The Misfits

The Misfits: Static AgeStatic Age (1997)
The Misfits

Reviewer Rating: 5

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Contributed by: FuckYouOiOiOiFuckYouOiOiOi
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on December 22nd 2006The legend of Static Age goes like this: In 1977/1978, Mercury Records gave the Misfits 30 hours of studio time so they could use the name 'Blank Records' (which the Misfits had the rights to). Although this was very little time, the band knew what they wanted to record and how they wanted it to sou.

The legend of Static Age goes like this: In 1977/1978, Mercury Records gave the Misfits 30 hours of studio time so they could use the name 'Blank Records' (which the Misfits had the rights to). Although this was very little time, the band knew what they wanted to record and how they wanted it to sound, so they recorded 17 songs and mixed 14 of them. At the time, the record was not released since no majors would touch it. So, over the next few years, the songs were released on various EPs (most of which are now out of print and worth thousands of dollars). 20 years later, in 1997, Static Age was finally released, all 17 songs, with a couple pages of liner notes.

The title track kicks off the album and right away you know what you're in for: dark, disturbing, yet strangely catchy and accessible punk rock. The mighty Glen Danzig has a deeply mysterious voice. I read somewhere a comparison of his distinct vocals to Jim Morrison's (the Doors). This is a very accurate comparison -- if Jim Morrison were in a punk band, he'd sound like Danzig. Next up is the droning "TV Casualty;" this one sounds like zombies are performing it (which is exactly what the Misfits intended). The next 11 songs are all mind-blowingly awesome, classic, punk rock songs. "Some Kinda Hate" takes us back to the days of the Ramones, while "Last Caress" is one of my favourite songs ever -- every time I hear Danzig sing that opening line ("I got somethin' to say!)" it puts a smile (or evil grin?) on my face. Then, I continuously bop my head until the short break near the end -- and when Danzig slowly sings "...oooone last caaarrrresssss!" that grin reappears, wider than ever.

Next up is the spooky "Return of the Fly, " a classic Misfits sound. "Hybrid Moments" is my second favourite song on the record; I wish the chorus would go on forever, but it's only a minute-and-a-half long and whenever I hear that speeded up drum beat at the end, I'm itching to press repeat. But there's no time because the next song is the classic "We Are 138" -- another zombie-trance-like Misfits song with three fast chords (and a short solo). "Teenagers from Mars" is great with its drudging verse and upbeat, Ramones-esque chorus.

"Come Back" slows things down and reasserts that dark, mysterious mood the Misfits are known for. "Angelfuck" is a song everybody's heard and it warms my heart every time it comes on. "Hollywood Babylon" is rockabilly at its finest and the end is delightfully abrupt. "Attitude" ("you got some fuckin' attitude!") is my third favourite song on this record; Danzig is being extremely cavalier in this song. "Bullet" is about a dead Kennedy (not the band).

"Theme for a Jackal" has a piano on it, while "She" and "Spinal Remains" are both very rocking songs. The last song is "In the Doorway" and it wasn't released for twenty years. Actually, that's not the last song...there's about 10 minutes at the end of uncut studio bloopers -- a 20-year-old relic.

So in short, this record fucking rules. Like most punkers, I went through my Misfits-obsessed stage at one point and grew out of it...slightly. You don't need black clothes and a devillock haircut to feel the evil joy of this record.

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

bigmfjose (April 5, 2012)

Greatest record of all time for me.

Fiend71 (November 13, 2009)

Static Age is my favorite Misfits record. It's liek a greatest hits album. I love every song on here with "Teenagers from Mars", "We are 138", "TV Casualties", and "Last Caress" beoing my favorites. Misfits rule.

TheGuwumpkis (October 8, 2008)

if your gonna scream, scream with me.....
this record changed my life.

505Misfit (May 4, 2008)

Sum Kinda Hate is the Best SOng Out there. . . . Like they say In Astro Zombies "ALL I WANT TO KNNNOOWW" Is when are they going to FUCK'n do a Reunion Tour?? Im tired of hearing this off the Cd i want to Hear this live!!!!

tricklin (December 26, 2007)

"The problem with this one for me isn't in the songs, it's that the bass is waaaay too loud."

That's because Jerry Only is a douchebag.

That said, this is an amazing album - it should have been one of the quitessential punk albums of the 70's had it not seen official release until the late 90's. This album could have made the Misfits one of the forerunners of the punk movement, instead of being a cult band. Still, amazing from beginning to end.

Also, Mr. Jim was the Misfits' best drummer.

Anonymous (December 30, 2006)

Jerry Only is a bald little fat guy and talks like a little bitch (some would think he is gay with his high pitch voice)..

Misfits "two thumbs up" (Danzig)
FakeFits "Some one shove a cock up Jerry's as please"

Anonymous (December 26, 2006)

This record gets 5 stars just because of Last Caress.

But really. A fucking brilliant album.

Anonymous (December 25, 2006)

Jerry's catholic. I think it's pretty amazing that Doyle and Danzig made ammends, seems like once you're Danzig's enemy, you always will be.

BrandonSideleau (December 25, 2006)

I don't see why you would enjoy this better at 15 considering the man who wrote the whole album (need I say who?) was 23 at the time it was recorded. There are dark, violent undertones to many of the cartoonish Misfits songs....and I think that's where the band split- Jerry and Doyle were into cartoonish movie stuff and Glenn want to scare people for real, not just for kicks. Samhain is the perfect example of this, as is Earth AD- the lyrics (for the MOST part) deal with psychological and real-life horror disguised metaphorically.

Anonymous (December 25, 2006)

"Great album. A little better when you're 15 but it still fuckin rocks."

eh! beg to disagree: i'm begrudginly in the latter part of my 20s and it's appeal hasn't diminished

Anonymous (December 25, 2006)

and was that first paragraph plagerized from said liner notes?

Anonymous (December 25, 2006)

"It's definitely more punk than most.
-Adam not logged in due to being lazy"

No, because punk means something more than just intelligent rebellion.

Anonymous (December 24, 2006)

That was the most grown up thing you've ever said WIll.

Anonymous (December 24, 2006)

Well, almost all forms of popular music deal with drug use. But not most music goes so far as to glorify drug dealing and idiocy of that nature. Sure as hell not punk (then again, you are a Casualties fan).

Anyway, it's X-Mas Eve so there's no reason to be arguing on a messageboard. Have a good one.

-Will

FuckYouOiOiOi (December 24, 2006)

the good punk bands sing about doing drugs.

Anonymous (December 24, 2006)

"It's definitely more punk than most.
-Adam not logged in due to being lazy"

Now, see, this is where I disagree. My favorite punk bands don't sing about dealing drugs and objectifying women. As far as I know, most DIY punk has nothing to do with that.

-Will

Anonymous (December 24, 2006)

"Oh man, the rapping was great.

"Call me subwoofer, 'cause I pump 'base'"

"My grind's 'bout family, never been about fame
From days I wasn't 'Abel/able,' there was always 'Cain/caine'"

"I move caine like a criple"

And from We Got It 4 Cheap Vol 2:

"Black hands, white keys / I've seen this, I'm Ray / Got more white in the hood than the KKK. The Grand Wizard of the all might blizzard"

COME ON. That rules."

i think those lines are kind of trite and played out. and the flow sounded weak as fuck to me. i seriously just can't figure out the hype around that band.

Anonymous (December 24, 2006)

It's definitely more punk than most.
-Adam not logged in due to being lazy

Anonymous (December 24, 2006)

Oh great, more thugged-out bullshit about dealing drugs. Yes, truly more deserving a review than the Misfits.

-Will

Adam_K (December 23, 2006)

"ok, maybe i need to actually listen to it, but i remember that "grindin'" song a few years ago, and it had this fantastic beat and the most generic, dull rapping imaginable. so maybe their other stuff is better, but i've always been baffled by the huge internet hype around them."

Oh man, the rapping was great.

"Call me subwoofer, 'cause I pump 'base'"

"My grind's 'bout family, never been about fame
From days I wasn't 'Abel/able,' there was always 'Cain/caine'"

"I move caine like a criple"

And from We Got It 4 Cheap Vol 2:

"Black hands, white keys / I've seen this, I'm Ray / Got more white in the hood than the KKK. The Grand Wizard of the all might blizzard"

COME ON. That rules.

Anonymous (December 23, 2006)

""what's up with this sudden hipster love for shitty mainstream rappers like Young Jeezy and The Clipse? why does Pitchfork keep giving that shit like, 9.5/10 reviews? is it on a purely ironic level or something, and everybody's just buying into it?"

The Clipse are definitely not "shitty mainstream rappers." They had one hit like four years ago and fell of the face of the world due label drama. The internet loves the Clipse, and hipsters use the internet. It had to happen.

As for Jeezy, I'm pretty sure they're into irony.

But really, Hell Hath No Fury is like the best record ever."

ok, maybe i need to actually listen to it, but i remember that "grindin'" song a few years ago, and it had this fantastic beat and the most generic, dull rapping imaginable. so maybe their other stuff is better, but i've always been baffled by the huge internet hype around them.

R3venge_Therapy (December 23, 2006)

a classic Misfits sound. "Hybrid Moments" is my second favourite song on the record
youre not fucking british.

ahahahahah I thought the same thing!

rkl (December 23, 2006)

a classic Misfits sound. "Hybrid Moments" is my second favourite song on the record
youre not fucking british.

killedbythebull (December 23, 2006)

one of the best punk records, ever

Anonymous (December 23, 2006)

great record. terrible review.

Anonymous (December 23, 2006)

you know, this little punknews org clique just always destroys oioioi whenever he posts something, you woud think the little 13 year old would just give up on posting

misfits rule, jersey rules, period

Phantom_Maggot (December 23, 2006)

Great album. A little better when you're 15 but it still fuckin rocks. And I agree with K below...12 Hits From Hell is the best Misfits release. If you can find it on-line (cuz you won't in stores) do yourself a favor and check it out.

Anonymous (December 23, 2006)

okay oioioi queer what ever you say you aint no punk youre just a fucking poser faggit

Anonymous (December 23, 2006)

I think the album is fucking sick cuz I mean cum on now its the fucking misfits man

Anonymous (December 23, 2006)

"My name is FuckYouOiOiOi and I am the punkest mother fucker on this website."

Anonymous (December 22, 2006)

If you can find the unreleased 12 Hits From Hell anywhere, get it immediately. It takes the more driving punk rock formula of Walk Among Us and combines it with the crunchier, slightly more complicated guitar style of Static Age. Plus, I think it has the best overall selection of songs on it. The only downside is that it doesn't include All Hell Breaks Loose. It does, however, include Where Eagles Dare.

-K

theyounginfluential (December 22, 2006)

I could get blasted for this but....
Walk Among Us>Static Age

FuckYouOiOiOi (December 22, 2006)

young jeezy is just thug shit to blast through subs while you're driving around smoking weed.

and its punk as fuck to fake a british accent soo...

Adam_K (December 22, 2006)

"what's up with this sudden hipster love for shitty mainstream rappers like Young Jeezy and The Clipse? why does Pitchfork keep giving that shit like, 9.5/10 reviews? is it on a purely ironic level or something, and everybody's just buying into it?"

The Clipse are definitely not "shitty mainstream rappers." They had one hit like four years ago and fell of the face of the world due label drama. The internet loves the Clipse, and hipsters use the internet. It had to happen.

As for Jeezy, I'm pretty sure they're into irony.

But really, Hell Hath No Fury is like the best record ever.

feeeding5000 (December 22, 2006)

I asked if he was Canadian because FuckYouOiOiOi sure as hell wouldn't be from any other Commonwealth country. The vocals on Teh Revolt are most definitely North American accented. Maybe the review was edited by a Canadian staff member (only saying Canadian because, again, http://www.punknews.co.uk/)

Mute98 (December 22, 2006)

amen to the someone two posts below me, i dont get it eithe

score is a combo b/w the misfits, gangsta rap, and teh revolt

Anonymous (December 22, 2006)

This is a great album. It would be cool if the band resolved their differences and re-mastered/re-released it with more liner notes and pictures and stuff. I have yet to grow out of my love for the Misfits. They just rule.

This review was mediocre.

Anonymous (December 22, 2006)

what's up with this sudden hipster love for shitty mainstream rappers like Young Jeezy and The Clipse? why does Pitchfork keep giving that shit like, 9.5/10 reviews? is it on a purely ironic level or something, and everybody's just buying into it?

Anonymous (December 22, 2006)

you can so tell that jerry only wrote all of the tunes on this album.

sincerely,
dez cadena

Adam_K (December 22, 2006)

Doesn't everyone already know how much this rules?

There's kids out there that don't know much the new Clipse rules though.

Anonymous (December 22, 2006)

great album, but walk among us is my misfits of choice.

Anonymous (December 22, 2006)

Yeah, Bullet is real serious....MASTURBATE ME!

Anonymous (December 22, 2006)

And are you Canadian? Because you spelled "favorite", "favourite".
-feeeding5000

Or British, or Australian, or any other English speaking nation except USA.

Anonymous (December 22, 2006)

It was probably the "pussies" line that made people think you were sexist, not Danzig and the line from the song.

And where's the Hilary Duff review? Still waiting in the queue?

Is "Bullet" the only serious Misfits song?

Anonymous (December 22, 2006)

And are you Canadian? Because you spelled "favorite", "favourite".
-feeeding5000

Anonymous (December 22, 2006)

Hey...Just wanted to let you know that I'm gonna rewrite the Teh Revolt review this weekend, so hopefully it'll be up tuesday. Anyway, why review this? I do "classic" albums, but at this point I try to get the more overlooked releases, rather than the big name bands. This far into your, ahem, "career", shouldn't you be branching out?
-feeeding5000

Anonymous (December 22, 2006)

do you really smile like an idiot everytime you hear last caress? ahhhh, i'm jus messin witcha... great album. JERSEY!!!!

strangenotes (December 22, 2006)

Love it.

Anonymous (December 22, 2006)

misspelling danzig's first name is like super-punx. almost as punx as avril lavigne mispronouncing david bowie's last name at the grammies.

Anonymous (December 22, 2006)

earth ad is soooooo much better than these songs on this album. besides samhain does it way better. thats a no brainer. embrace the devil with samhain. sing about movies with the misfits.

SlackMFr (December 22, 2006)

This review is horrible. I agree that record is good, but do we really care what your 1st, 2nd & 3rd favorite songs on the album are? Not really, it doesn't explain anything about the music. I do get the feel that the reviewer loves the album, but this is written like we should care how much they love it and that does NOTHING to entice people to listen. Also, "Hollywood Babylon" is rockabilly? Not Really. They say, "Theme For A Jackal has piano in it." ...and? If you're going to go track by track, explain something worthwhile about them, don't just mention them for the hell of it.

Danzig sounds more like the punk rock Elvis than Jim Morrisson.

Better luck next time.

C-

joeg (December 22, 2006)

i always used to think walk among us was the misfits masterpiece. i then picked this up and changed my mind fairly quickly. i realized with walk among us, i'd always skip over 1 or 2 songs but i could put this whole record on repeat and not think twice about it. there's just so much more variety here and nearly all of them are insanely catchy punk gems.

MikeStupid (December 22, 2006)

Great review, album, band, etc. Pretty fucking close to a flawless record.

MrStylson (December 22, 2006)

if you'd used "liberal commies" instead of "pussies" it would've worked better.

FuckYouOiOiOi (December 22, 2006)

really, the only major difference is one line:

'Attitude'("you got some fuckin attitude") is my third favourite song on this record- Danzig is being extremely cavalier in this song. With lyrics like "If you don't shut your mouth you're gonna feel the floor", some people would call it sexist but those people are pussies."

oh yeah, there was a shitty little introduction at the beginning:

"Static Age by the Misfits is one of the greatest punk records ever. Everybody who likes punk rock should own it.

Godfather (December 22, 2006)

hey fuckyouoioioi, post the uncensored review!

Anonymous (December 22, 2006)

what a fucking biased review

FuckYouOiOiOi (December 22, 2006)

and whats up with taking out that line about the 'sexism' in Attitude?!?

FuckYouOiOiOi (December 22, 2006)

hey, i just wrote this review like two days ago, i wasn't expecting to see it up so quickly. i guess that means my Bomb Squadron review won't be posted.

i like that little edit at the end "...slightly". hahaha.

ilikepunkrock (December 22, 2006)

One of the greatest CDs ever. Glenn Danzig has went downhill but still writes some pretty good songs.

MrStylson (December 22, 2006)

the best record the misfits (and just danzig in general) ever made or will make. it's simply a masterpiece.

Anonymous (December 22, 2006)

Never was quite that into the Misfits, but like all their records (well, when they were actually the Misfits).

The problem with this one for me isn't in the songs, it's that the bass is waaaay too loud. Same problem with the Ramones reissues where they pumped up Dee Dee's bass for no apparent reason (I have the original records, and they're much more guitar heavy).

-Will

Godfather (December 22, 2006)

danzig-era misfits is untouchable

Cos (December 22, 2006)

Hands down my favorite (favourite...ha ha Canadians) thing the Misfits ever put down. Static Age illustrates my theory about the Misfits being the best art-punk band ever. They own Wire. While most punk bands do one thing badly, the Misfits do 4 or 5 things badly. The drone rock, the Jim Morrison thing, the Elvis thing, the weird piano 50's horror thing, proto-hardcore... there's so much variety on one album by some boneheads from Jersey. I'm still amazed by this album. Genius.

Anonymous (December 22, 2006)

I mean this in the least offensive way possible.....but that review was kinda ghee.