The Misfits- Walk Among Us

Despite having five years' worth of releases already, Walk Among Us was the first full-length album to be released by the Misfits, way back in 1982, the year before the band would split up.  By this time, the band's image and sound were both fully in place, with band members sporting the devilock hairstyle, lyrics which made references to all kinds of horror and sci-fi movies, Glenn's vocals, and Jerry's growling bass tone.  The album also features what is arguably the "classic" line-up of the Misfits: Glenn Danzig- vocals, Jerry Only- bass guitar, Arthur Googy- drums, and Doyle- guitar. 

Cover of LP reissue from Rhino Records

Comprised of thirteen songs and clocking in at a total of about 24 minutes, Walk Among Us is a no-nonsense affair.  This is an album without filler.  Of course, there is the odd inclusion of a live recording of "Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight" right in the middle of the album, even though there hadn't even been a studio version released at this point.  Somehow it works, though.  For one, it is a damn good song.  For two, it is sandwiched between a slew of classics.  You've got "20 Eyes", "I Turned Into a Martian", "Astro Zombies", "Vampira", "Hate Breeders", "All Hell Breaks Loose", and so on.  The band even made a video for the album's final track, "Braineaters", which is a perfect representation of the band at that time: deranged, memorable, and just plain fun.

Back cover of LP reissue from Rhino Records

For somebody looking to get into the Misfits, Walk Among Us is possibly the best place to start.  If you can't dig this one, I just don't think you'll really ever get into the band.  For many, it is the band's finest hour, or half hour, anyway.  It is easy to understand why-- the songs are memorable and nearly impossible not to sing along to.  The horror/sci-fi imagery gives it a unique vibe and appeals to us horror fans.  There just really wasn't another record like it at the time and there still really isn't, despite how many bands have tried.

The cover art is eye-grabbing and somehow both stark and colorful at the same time.  Of course, depending on which edition of the album you have, the color scheme varies, which is also one of the things I find rather interesting about the record.  If you got it on CD, the cover was shrunken down and surrounded by a black border for some reason.  Even more strangely, the CD edition included a band photo from 1979 with a different guitar player and drummer, rather than one from 1981 or 1982 reflecting the correct line-up.

Cover of LP reissue from Earache Records

When I was getting into the band, it was the early '90s, so the band was nearly a decade dead and most of the original releases were long since out of print.  Walk Among Us was one of the few releases that you could find, period, but it was also the only one still available at the time that had actually come out during the band's existence.  From what I remember, at that time, Walk Among Us was available on cassette and CD; the self-titled compilation was on cassette, CD, and LP; Evilive (the long version, not the original 7" version) was available on cassette, Legacy of Brutality was on cassette, CD, and LP, Earth A.D. was available on cassette and briefly on CD, as well as the two separate releases: Earth A.D./Wolfsblood and Die, Die My Darling on LP.  Of course, Earth A.D/Wolfsblood and Die, Die My Darling were the final regular studio releases by the band, but both actually came out after the band had already broken up.  After that, there would be some compilations as well as the long-delayed release of Static Age, the band's first full-length recording, which had been released in parts only to that point, but even that was still a few years down the road.  

CD edition with its pointless black border around the cover image

At that time, I had no idea how long the band had existed, who all had been in the band, what all was in its discography, or what the hell Glenn was singing most of the time.  Then I found Misfits Central.  At the time, it was pretty much the best source of information about the Misfits and all the related bands, such as Samhain, Danzig, Kryst the Conqueror, and the Undead.  I finally had a complete discography listing, as well as lyrics (although I didn't realize at the time how many of them were actually just people's guesses at what Glenn was saying).  It was quite a revelation.  Prior to finding Misfits Central, the Misfits had been so obscure and mysterious, almost as if the band had just appeared out of nowhere one day, then just faded out of existence, leaving behind only Glenn, who by the time I heard the Misfits was in the thick of releasing the classic early Danzig records.  

These days, Walk Among Us is available quite readily in a few different editions, including records which retain most of the original packaging design, including the lyrics, something that was sorely missing from the CD and cassette editions that were available in the '90s.  Rhino Records re-released it on record a good few years back, first with the standard black vinyl, followed later by various color variants.  More recently, Earache Records re-released it on record, also with variant colors, alhough the Earache pressing replaced the photo collage on the inner sleeve with the Crimson Ghost skull.

Put simply, there is really no excuse to not have this album in your collection.