By Ian MacLaughlin
In January of 1978, a newly formed punk band called The Misfits assembled what was supposed to be their first album. They recorded 17 songs live at C.I. Studios in New York with little time for retakes or editing. From these songs, 14 were chosen to populate the tracklist for their debut studio album, “Static Age.” This album changed the punk landscape upon release, introducing a horror b-movie fueled world filled with catchy hooks, violent lyrics and a murky lo-fi sound. Or at least that’s probably what would have happened if The Misfits found a record label willing to release it. Instead, the album was shelved while The Misfits enjoyed a fruitful yet chaotic career as a foundational force in the subgenres of hardcore and horror punk. Then, in 1996, after decades of classic albums, raucous live performances and a labyrinth of band drama and legal disputes, “Static Age” got an official release. Given the complicated history that preceded the album’s release, is it actually any good? You bet it is.
“Static Age” can roughly be described as a catchy and campy yet raw and aggressive punk rock album. Lead singer Glenn Danzig has a loud, passionate and aggressive vocal style that’s emotional without being too cheesy. The lyrics he belts are full of explicit violence and sexuality, with the primary concern being horror films and historical events. As a result, there’s a lot of interesting historical and horror film references to find in the lyrics.There’s also the notable track “Last Caress,” which is about no one in particular and doesn’t explicitly reference any horror films. “Last Caress” also happens to be one of the most vulgar tracks on the album and is arguably the most notorious, having been covered by Metallica, who infamously performed it at the 1996 MTV Europe Music Awards, causing them to be banned from future MTV hosted awards shows. The original Misfits version is a fantastic display of Danzig’s vocal range and aggressive backing from the other members, including Jerry Only on bass. Other notable songs on this album include “Hybrid Moments,” “We Are 138,” “Teenagers from Mars” and “Bullet.” These songs are all fantastic, as is the rest of the album. In fact, there aren’t really any songs on this album that one should consider a “skip.” At only 35 minutes, it’s a compact listen that doesn’t overstay its welcome, and nearly every song is a banger that will be stuck in your head.
Overall, if you like punk rock, scary stuff and a lot of gore, this is the album for you. It’s full of aggression, passion, charisma and just dumb fun. Also, it’s a great entry point for getting into The Misfits discography, condensing many of their best moments into one short listen. It’s arguably their best album and one of the best punk albums to be recorded in the 1970’s. If you’re still in a spooky mood following Halloweek, you’ll be hard pressed to find anything better.