Misfits
Walk Among Us

THE REVIEW

The Misfits left the scene at the end of 1983, after troubled years with few practical satisfactions. Despite this, they managed to make their mark on music history with a hardcore shard that would be a cornerstone for every aficionado of this rock subgenre.

The cover of this LP (released on vinyl in 1982) demonstrates a reality seemingly at odds with the grim appearance of the band members. The opening is entrusted to “20 Eyes”, which in about 2 minutes manages to convey to every listener what kind of album they are facing. “All Hell Breaks Loose" is the first masterpiece of the album where an endless chorus makes the track irresistible. “Vampira” is a composition that starts off furiously and finishes the run leaving the listener bewildered, who with “Nike A Go Go” and “Hate Breeders”, in my opinion the best track on the album, will not be able to resist moshing even with their pet.

“Mommy, Can I Go Out & Kill Tonight” is preceded by Arthur Googy's historic one-two-three-four and is taken from an equally historic concert held by the band where Glenn Danzig demonstrates through a grating and dark vocal tone what he was capable of around twenty years ago.

The umpteenth masterpiece arrives with “Skulls” where the Misfits, accompanied by a noisy background, demonstrate their ability to write captivating and obsessive melodies, but at the same time infused with often theatrical and naive self-irony, which nevertheless would deeply influence the hardcore genre.

”Devils Whorehouse” starts a bit subdued but then turns out to be splendid, traversed by endless melodic cues rhythmically underlined throughout the piece by a metronome reinforced by the legendary bass of Jerry Only. The final two tracks drop in tone, although in the case of “Astro Zombies” attention must be paid to the theme tackled by the band: the zombie, which through this piece enters the collective consciousness. "Braineaters” is a barely one-minute-long ditty that develops through a song and melody that are downright obnoxious.

The album, at just 25 minutes, sounds dated, unfortunately like the other LPs and EPs of the band, but it serves as a source of inspiration and imitation for numerous bands in the following years. In short, the best album of a band that was rediscovered during the '80s and became a cult for every expert of contaminated and non-contaminated Hardcore-Punk.