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"Initium," "Unholy Passion,"
"November Coming Fire," Samhain |
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Well the fact is, evil never dies and in the mid '80s the bastard son-the dubious "middle child" was conceived from the spilled blood and burnt ashes of the mighty Misfits legacy, still to this day one of the most influential Punk/Horror shows the world will ever live to fear. So reads a clip from my earlier article covering their monstrous box set from last year, and such can be similarly applied to this newly reissued Samhain series. Samhain, having to do with the Celtic relation to what we know as Hallows Eve, was hell bent on destroying the world… or making damn sure that its darker side was revealed. Here was a band that was a natural progression (or digression, depending on what's left of your point of view) to what The Misfits were. For a total of four records, "Initium," the little known "Unholy Passion," "November-Coming-Fire," and "Final Descent" remain a holistic interpretation of the doomed and violent world in which we find ourselves… Samhain, the brain trust of Glenn Danzig, founder, fire bringer, and harbinger of horror who willfully graces his legion of winged assassins this most damnable collection of underground classics, lives again in 2001. The collection comes nearly a decade and a half after the band's "final descent," and nearly a year after their first renewed signs of life in the impressive box set collection which also features the four disc collection in its crude form, packaged in mini-disc like album sleeves which compared with the reissued set, doesn't do them nearly enough justice. These reissues feature the blood and guts of what Samhain was all about and what they managed to sear onto vinyl back in their day… The sound strayed little among the four recordings-the song titles, lyrical abuse and torturous instrumentation all equal distributors of nerve damage in this or any era beforehand. "Initium," the first recording, was probably as close to a Misfits sound as any of the above and perhaps for obvious reasons stemming from its time of arrival, but as tracks like "Samhain," "Black Dream," "All Murder, All Guts, All Fun," and "Horror Biz" can testify, there was little room for debate-it wasn't pretty and it wasn't pleasant… For those not up on their Samhain history, it's high time for the initiation-this is the one that features the then three members on the front cover drenched in sweat and blood and the memorable mop of hair hiding the caustic look of their doom-driven lead singer. "Unholy Passion" featuring hideous cover art and an even creepier version of the old "All Hell Breaks Loose," simply titled "All Hell," and this is the strictly original version of the release-almost an EP by comparison, featuring a total of six tracks in much the same "vein" as the "Initium…" "Vein" quoted to keep in with the ghastly tie-in of what the title signifies and the particularly gruesome image of this dominatrix-like figure on the back end of the inner cover and well… let's just say it adds a whole new non-negotiable dimension to the idea of rough sex! What was primarily a collector's item not so readily available to the general public first became known in the box set and once again available in full detail within the latest reissue sequence… Their third installment, technically Samhain III -- "November Coming Fire" offers a noticeable difference in recording clarity-highly superior to the others (think back to The Misfits' "Earth A.D." and "Walk Among Us" for reference) and still with an unsettled tone, this one was slightly more versatile, still hard on the senses, demonically conspiring, and dynamically more musical-"To Walk the Night," "Birthright," and "Let the Day Begin," bore close resemblance to the power of the past only with a more anthemic quality and near Gothic overtones-this one also features "Halloween II," the follow up to The Misfits' original holiday classic! Easily the most noticeable upgrade on the remastering front, the songs echo through loud and clear seemingly jumping out of the fire and straight into your head… "Final Descent," sent "Night Chills" up our spines at the time of its arrival and featured a blurred front cover image of the maniacal lead singer, known for thrashing fits and predatory skills atop the stage-this one's noteworthy for maintaining the similar grinding knife edge rhythms and darkened intent but would also yield future Danzig classics as "Twist of Cain" and "Trouble," originally done by Leiber/Stoller eventually to turn up on the Danzig live EP "Thrall Demonsweat…" This would be the last Samhain recording, which in fact led into the "Danzig" band era and a new darker and even more powerful history that continues to written to this day. This new Samhain collection of reissues, fully remastered, repackaged and in a manner of speaking, resuscitated-compared to the original recordings, and the level of impact is immediate-and that's the real draw here. All of the other traditional accompaniments such as lyrical accounts, band photos, etc. can be found buried deep within the previous box set. The new and improved four-disc set continues to relate the story of this wholly unique and unholy creation that played such an important role in the development of the many Punk Rock, Horror and Doom acts that would later follow. Released by E-magine Music Review by Vinnie Apicella [va85@columbia.edu] |
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"Live '85-'86" Samhain |
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All Hell breaks loose from the onset and it ain't long before the suds fly and blood flows-what must it have been like to be present at Danceteria in N.Y.C. or Metro Chicago back in the day? Wish I'd known but here's the next
best thing, the final leg of the Samhain sensation Between the holistic terror that began with the Misfits and continues on in the form of Danzig, there lay one of the more dour and gruesome creations in Punk history-Samhain-it's very existence went against anything we'd ever seen or heard in that time or any since. While elements of classic Misfits remained etched in the considerably darker, disfigured Samhain music naturally existing in the evil incarnate Danzig, there was a lot less fun going on in the music which took a deadly serious turn by comparison-in as much as you can reveal with titles like "Unholy Passion," "All Murder, All Guts, All Fun," or "Death Comes Ripping." Anyone who managed to grab the box set likely wasn't disappointed-there were a few dents here and there but a more than manageably done package revealed the true importance of Samhain on current and future psychotic Punk droves. Outside of its blood soaked contents, there's not much to absorb here textually, so you, the poor Goddamned listener, are unwittingly seated, stuck in the black hand of doom for this wild hour plus gore-fest of 18 up close and personal, poorly recorded heart-ripping tracks in their crudely, proudly performed original form, with only your quickly decaying imagination to turn to for comfort! Released by E-Magine Music Review by Vinnie Apicella [va85@columbia.edu] P.O. Box 20252
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