Static Age was originally recorded in the winter of 1978 and was intended to be The Misfits' debut album, but was never officially released due to some record company difficulties. When lead singer Glenn Danzig left the band in 1983 after the release of the album
Earth A.D./Wolfsblood to work on other projects, The Misfits eventually dissolved. They would soon after release the
Earth A.D./Die Die My Darling compilation in 1984,
Legacy of Brutality, a compilation of rarities and outtakes album titled a self titled "best of" compilation in 1986 and then finally the very short
Die Die My Darling in 1987 (The Misfits discography can be very confusing at first). That is a lot of albums to be released shortly after a band had just broken up. But that would be the last of the Misfits releases for quite some time. Fans did however, get a taste of some more Misfits material with the
Collection/Box Set released in 1995, but it was just made up of songs from previous albums, but still a nice collection. Finally, ten years after their last official release, now 1997, the band was able to release the album that they wanted to nearly twenty years earlier. Because the band wasn't able to release the album when they planned to, many of these songs were later included on various collections (nine tracks are taken from Legacy of Brutality) and EPs. But this album takes away all the discography confusion, and puts them all on one record, the way The Misfits originally wanted them to be.
The Misfits-Static Age
The album consists of the original Misfits lineup of Glenn Danzig on vocals, Franche Coma on guitar, Jerry Only on bass, and Mr. Jim on drums. The band delivers a solid performance, especially Glenn on vocals as he shows here the beginning of his distinct, bluesy signature voice. The instrumental work is pretty simple and nothing too complex, but the band knows how to play the simplicity to its full potential, and they demonstrate that here. The sound quality, although not the greatest, is far better than that of their releases of the early eighties, which definitely makes all the songs better than they would have been twenty years ago. The Misfits show early signs of things that they would not elaborate too much later; like the five minute epic
Come Back which sounds very different to most songs as it is somewhat calmer than most of their songs and just has an overall different vibe. They even incorporate what sounds like a keyboard/piano in
Theme For A Jackal. Static Age the album, consists of catchy guitar riffs, some funny lyrics, which make for some short and fast punk rock songs that you will be humming to your self sooner or later. As many of their later albums, most songs follow the basic format of the simple but effective power chord guitar riffs that remains, for the most part, constant throughout the song as well as some basic drumming but at times Mr. Jim does throw some cool fills once in a while like in
Hybrid Moments and
Come Back. Some songs may sound alike at first (
She,
Angel****), but after hearing them a few times, they can easily be heard differently.
Even though this album contains seventeen songs, three of which are bonus tracks (
She, Spinal Remains,
In The Doorway), the album clocks in at just over thirty minutes. Twelve of the seventeen songs don't crack the two minute mark while four are a little over two minutes and then the very long
Come Back which almost seems out of place at five minutes. As far as the lyrics go, The Misfits show what influenced them the most. That being the bands love of horror movies, gore and basically anything evil. Examples of some of their gory lyrics are demonstrated in
Spinal Remains where Glenn sings:
"I wanna savage your spinal remains; I wanna savage baby, your spinal remains in chains". Quite gory, but nothing usual from the Misfits. Also in the classic Misfits tune
Last Caress, after some dark and twisted lyrics in the verses, Glenn sings in the chorus
"Sweet lovely death, I am waiting for your breath, come sweet death, one last caress". But aside from the bands signature lyrics, Glenn writes about issues that are something a bit more meaningful and different for a change in the song
Some Kinda Hate where Glenn yells
"Well there's some kinda love, and there is some kinda hate; I'm gonna tell you all about it now; The maggots in the eye of love won't copulate". Maybe not more meaningful, but something different. The Misfits do political as well.
Bullet has some explicitly political as well as disturbing lyrics regarding the assignation of former US president John F. Kennedy. Glenn also sings some angst filled lyrics in the song
Attitude(which GnR covered) at which he does quite well.
Static Age features with out a doubt, some of The Misfits' best songs. These include the popular
Last Caress (Which Metallica made even more popular when they covered it) and
Hybrid Moments, both two of the first songs I ever heard from The Misfits and still remain some of my favorites. Last Caress is where Glenn's vocals really shine as he sings the chorus like it was a song straight out of the fifties. The guitar riff sounds very similar to that of The Ramones?
Blitzkrieg Bop, but with a much rawer sound. Hybrid Moments is one easily recognized if you have seen the Jackass movie as it was featured in it. Though the guitar is very repetitive, Glenn?s voice overshadows it in a good way. An overall very catchy song as well as one of the best. Other Highlights include
TV Casualty,
?Some Kinda Hate?,
Bullet, and
We Are 138. TV Casualty has one of the best chorus? in the album with the group backing up Glenn?s voice which makes for a very effective chorus. Some Kinda Hate is built around the same guitar line which is also incredibly easy to play. The series of ?Whoas? in the chorus also makes the song more enjoyable.
Bullet immediately sets the tone of the song with the guitar and vocals instantly kicking in. The song is extremely catchy and Glenn sings the lyrics with intensity.
We Are 138 is a slower track that builds up as the song continues until it evolves into one of the fastest on the album. There is not much diversity in the lyrics as Glenn repeats the title several times, but nevertheless the song is well done and also as a short but effective guitar solo by Coma. The album opener and title track,
Static Age is a fairly good song, but nothing that stands out compared to the rest. It has a mixture of fast and slow tempos that works well but that background instruments over shadow Glenn's voice too much which I feel brings the song down a notch. Nevertheless a solid track to start the album and gives a good first impression.
In The Doorway closes the album on a good note. The tone is much slower than most on the album, but The Misfits pull it off well. Danzig delivers one of his best vocal performances on the record as he sings loudly over the distorted instruments. A strong way to end an excellent album. Soon after there is some talking and outtakes from the studio, pretty interesting at least.
The Misfits'
Static Age is essential for any fan of the band and I highly recommend it to any fan of punk rock. Though it wasn't released as their first album, it was recorded first technically making it their first album, and a fine debut it is. The same year this was released, the "new" Misfits reformed without Glenn on lead vocals, replaced by Michale Graves and released
American Psycho. I feel it wasn?t as good as the old Misfits, but its just an opinion. So for that, if you are just getting into the Misfits, this album, or a collection would be a good place to start.
4.5/5
The Misfits:
Glenn Danzig: Vocals
Franche Coma: Guitar
Jerry Only: Bass
Mr. Jim: Drums
Recommended Tracks:
Last Caress
Hybrid Moments
TV Casualty
Some Kinda Hate
Bullet
Attitude
