Few punk rock bands are as influential as The Misfits. From Nine Inch Nails to Metallica, echoes of this seminal, B-horror film obsessed band can be felt.
Indeed, the proliferation of death imagery surrounding heavy metal music originated with the Misfits. Initially the interest in skulls and dripping blood stemmed from a fascination in the goofy horror films and comic books of the 1950s.
Before long however, the Misfits' music took a turn for the darker, and the fascination with death lost its innocent appeal and became the genre of death metal.
Indeed, Glenn Danzig, founding member of The Misfits, is currently lost in self-aggrandizement and worshipping the devil, and his music is pathetically derivative of bands such as Nine Inch Nails, whom he originally inspired.
But there was a time when The Misfits and Glenn Danzig were cool.
The Misfits are the subject of "Violent World," a tribute album out this month on Caroline records.
"Violent World" defies all the negative connotations usually associated with an album composed entirely of recordings by modern artists of their personal "heroes."
Most tribute albums are simply tired renditions of songs by bands who are at best minimally influence by the original artists. Does anyone really want to hear Jane's Addiction cover the Grateful Dead, or the Rollins Band cover Led Zeppelin?
The tracks on "Violent World, however, are all performed by artists who have been heavily influenced by the Misfits.
"I wanted 'Violent World' to be consistently heavy so that not only the fans of the bands on the record could love it all, but Misfits fans as well," says Tom Bejgrowicz of Caroline Records. Indeed, he has succeeded admirably.
"Violent World" never loses its edge, and does not demand the listener to switch gears radically between each track without warning. Almost every form of hardline music is represented on the album, from hardcore to industrial and even to ska.
"Violent World" explodes with "She," a song on the first Misfits seven inch "Cool/Cough," released in 1977.
"She" is performed by Buffalo hardcore legends Snapcase. Snapcase's fast paced, dissonant hardcore will raise the hairs on the back of the listener's neck.
Next up is a melancholy performance of "Astro Zombies" by Epitaph Records' Pennywise, followed by the best track on the album, "20 Eyes."
This tune is covered by Shades Apart, an ensemble on Revelation Records.
The vocals on "20 Eyes" are passionate and heartfelt, while the guitars and drums are dynamic and driving. "Violent World" is worth the cost for this track alone.
The biggest surprise on the album is Goldfinger's cover of "Ghouls' Night Out."
Perhaps Goldfinger was trying to gain punk credibility by being on an album produced by Caroline Records -- however, this genetically engineered corporate ska band has little or none of this.
This does not change the fact that "Ghouls Night Out" is one of the better tunes on "Violent World."
Goldfinger somehow manages to pull off a fast paced, upbeat version of this Misfits classic without being irritating or simpering.
The biggest disappointment on the album is Earth Crisis' cover of "Earth A.D."
The vocals on this piece are sloppy, the playing amateurish and artless. Sick of it All, another fantastic hardcore band, does an equally dismal job on their cover of "All Hell Breaks Loose."
Yet considered in its entirety, "Violent World" is an impressive feat. Fans of hardcore, industrial and heavy metal music will all find a common denominator in the music performed on "Violent World," a rousing tribute to one of the original purveyors of punks.
