The Misfits, Earth AD (1983) ENG

The Misfits, Earth AD (1983) ENG

By: Erreh Svaia

Rock N Roll Animal

I affirm categorically that any of the two discs (of his classic time with Glenn Danzig) of the legendary Misfits, would leave me satisfied at all times, with the Misfits there are no detours, there is no rocket science, their music is an accurate blow to the head, or to the skull to go more according to the occasion, zero unnecessary filling as often happens with other groups, the school of bands like the Ramones is present in their strategy almost guerrilla war, the Misfits arrived, played 30 minutes and left, when I just wanted to react, they were not there anymore, the other school would be the Damned and their fondness for the dark, the Gothic, and of course the reverences to rock n roll.

Recognized for his love of the old horror films of series B, the extravagant lyrics of its main composer, Glenn Danzig, out of this world and contagious to the extreme, a vibrancy and sensibility rescued from the classic rock n roll of the 50s, but still and that the Misfits could be exquisitely monotonous and predictable like the aforementioned Ramones (also legendary), at times they could launch an unexpected "curve" designed to take even their most seasoned followers off balance, proof of this is the sensational Earth AD, album released in the year of 1983 and that put the accelerator furiously to the bottom, ripped that characteristic melodic skin of the band to some extent, and left us only skulls and bones being beaten violently in a clear appropriation of the powerful subgenre of punk rock, hardcore punk, practiced more often by people like the Black Flag, led by the also great Henry Rollins, who at the time was already a brawl companion to Glenn.

Earth AD breaks with the punk horror of the Walk Among Us and takes a brutal dip in the world of hardcore, putting the accelerator to the rhythms and sacrificing a little the melodies, although only to a certain extent, as the great songs of Danzig get keep that immediacy, those twists and cadence characteristics of the classic rock n roll, is already noticeable chaos and tension within the band, which would break after this album, and each of the themes reflects it faithfully, the guitars Doyle's are totally in tune with the wild minimalism of hardcore, the bass of Jerry Only (Doyle's brother), moves almost on par with Doyle's guitars in a lethal combo, while on the drums the band is supported by Robo , drummer also of the tremendous Black Flag, and to further prop up the abrupt turn, the band is accompanied by producer Spot, the "home" producer of the legendary label SST by Greg Ginn.

Themes like the one that gives name to the disc, the threatening and unrestrained Earth AD, are an immediate swell of aggression and distortion, Devilock (about his legendary haircut with sinister crest fallen to the front) or Death Comes Ripping are direct downloads, without rodeos, powerful and forceful, impossible to escape the imminent impact, Queen Wasp shines with that cadence that gloriously recalls the purest spirit of rock, the tight and powerful combo of Jerry Only and Robo get a hard and rocky bottom at the highest part of the issues, while Doyle unleashes a real carnage beyond what was imagined with the brutal riff of Green Hell, a theme that would become classic and that would arouse the interest of future Thrash Metal bands, such as Metallica, who would become unconditional fans of the group, but while

Bloodfeast and Hellhound continue that direct attack and without contemplations, the compositional genius of Danzig shines on themes like Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight, with its darkly funny bloody frenzy that denotes an exquisite black humor, which already stood out in a particular way and that led Danzig to his next project, Samhain.

Die, Die My Darling is another spectacular theme on the album, and again a successful performance of Danzig in a wonderful song that demarcates a bit of hardcore to bring back the classic sound of the band, but that Earth AD is hardcore , that no doubt, since We Bite is responsible for reaffirming the successful and memorable foray of the band in this one, at that time just emerging genre, a little-known classic that in my high school years I had to discover and that It became one of those favorite albums with which you like to inconvenience more than one acquaintance, yes, Halloween could be every day.