Welcome to another discography series! This time I'll be digging into the career of one of punk's most notorious and influential acts, The Misfits! While this series won't be as long as my Ramones series, considering they only released about half as many as the Ramones (not counting compilations), I will be sticking to full length, non-compilation albums. And on that note, I feel it is pertinent that I explain why I'm starting with Static Age. and not the band's 'official' debut, Walk Among Us. The reason is pretty simple, but unfortunate; the band couldn't find a record label that wanted to release it. So, instead, the group put out a four track EP end for a few years, they toured the songs and wrote for their next album which would eventually be their official label debut in 1982.
While songs from this album were scattered throughout compilations and EP's, it wasn't until 1997 when the album was released in a proper form. And that's a shame, because this would of easily been remembered as one of punk rock's early greats, especially in 1979, when the album was first recorded, and considering that the tracks that did get out in one form or another are some of the band's most loved and endearing tunes, it just goes to show that labels pass up some really amazing stuff.
With that bit of history out of the way, it's time to discuss the music on Static Age, which is fast, loose, and ultimately some insanely catchy punk with some light horror and sci-fi themes. Though not as cartoonish as the band's later material, ( save for "Last Caress") Static Age still goes for an outlandish and violent image, such as the track "Bullet" which describes the Kennedy assassination in detail and even goes into a not so safe for work fantasy involving Jackie O, or the aforementioned "Last Caress" which has lines about raping mothers and killing babies. But despite these extremely dark themes, the band never seems like they actually want you to think they do this stuff, instead it just sounds like a group of rowdy teenagers who say obnoxious stuff to get attention. And really, with track names like "Teenagers From Mars" and "Angelfuck", are you really going to take the messages of these songs seriously?
On top of being outlandishly grotesque, a vast majority of this LP is also shamefully catchy. It is kind of hard for me to pick a favorite when there are so many that I love, but I'll simply list some off: "TV Causality" is a hellish tune about a TV that eats people, "Return Of The Fly" is an ode to an old Vincent Price movie of the same name, "Hybrid Moments" is probably one of the happiest songs about creatures raping ones face I've ever heard, and "Attitude" is the perfect song to play if you want to vent about a particularly snotty person.
Track for track, Static Age delivers one gem after another, slowing down only once for the track "Come Back" which is still a great tune. In fact, my only problems with this LP as a whole are some less memorable moments like "Hollywood Babylon" or the opener "Static Age", which aren't bad, but get lost in the mix. And I have to admit that some of the production here is pretty muddy. But the one thing I can't fault on any of the tracks here is the vocal talent of a young Glen Danzig. Good lord, that man can sing, with a husky, super macho voice that mixes Elvis with a Jersey punk, there isn't another vocalist who sounds exactly like him, and he puts on a great show on Static Age.
So, while not the first impression that most people got from The Misfits. I'd say nowadays, this is the place to start. Not only because it was what the band originally wanted, but because it really is a wonderfully compact and catchy punk album that even punk lightweights can enjoy easily.
9.0/10
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