MISFITS. Jerry Only, Dez Cadena and Robo. Punk Rock royalty. Horror Punk Royalty. Yup, I am a fan, excuse me if you please. I bought the brand spanking new… Land Of The Dead maxi single off of itunes on Halloween. I deliberately waited to buy these two new songs on Halloween too… it is only fitting and it has served me right. The two new Misfits songs are: Land Of The Dead and Twilight Of The Dead, both songs paying tribute to the Geoege A. Romero – Living Dead movie series. Land Of The Dead clocks in at 2:13 and Twilight Of The Dead clocks in at 2:45. I will take this five minutes of new Misifts Horror Punk and thank my damn lucky dark skies, that this legendary band still Rocks in 2009. Jerry Only has taken his Misfits and Horror Punk into a fourth decade, recruiting new generations of fiends along the way.
Yes, the lyrics are Horror themed… blood runs cold… ’nuff said. Yes, Jerry Only sounds outrageously great on lead vocals and bass. Yes, Dez Cadena delivers the licks as profusely solid as ever. Yes, Robo is on drums and hits the skins with vintage Punk beats. In comparison to past Misfits sound, both new songs follow in the Misfits Punk footsteps of their Project 1950 album. The Horror Punk and Roll of Misfits is alive and well in 2009. I am so gloriously thrilled to have these two new Misfits songs in my personal collection. You too can serve yourself right this Halloween weekend by snagging these two new Misfits songs off of itunes – they are only 99 cents each!!!! Hell, that is way less expensive than a damn large fry, burger and milk shake from a plastic fast food chain! Plus these Misfits songs are not a detriment to your health either! Make your life that much better and GET THESE NEW MISFITS SONGS TODAY! I’m not bashful about any of my recommendations, obviously. Happy Halloween Weekend – fellow Fiends.
For those who are new to Misfits and need to know more about their spooky background, check out their MySpace Music page http://www.myspace.com/themisfits
I am listening to Rancid today, all day. In my house, in my car, it does not matter. Rancid is my band of choice due to the slick and groove saturated Punk Rock style they bestow. They are Street Punk at many turns, yet they are so much from the Old School Punk Rock mold of the Ramones too. Kickin’ and fun, (gasp), did I just use the F word there? In my area today, the weather is miserable – rainy, semi-cold, of course cloudy and dank. What better band for me, than Rancid… to get my energy level back on high and to kick start my day and attitude. I am actually going to settle on one Rancid CD to crank today – …And Out Come The Wolves. The richness and foundation of Rock and Roll 101 is so evident in the Punk Rock of Rancid, especially on this album. My adoration for Rancid grows each and every time I listen to their Punk Rock. Out of the nineteen songs on this album, there is not one to skip over. I apologize to no one for being a rabid Rancid fan. Life is too short, I love the music I listen to – end of Metal story. Uh, not really… Rancid rules.
I just can’t explain it though, there are those certain bands that just make you feel like everything is cool and alright. Rancid is just that band for me. Over the weekend, I just hung up the very large Rancid poster that comes inside their new CD – let the dominoes fall. The front of the poster is the front cover group photo on that CD, (pictured to the left of this paragraph). On the back of the poster are all of the songs lyrics – real cool. I put this poster inside a very large, thick plastic sleeve for protection too. It is hanging up in my Rocked out basement. It serves me right. Plus, my daughters dig Rancid like there is no tomorrow and this poster being hung makes the basement that much more homey for us all. Rancid is a Punk Rock Band that you should give a try, especially those who are sitting on the fence about wanting some Punk Music in their life. The social commentary and relevance of Rancid’s lyrics are entertaining as they are legitimate. In my most honest of Metal opinions, I just cannot resist the damn credibility of Rancid. The overall realness of …And Out Come The Wolves and any of the other Rancid albums overflows. I can’t ever jump onto that dreaded word – Pop, and attach it to this band… never. Rancid is not Pop Punk – period.
I have found another Punk Rock Band to jump up and down about and raise my fist in the air to. The Heartaches and their Lunacy & devastation CD, (released in 2003). I needed some music on Sunday to get me out of the funk I was in, The Heartaches was the remedy… a Punk Rock remedy at that. While Rancid and The Casualties have landed on much larger record labels, The Heartaches are on one bona fide underground label at that, are you ready for this one? Here is the record label – “I Used To Fuck People Like You In Prison” Records. Now that is a Punk label if there ever was one. I take it, from the record label logo of the red devil that is on the liner notes of this CD, that the abbreviation for this record label is – People Like You. From what the liner notes state, this record label is out of Germany. People Like You Records has a really cool website, Punk Rock and Horror Punk are their forte. Their website is packed with their current signed bands and info. My whole life, I have always been intrigued and keenly interested in any underground band that I come across while shopping around for music. The Heartaches are an underground Punk Rock Band for sure, their style of Punk is a blend of Old School meets modern day social angst. Now, that does not sound so unique for a Punk Rock band, yet those are the two main characters in The Heartaches style of Punk. The Heartaches brand of Old School Rockabilly has been recharged with slick speed and extremely contagious riffs that meld within the frenetic stomp of their rhythm section.
The Heartaches deliver 13 genuine Punk Rock songs on Lunacy & devastation, each song carries it’s own Punk weight, no one song sounds like the other. My favorite song on this CD is Safe and Sound, it just has a cool groove happening from the opening note. If a Punk Rock song can be harmonious, Safe and Sound proves it. A continuous pissed off theme does not let up throughout these songs lyrics, a Punk Rock staple that can work as long as the music itself has legs to stand on. In my Metal opinion, the songs on Lunacy & devastation have legs… Punk strong at that. Lead vocalist Leroy has everything I look for from a Punk Rock front man. Leroy’s vocals exude extreme Punk credibility, as do each member of The Heartaches, from what my ears tell me. Sammy on vocals and guitar, does not impede with his backup duties with Leroy, this guy adds greatly to the total Punk essence of The Heartaches. After my third listen through with this CD, I shake my head and wonder why The Heartaches were never signed to a major label, (I’m not talking Atlantic Records here), a label like SideOneDummy? Yeah, I think The Heartaches sound that cool. Heartattack Radio is the last song on Lunacy & devastation, the Punk fervor of the vocals alongside the rhythmic enthusiasm of The Heartaches makes it a Punk exclamation point of an ending.
A couple of years ago, I purchased All Hallow’s E.P. by AFI… man, this is a cool Horror Punk gem. Released on November 3, 1999, on Nitro Records, this is AFI when they were creating Horror Punk and it is worth every penny I spent on it. A tidy E.P. it is, with four songs that are lathered with quality Horror Punk attitude and speed. Davey Havok on lead vocals sounds vintage, even though it has only been about a decade since this E.P.’s release. Every time I listen to All Hallow’s E.P., I walk away believing Davey Havok was born to sing this style of Punk Rock. I could listen all day to this Horror Punk style of AFI. I have been currently rummaging through my Metal and Punk Music collection, sifting through the spooky titles of both albums and songs and putting them on my daily rotation of music listening. Horror Punk will always stand out when searching for the creepy tunes, All Hallow’s E.P. is an obvious choice. With the Halloween season knocking at my Metal doorstep, rounding up the scary stuff to listen to has become an annual right of Horror passage for me.
Osaka Popstar and the American Legends of Punk are a band I can’t get enough of. Punk Rock that is cool, fun and of course… Rocks, is Osaka Popstar. I bought this self titled CD a while back at a flea market in Berks County, Pennsylvania… for around thirty three cents. Thirty three cents this Osaka Popstar cost me!!! Plus, as a Metal bonus, this CD was still factory sealed!!! How was this CD only thirty three cents you might wonder? The dealer I came across selling CD’s had a “three for a dollar deal” going down at his booth! Not too shabby and quite the find. So, with Autumn upon us, the insects are getting a tad crazy right now… especially those damn yellow jackets. I cannot stand yellow jackets, they either are buzzing around spoiled picnic food, outdoor garbage pails or looking to sting you. By definition alone, the yellow jacket is a predatory wasp!! I had one of these evil yellow jackets sting me in the right arm two weekends ago – for no reason at all. I was sitting down in my backyard, taking a break from some yard clean-up, sipping on a cold beer, then the burning sting sensation hit me! A yellow jacket chose me for it’s sting of the day. That is why I have decided once and for all, to choose Insects to be the Punk Rock song of the day. This song is just plain good Punk Rock fun. My daughters get the biggest kick out of listening to Insects… I do too. The way in which the bugs outside are acting up right now… Insects could very easily be the Punk Rock song of September!
Duff McKagan, you know, the very famous and former bass player for the legendary Guns N’ Roses and current bass wizard for Velvet Revolver? Yeah, that guy. Well, let me tell you, Duff McKagan has his brand new solo, (if you will), album out right now and it is in my Metal opinion, sensational. Really, these tunes that Duff McKagan provides with Loaded are just that – loaded. Loaded with quality Hard Rock driven tunes. These songs have catchy hooks and an almost unmistakable Punk Rock vibe happening throughout the entire album. Loaded is groove laden and if I am not mistaken, not over-produced! I can honestly say, that I hear a bit of overall polish missing and I love that!!
It is an obvious Metal music marriage, the paranormal being put to lyrics in Metal songs. Any King Diamond album supports this statement, that is for certain. Horror and the paranormal rules the Metal world’s lyrics with it’s mystery, shock, and imagery. This to me, is one of the great attributes to Metal music, the paranormal and horror has given personality and life to throngs of Metal bands as: Alice Cooper, Misfits, Kiss (with makeup), Lordi, Rob Zombie, Slipknot, Danzig, W.A.S.P., Cannibal Corpse and of course, King Diamond again. The list could go on and on, regarding which Metal bands represent the horror and paranormal subjects best.
Yes, I am an avid watcher of the Travel Channel’s: Anthony Bourdain “No Reservations”. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this show, Anthony Bourdain is a writer, chef and likes to travel. As Anthony Bourdain travels the globe, he encounters every culture and diverse eatery you could imagine, therefore, Anthony Bourdain eats well on every episode. There are several reasons why I enjoy watching Anthony Bourdain, for starters he has a laid back, chilled out demeanor about him, he always treats different cultures and people with respect, he likes all types of food and drink and narrates each episode with a tasteful and humorous dialogue. Honestly, this show is light years better than any scripted, shallow junk you may find on network television. After being a loyal viewer of Anthony Bourdain “No Reservations” for a few years, I was enlightened and thrilled by two episodes that were aired this past year. Here is the skinny on these two COOL episodes:
, and what a refreshing Punk Rock band this is! The constant Punk vibe you hear throughout “Music From Regions Beyond” is addicting, man, this album will grow on you. The first two tracks are obviously the heaviest sounding, both musically and vocally. “Hotprowl” and “Afterworld” rock heavy with sincere Punk Rock groove. “Hechizo de Amor” is a Spanish track, the vocals are sung in Spanish and the music has Latin flavor all over it. From the guitar to the percussion and bass, this song is a strong statement of musical diversity for Tiger Army. Like all the tunes on this album, it makes you move. “Spring Forward” has great lyrics, based on a moment of time and reflection. This song, like all the others, is just down right great stuff. There are no pretentious moments on “Music From Regions Beyond”. The overall quality of the songs and their lack of over indulgence into excessiveness is what makes this one great album and band. No question, for me this is as diverse as any Punk album in recent years. In my opinion, Nick 13 is a great vocalist, song writer/lyricist and plays one heck of a Punk & Rockabilly guitar. Jeff Roffredo plays stand-up bass and James Meza plays drums, I really dig this trio called Tiger Army! If you are into the Ramones, the Misfits, Osaka Popstar, AFI or a fan of Punk Rock in general, you really have to give Tiger Army a listen and get hooked by their infectious Punk vibe! Tiger Army will prove to you that Punk Rock is still happening right NOW!
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