{"id":10463,"date":"2013-02-05T00:00:56","date_gmt":"2013-02-05T00:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=10463"},"modified":"2013-06-01T14:49:55","modified_gmt":"2013-06-01T14:49:55","slug":"album-review-misfits-dead-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-misfits-dead-alive\/","title":{"rendered":"MISFITS – Dead Alive! (2013) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

MISFITS
Dead Alive!<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nMisfits (2013)<\/span>
Rating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Jerry Only is a man who just doesn\u2019t quit. When he revived the Misfits in 1995 with a new vocalist in Michale Graves and drummer Dr Chud it was assumed by many that this was a cash grab, and the new band was little more than a novelty act.<\/p>\n

Despite this, the band has released two albums of original music (1999\u2019s Famous Monsters<\/em> and 2011\u2019s The Devil\u2019s Rain<\/em>), one compilation of unreleased and live tracks (2001\u2019s Cuts From The Crypt<\/em>), a 1950s tribute album (2003\u2019s Project 1950<\/em>), and two live albums (1998\u2019s Evillive II<\/em> and 2013\u2019s Dead Alive!<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Only has not rested on his laurels, and even the departure of all other members of the 90s-resurrected Misfits has not sidelined one of punk\u2019s driving forces. It\u2019s this attitude that Only brings into Dead Alive!<\/em>, a live album entirely dedicated to the Misfits history since being exhumed and put back on the road in the mid 90s. <\/p>\n

In many ways, Dead Alive!<\/em> is an advertisement for the Misfits\u2019 2011 release The Devil\u2019s Rain<\/em>; recorded while touring in support of that album, the first half of this release is comprised of songs from that effort. The band on Dead Alive!<\/em> is the same that appeared on The Devil\u2019s Rain<\/em>; Only on bass and lead vocals, former Black Flag member Dez Cadena on guitar and vocals and ex-Murphy\u2019s Law drummer Eric \u201cChupacabra\u201d Arce. It\u2019s a line-up that has years of experience and punk rock credibility. The result is strong performances by all, and a live album that sounds much like the studio versions of most songs. <\/p>\n

Dead Alive!<\/em> opens with the title track from The Devil\u2019s Rain<\/em>, a mid-tempo rocker with a menacing edge. It\u2019s a good introduction to the current band\u2019s live sound, and the overall Misfits approach of making pop punk just slightly more dangerous. \u2018Vivid Red\u2019 follows up with the driving drumbeat that gives the \u2019Fits pop songs a hardcore edge.<\/p>\n

Many of the songs build on the obvious horror movie motifs the band is known for, such as \u2018Land Of The Dead\u2019, \u2018Dark Shadows\u2019, \u2018Shining\u2019 and \u2018American Psycho\u2019. Some of these are the band\u2019s best moments, with \u2018Land Of The Dead\u2019 being a horror pop masterpiece, showing that the Misfits are still capable of writing engaging songs. <\/p>\n

There are a lot of highlights on Dead Alive!<\/em>. \u2018Curse Of The Mummy\u2019s Hand\u2019 brings out one of Only\u2019s best vocal performances, and a surprisingly sophisticated guitar solo from Cadena. Jerry\u2019s clear, booming voice is a change from the throaty bass of Glenn Danzig or the tenor of Michale Graves. \u2018Curse Of The Mummy\u2019s Hand\u2019 shows Only stretching beyond a simple melody adding some well-placed yells and even a bit of grit to his performance. His take on Graves-era songs such as the full speed racket of \u2018American Psycho\u2019 and the creepy and powerful \u2018The Shining\u2019 is better than expected. Only has created a Misfits that is more fun than the original 1970s-1980s version, and it shows in this performance. <\/p>\n

The few shortcomings of this release come mostly in the final mix. Only\u2019s signature distorted bass is mixed loud, often drowning out the guitar and drums. Part of this is simply the fact that this is a live recording. While this is the case, these songs are listenable and enjoyable. The only song that falls flat is the cover of \u2018Science Fiction Double Feature\u2019 from The Rocky Horror Picture Show<\/em> (1975). The band doesn\u2019t add enough of their own special charm to this song to make it really fit well with the other tracks offered.<\/p>\n

Dead Alive!<\/em> is a great reminder that the Misfits are still an active force, and a tribute to the legacy Only has built since 1995. The Misfits should keep up the momentum they\u2019ve built since The Devil\u2019s Rain<\/em>. Dead Alive!<\/em> shows a band on top of their game, and given the band\u2019s limited touring schedule the last few years, is a treat for fans.<\/p>\n

Jim McDonald<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MISFITSDead Alive! Misfits (2013)Rating: 7\/10 Jerry Only is a man who just doesn\u2019t quit. When he revived the Misfits in 1995 with a new vocalist in Michale Graves and drummer Dr Chud it was assumed by many that this was a cash grab, and the new band was little more than a novelty act. Despite […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,534],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-misfits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10463"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12089,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10463\/revisions\/12089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}