Halloween Music – 4 Macabre Danzig Picks for the Spooky Season

A Friendly Halloween Reminder

The weather chills. The days get shorter. The leaves turn brown and orange. It’s that time of the year to find the best of the best Halloween music. One man stands as the single greatest purveyor of Halloween music. That man is Evil Elvis himself, Glenn Danzig. Today we are goign to celebrate 4 Misfits and Samhain albums to make sure that your spooky season has some of the best Halloween music to haunt by.

If there ever was a supreme ambassador of Halloween, Glenn Danzig reigns over the spooky season like an little evil wood gnome with an attitude. In every album of Danzig’s musical catalog, he pays tribute to the darkness that we all love in late fall. Starting with his cheesy horror and sci-fi lyrics with the Misfits to his love letters to towering bonfires of Samhain, Danzig is a man of the season. Move over Sinatra, Gelenn Danzig is the chairman of the Halloween Music Board.

A while back I did a ranking of Danzig’s full post-Samhain catalog. In this article, I will dig into his earlier work to call out a few killer albums that will bring a chill to the air with respect to your Halloween music experieince.

The Misfits – Legacy of Brutality (1985)

This one might prove controversial to Misfits purists, but this album really does rock. The controversy comes from the fact that this is compilation of songs that never got released prior. Many of these songs were slated to be released on the album Static Age in 1978. Unfortunately for the band and music history, The Misfits were unable to find a record label to release the album… so they sat the tracks on a shelf. After the disbandment of The Misfits, Glenn, not to miss a chance to make a buck, released Legacy of Brutality with his own instrumentals overdubbed onto the vocals.

Eventually Static Age (1996) was released about the same time The Misfits box set hit stores. Some would say that the original mixes are better on the original album. Some would be correct in that assertion, but there is a reason that Legacy of Brutality is on this list and not Static Age. Glenn’s mixes on Legacy of Brutality are absolutely dripping in over saturated reverb. The songs sound as if they are being played in the darkest of damp dungeons. Yet, they still sound good enough to rock out at volume.

Legacy of Brutality reeks of Halloween, and to be fair it was the first full album that featured the literal song “Halloween”. What more can you say.

Bonfires burning bright
Pumpkin faces in the night
I remember Halloween
Dead cats hanging from poles
Little dead are out in droves
I remember Halloween

— Glenn Danzig, Halloween

Samhain – Initium (1984)

On October 29th 1983 at their annual Halloween show, Glenn got pissed off because his replacement drummer was drunk and could not play the show. That wold be the last that Glenn Danzig and The Misfits would play for decades. Glenn immediately shifted gears into another passion project with Eerie Von, the band photographer and former drummer for Rosemary’s Babies. The new project would depart from the breakneck pace of punk rock and descend into the depths of what Glenn would call Death Rock. the speed was much slower and the music much darker.

While primitive, their first album Initium (1984) would define the sound of Death Rock and if nothing else, it’s unique. The subject matter leaves the safe confines of 20 eyed aliens and late night horror vixens and goes headlong into the realm of demons and serial killers.The first track “Initium / Samhain” really says it all. It begins with a monologue shrouded in black and rolling in a thick fog. I don’t know what it means, but it’s creepy. And then self-titled track explodes with this little nugget of wisdom.

Salt the dead, you close the veil
The changer of shapes alone on hooves
Autumn’s cold brings the pagan dead
Who seek the warmth of the Samhain fire

— Glenn Danzig, Samhain

Glenn does revisit some of his old Misfits haunts. On this album he does “Horror Biz”, a re-imagined version of “Horror Business”. This album represents archetype for the band, and it’s a fantastic October Death Rock special.

The Misfits – Walk Among Us

Due to the lack of uptake for Static Age and 12 Hits From Hell (another fail to launch), Walk Among Us (1982) gets the distinction of being the debut album for The Misfits. Ah yes, 1982 – a great year for horror films. In the few years between Static Age and Walk Among Us, the bands horror innuendo became much more overt. Many songs are taken straight from horror movie titles like “Astro Zombies” and “Night of the Living Dead”. Of course they also make reference to the original Mistress of the Dark, “Vampira”. The album is campy for sure, but as far as horror punk goes, the songs are razors in ear canal. I mean that as a massive compliment.

The album rips out of the gate with “20 Eyes” which with no surprise tells the story of man waking up with 20 Eyes. It ends with “Astro Zombies”, an anthem to everything that is wrong with the world and one man’s wish to destroy it with “With the touch of my burning hand”. There is not a single weak track in between these bookends. Some personal favorites include “Skulls”, “All Hell Breaks Loose” and “Mommy Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight”. Walk Among Us is masterpiece in the genre and to this day one of Danzig’s greatest creations.

Brains for dinner, brains for lunch
Brains for breakfast, brains for brunch
Brains for every single meal
Why can’t we have some guts
Hey, Hey, Hey
— Glenn Danzig, Braineaters

Samhain III – November Coming Fire

Last but not least in the slightest is my final Halloween Danzig recommendation. November Coming Fire represents the most refined that Samhain ever got. It was the last album recorded before Rick Rubin swooped in and turned Glenn into an international superstar. The music on this album is much more refined. The arrangements are ever so slightly more complex and textured. The production work some of the best to this point in Danzig’s career.

The music is dark, yet inspired. The track “Novermber’s Fire” is anthem to the season and everything Samhain. Once again, Glenn covers his own Misfits material with “Halloween II”. “Halloween II” takes the rhythm, melody and chorus of “Halloween”, but replaces the spooky lyrics with a legit ancient werewolf incantation. With the dark sound of Samhain, the track is positively haunting in its execution.

November Coming Fire is the ultimate autumnal album. I marks a critical step in the right direction for Glenn Danzig and would serve as a catalyst for his later work.

Night calls on summer’s end
Dark aspect, breed divine
Knee-deep, the blood of swine
Come season, come reborn

November-Coming-Fire
Samhain-grim (Samhain-grim)
And then it all comes down
Samhain-grim

— Glenn Danzig, Novemeber Coming Fire

 

Halloween Music to Make the Season

There’s a lot of stuff competing for your Halloween attention. This is especially so with Halloween music. You wouldn’t trust you kidney transplant to an auto mechanic. You wouldn’t trust your aircraft maintenance to a barista. Why would you trust your Halloween music to anyone but an expert. Glenn Danzig is your man. He always was. It’s fall.. do you know where your Misfits and Samhain albums are?