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Samhain

Initium
1984
Plan 9 / Caroline

Samhain - Initium (Cover Artwork)

Review by: BrandonSideleau
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Published on December 26th 2006

As many/most of you do/should know, Samhain was Glenn Danzig's "mid-era" band, bridging the gap between the collapse of the Misfits and what would eventually become the Danzig that we know today. While today it appears that Samhain was Danzig's "underappreciated and forgotten" band, the truth is the during their existence Samhain was a much bigger band than the original Misfits were. And this doesn't come without good reason! With Samhain Glenn effectively strips his songs of the cartoonish horror film qualities of the Misfits, yet remains very physical and abrasive in delivery. Their first release, 1984's Initium, is a timeless classic of gothic punk/hardcore. The songs here are darker and deal more with real-life horrors than the songs of the Misfits. That is, however, not a cut to the Misfits who, in their own way, were one of the greatest hardcore bands of all time.

This explosive and chilling album opens with the two-part (half-spoken/half-song) "Initium/Samhain." Here we already see Glenn experimenting with things he never did with the Misfits: creepy background noises, distortion, etc. The second song, "Black Dream" is where the album really begins to take off; it is immediately evident that Danzig is going to survive just fine without Jerry Only and Co.

A dark, potent mix of hardcore, punk and metal, this album is literally one of the first true "death metal" albums. Goofy (in an endearing way) splatter-fest songs like "All Murder, All Guts, All Fun" and "He Who Cannot Be Named" prove that Glenn is still not without the sense of humor that ruled his former band. My favorite song on the album (and my favorite of Samhain's entire lineup) is the intense and punishing "Howl," a song that easily holds its own in the 10 greatest punk-metal songs of all time. The album closes with the brilliant "Archangel," a song originally written by Glenn for the Damned's Dave Vanian, a collaboration that never reached fruition, apparently due to Dave's busy scehdule.

This is a MUST HAVE for any fan of dark music and even for those who don't really care for Danzig's other work. Regardless of how you feel about his later stuff or the man himself, this album remains brilliant.

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Posted by thirtyseconds on 2006-12-28 16:31:36

"Stick a sausage up your ass and then eat it. Try the other hole. Lick shit off a toilet seat in a truck stop.

Lick my diseased sex organ, which is surrounded by flies, coated in dogshit, and seething with pus and lymphatic secretions"

Mmmm... what?

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, December 28, 2006 at 12:29 AM (EST)

I heard it was "Sow-in"

-xWillx

Posted by BrandonSideleau on 2006-12-27 18:03:23

It's actually pronounced "So-Wen" but Danzig doesn't seem to mind the mispronunciation , as I've seen people say it as such in mulitple interviews....on time a man even asked Danzig what the correct way to say it was and Danzig said that even he used the "samhain" over "so-wen"......I saw Danzig a month ago and he said "Samhain" when opening the Samhain set...so I don't think it matters much to him.

Posted by iknownothing on 2006-12-27 16:23:21

Both the Misfits and Samhain may be the best bands to ever play amplified music on the face of the earth, but I hate Danzig too much to ever give them a chance.

Posted by feeeding5000 on 2006-12-27 14:01:04

Just so everyone knows, and they don't go up to Danzig, and go, "Hey, Samhain was awesome" and the get punched in the chest: it's actually pronounced "Sau-den" or something to that effect.

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, December 27, 2006 at 1:33 PM (EST)

SAMHAIN = best Danzig project. yeah
-Janelle

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, December 27, 2006 at 1:25 AM (EST)

Admit it, twerps. You assholes prefer the really evil bands like AFI and the Alkaline Trio.

Stick a sausage up your ass and then eat it. Try the other hole. Lick shit off a toilet seat in a truck stop.

Lick my diseased sex organ, which is surrounded by flies, coated in dogshit, and seething with pus and lymphatic secretions.

Get a life. Fuck you all, I'm 50.

Posted by BrandonSideleau on 2006-12-26 20:09:39
My Score:

Wow....I submitted this like 4 months ago haha.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 at 6:55 PM (EST)

I meant twice ass old and twice as small. My bad

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 at 6:55 PM (EST)

Well I am not exactly gonna make a big deal about the North Side Kings thing because Glenn Danzig is over 50. How much props do you deserve for kicking someones ass who is twice as young and twice the size. All that aside, Glenn Danzig is a legend and that huge fucking Ogre is just some big guy in a mediocre to somewhat terrible band.

Posted by Godfather on 2006-12-26 16:08:46
My Score:

i would give anything to get my ass kicked by danzig!

Posted by rkl on 2006-12-26 12:47:52

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 at 11:49 AM (EST)

can we get any more biased?
i mean, come on.. 5 stars??
From the review submission FAQ... # Five stars is for the classics; think about whether you can imagine yourself listening to this in five years. Or Ten years. Some albums (like Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables or Milo Goes to College) have stood the test of time, and deserve that rating. A band that has been around for five minutes probably doesn't... yet.

This album has been around for 20 years. It has stood the test of time.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 at 11:49 AM (EST)

can we get any more biased?
i mean, come on.. 5 stars??

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 at 11:41 AM (EST)
My Score:

Samhain was great. I watch their dvd often. I think Glenn should re-release their cds though because the box set is out of print I think.

Posted by Holy_Balls on 2006-12-26 03:24:23

Could you use more genres to explain this band? Because I dont think I know what kind of music they are. Excellent?

Posted by primeevil7 on 2006-12-26 03:12:53

I enjoy Danzig's material with the Misfits, but after 2006, he'll be forever remembered in my mind as Glenn "I should be able to kill someone if they fuck with me" Danzig.

Posted by sXenester on 2006-12-26 01:09:46

Just to get it out of the way-

North Side Kings.