I've been a horror move and book fan for as long as I can remember...and a horror punk fan for at least as long. I remember it vividly. I became a fan of Danzig through my older brother and noticed his (Glenn Danzig, not my brother) first band was the Misfits... I was hooked.
Anyway, without further ado.... My top ten (Videos where I could find them)...
1. The Misfits (Danzig Era). You can't have horror punk without them. With such songs as Brain Eaters, Skulls, Halloween and Vampira they made punk fun. With their hard driving rhythms and campy lyrics...they proved that punk didn't have to be about politics and other serious matters. Thanks to Mr. Danzig's awesome singing prowess a new style was born...
2. Samhain (pronounced phonetically in this case). Glenn Danzig's band after the misfits. Still along the horror vein, but a bit more mature. The lyrics weren't that much about horror movies per se, but more about the horror of life. The evil inside humans, and the darker side of every day life. Plus, the Samhain versions of Misfits songs (All Hell, Horror Biz, etc) and the pre Danzig version of Twist of Cain rock supreme.
3. The Cramps. Now, I know a lot of my friends will disagree here, but I don't care. The Cramps brought more fun to the genre by injecting a cool surf rock sound. Plus Lux Interior's (R.I.P) voice is great for the songs. Plus, they're on the Return of the Living Dead soundtrack... that alone is tops for me.
4. The Damned. Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible. 'Nuff Said. Wait...one more thing... They proved that England could do it , too.
5. The Misfits (Michale Graves era). People will disagree with this one, as well...I Still don't care. After the long legal battle between Glenn Danzig and Jerry Only, the Misfits were resurrected with a new vocalist. That vocalist was Mr. Michale Graves. People were concerned at first, but after a listen, we all realized that the 'Fits were back. Not only were Graves's vocals 100% on, but his lyrics were awesome too. Jerry Only, in his infinite wisdom
saw fit (no pun intended) to release Graves. Eventually Doyle left too and we now have that terrible crapfest I like to call the Only Jerry band. Anyway, check out Graves's solo stuff too. The following video was directed by none other than George A. Romero.
6. Calabrese. Straight from Phoenix Arizona (A Hot bed of horror...get it? Hot bed? Desert? Nevermind) come the brothers Calabrese. The coolest thing about this band is that they don't take themselves too serious. They don't play dress-up or anything. In fact, they look like the lost Ramone siblings or something. Their music is tight and rocking and their lyrics are fun and campy. They use sound bites from some of the best cheese of the horror movie world. Enjoy their greatness...
7. Blitzkid. Another power horror trio. Frontman and bassist Argyle's voice is straight out of Danzig era Misfits. The music is as heavy as a comet full of lead. They play the dress up game sometimes too, but the music more than makes up for it.
8. Gorgeous Frankenstein. After Doyle left the Misfits, he rekindled his freindship with Glenn Danzig. He toured with him a little and they did a few Misfits songs. Eventually Danzig and Doyle created this band. The name if a reference to Doyle's full name of Doyle Wolfgang VonFrankentstein and that of his wife's wrestling name of Gorgeous George. She is the dancer in this video. If you listen closely, you can hear backing vocals by Mr. Danzig himself.
9. DieMonsterDie. Now, I've onlt recently "discovered" this band, so I can't tell you much. I admit that they look ridiculous... I decided to let the music speak for itself.
10. Dead Pleasures / The Other / The Browns. Now I made this a tie because I wanted to put them all on the list seperately, but it's a top ten list and it would have made it 12. Not all have videos, but if you want to listen to any or all of them, they're all on my mysapce (myspace.com/deadviolets) so, check them out. They're all new to me as I just recently "discovered" them as well, but they fit right in enjoy.
Well, that's it. If you liked it, I'm glad. If there's a band I didn't mention, it's most likely because I don't know them. Drop me a line if you disagree, agree or have new music for me. Until next time, watch out behind you because...
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