry with a view to working with him again but he was not interested. It seemed Jerry was now the singer and that was that. Finally in late 2009 the Land of the Dead double sided single was released- the first new material in 10 years.

With classic era drummer ROBO back behind the kit the line up at least seemed a little more authentic. LOTD featured two songs in total- the title track & Twilight of the Dead. Both homage's to the films of George A. Romero. The new songs were not bad but the guitars lacked the crunch of the Annihilator and the subject matter felt tired. On the upside Jerry at least proved he could hold a tune. Soon after LOTD ROBO would exit the band once more (passport problems) to be replaced by longtime stand-in Eric `Goat' Arce (Murphy's Law). This line up then hit the studio with legendary producer Ed Stasium to record the mythical new Misfits album Jerry had been talking about for the last half decade.

Review

Recorded last year in Colorado USA The Devil's Rain is the first new Misfits studio album in 12 years & the first from the third distinct era of the band. The stunning cover art was created by Marvel Zombies cover artist Arthur Suydam and depicts the Crimson Ghost commanding the heavens and unleashing a flesh melting `Devil's Rain' in reference to the 1975 William Shatner movie of the same name.

Album opener `The Devil's Rain' is a mid paced sing-along with harmonized backing vocals built around catchy reframe of `It's pouring down it's come for you- The devils rain!' all against the backdrop of a storm. Great atmosphere but a little unsatisfying- feels like an appetizer. 2) `Vivid Red' is a classic punk track about rage with some nice `whoah's. Next up is the new version of `Land Of The Dead' this is one of the albums standout tracks and features some great guitar work from Dez. 4) `Black Hole' the title says it all. This one has a cool chorus and reminds me of something from Rocky Horror. Short but sweet. 5) `Twilight Of The Dead' is the other re-recorded 2009 track to feature on TDR. This version is less heavy compared to original but does have an awesome guitar solo. 6) `Curse Of The Mummy's Hand' is one of my favs and is presumably inspired by the 1940 Universal film `The Mummy's Hand'. This one is a slow burner with really cool lyrics and an extended guitar solo.

7) `Cold in Hell' & 8) `Unexplained' sound like M95 rejects- kinda crap. 9) `Dark Shadows' is a Ramones styled ballad Jerry describes as his home run. It's not bad but it don't really sound like a Misfits song. 10) `Father' OK this one kicks ass. A vampire song that sounds like something off American Psycho fused to a NWOBHM styled riff! Read more ›

Before I get into this review, I'd like to say that I am not a total Danzig era fanatic. I enjoy all periods of the misfits history, so I will not be biased in my opinion.
This is the first album from the misfits since the superb 2003 covers album, project 1950. As well as the first album of original material from the band since the also excellent 1999 album famous monsters.
So the question now is, how does this new album compare to the misfits previous albums. While it is no way near as good as their early albums such as the legendary walk among us, static age, or even famous monsters, this is still a fun album overall.

1.The devil's rain- The album's opener has a dark, midpaced feel to it. The chorus is catchy, and while this track lacks any real energy, its still a decent song. 7/10
2.Vivid red- This is one of the weaker songs on the album, while it has a cool evil feel to it, the song just doesn't grab me that much, there's nothing that makes me want to mosh or sing along to it. 5/10
3.Land of the dead- This track is a rerecorded song from the single released in 2009, and this is one of the best tracks on the album, this is the first track with any real energy, a good choice for a single. 8/10
4.The black hole- This song is probably my favourite song on the album, this track is cheesy and great fun to listen to. The vocals are cool, and the chorus is brilliant, overall a great track. 9/10
5.Twilight of the dead- Another great track here, this song was the b-side to the land of the dead single, and in my opinion is better than the land of the dead song. It is another cheesy, horror influenced slice of fun punk. 9/10
6. Curse of the mummy's hand- This song is another weak moment on the album, this is quite a mediocre track, nothing stands out much here, although it still has some decent instrumentation. 6/10
7.Cold in hell- A lot of people seem to resent this track, simply because of its repetitive lyrics. Although I enjoy this track, as it has a cool 50's feel to it. 7/10
8.Unexplained- Slightly forgettable track, the vocals seem somewhat out of key with the guitars, not the most interesting misfits track. 5/10
9.Dark shadows-Another somewhat uninteresting track, the vocals are decent, while this isn't a bad track you'd be forgiven for forgetting it. 6/10
10.Father- The vocals are yet again fairly off key, although the guitar work is more interesting than on some of the previous tracks. 6/10
11.Jack the ripper- The tempo really cranks up on this track, the lyrics and the energy in this song are very reminiscent of the graves era misfits, overall a great track. 8/10
12.Monkey's paw- This track is a decent ballad style track, the vocals really fit the style of the song, even if the lyrics are somewhat strange. 7/10
13.Where do they go?- I really enjoy this track, both jerry and the backing vocalists do a great job on the chorus, the overall feel of this track once again has a very 1950's vibe to it. 8/10
14.Sleepwalkin'- This is a very slow track, also the vocals don't really work here, this is probably my least favourite track on the album. 4/10
15.Ghost of frankenstein- This track has a little more energy, and while it is somewhat uninteresting, it still has some of that old horror feel to it, especially with the lyrics. 6/10
16.Death ray- This track is a damn good way to close the album, the speed once again cranks up, there is much more energy to this track, and while the vocals could be better, this track is still enjoyable. 8/10

So in conclusion, while this is definitely not the best album the misfits have ever done, and while it isn't a punk classic, this is still a decent misfits album. I would actually give it a 3.5 rating overall. I can't deny that there are some patchy tracks, however there are also some really great misfits songs here. So if you consider yourself a true fan of the band, who will listen to any era of the band. Then you should check this out.

I know this isn't Danzig era Misfits, gone are those days (sadly) - as soon as the Misfits "Resurrected" we knew we were in for something different.
Graves did an alright job for a while - produced some pretty decent music performing with the band, then he left - and with good reason.

Oh Jerry...
Have you not learnt to keep your mouth shut?
The vocals on this album are absolutely dreadful, it's sinful what he's doing to the good Misfits name.
Every single track seems to have the exact same chord structure too. Sure, it's horrorpunk, it's meant to be simple - it always has been - that's what makes it horrorpunk. However it seemed to go a step too far with this album with no variation in the slightest.

Avoid this album at all costs, or if you do want to try it out - listen extensively to the previews, or go onto youtube, or anything to avoid actually purchasing this worthless piece of junk.