Misfits

The Devil's Rain

Written by: PP on 26/10/2011 22:14:39

Vampires, zombies, and other supernatural phenomenon are 'in' again given the success of True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, Twilight, and The Walking Dead among other instances in popular culture, so what better time for horror punk legends Misfits to release their first studio album in over twelve years, right? ....right guys? The band had a unique opportunity to re-invent themselves and align themselves with what's considered cool today, but instead, "The Devil's Rain", their seventh album, is hopelessly soft and devoid of any real horror moments; it is doubtful that the passing references to zombies, hell, vampires are enough to even scare a five-year old in today's world.

You know what else? "The Devil's Rain" sounds like a punk album for your grandfather. It carries over the late 70s spirit with clean vocals and the basic woah-woah melodies that the band pioneered in punk rock three decades ago, but it does so completely without edge and the infectious sing-a-longs of landmark Misfits releases "Walk Among Us" and "Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood". Without Danzig at the helm, the band seem purposeless and lost in their own legend, unable to connect the dots like they used to, resulting in even the best songs on the album sounding like boring rehashes of the classic Misfits sound. See "Unexplained" and "Land Of The Dead" for good examples. The tempo is far too slow as a result of their unwillingness to go with the times, instead opting for an entirely dated and way too retrospective old school sound back from when your dad was in college.

I suppose all of this was to be expected, since it has been more than fourteen years since the last good Misfits record, but more like 28 years when you consider that "Static Age" was actually originally written and recorded in 1978. Yes, it really has been 28 years since the release of "Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood", and the time has not been gentle for Misfits since then. "The Devil's Rain" is a lackluster effort at rekindling the horror punk spirit of the late 70s and early 80s, a record that suggests that it's time to hang up the skates and retire.

5

Download: Unexplained, The Devil's Rain, Land Of The Dead
For the fans of: The Hitchcocks, Calabrese, The Crimson Ghosts, Devil's Whorehouse
Listen: Myspace

Release date 04.10.2011
Misfits Records

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