Land of the Dead

[Gabriel]

Yesterday, the 27th of October, saw the release of the single Land of the Dead (with b-side Twilight of the Dead). This is the first original material released by the band since the compilation album Cuts from the Crypt in 2001, and the first recorded original material since the sessions for 1999's Famous Monsters.

I went into this without any expectations, and I enjoy the songs. Right now, they don't seem like classics. They don't feel like songs like Astro Zombies or Dig Up Her Bones. I don't feel like I'll be singing these songs when I find myself alone and without any music.

Who knows though, they may turn out to be just like those other songs, and I might end up screaming them into people's ears in a few months or years. They are catchy, for sure.

Taking a look at what songs Jerry Only wrote on the Famous Monsters album helps to show where these new ones come from, and make no mistake, they ARE a natural progression from what last was released. Dust to Dust, Living Hell, Descending Angel, Them! and Hunting Humans are all Jerry Only penned tracks from Famous Monsters, and these two new songs follow in a similar tone.

I definitely would have preferred the band to have found a legitimate vocalist for the new recordings, and maybe they still will before they release the new album... but Jerry's competent enough that I can forgive the lack of a new singer, as long as the rest of the new material that's coming is at least as good as Land of the Dead.

Anybody else heard the new songs? If so, thoughts?

[(həd)]

Listened to them, haven't bothered to buy them. They don't really do much for me. It's cool Only is making music, but it's nothing special.

In other news, I've been giving Michale Grave' live acoustic album a good play the last few days. What was the falling out between him and Only about? I read it was just 'turmoil', but was it anything major? He was good on American Psycho and Famous Monsters, and I'd love to have him back rather than Only singing.

edit: bah, I just read a Graves interview where he said the problem wasn't between he and Only, it was between him, Doyle and Chud.

'Jerry and I do not have a dysfunctional working relationship. Him and I both know and I know he knows that I am on board. It is a phone call away. I won't step back into what I walked away from, but the problem isn't with Jerry and I. The problem is with Doyle and with Chud.'

That was September last year. Chud and Doyle aren't even in the band anymore. Graves as frontman again would be awesome.

Edited November 4, 2009 by (həd)

[Gabriel]

To me, these new songs feel like a natural progression from what they did on Famous Monsters... and if you look at the songs Jerry wrote without the other members for that album, the quality is about the same.

Which Live Acoustic is that? Illusions Live/Viretta Park has got to be my favorite acoustic album of all time, but Graves has a new one out called Halifax. Live Acoustic again, but he mixes up the setlist.

If I recall correctly, when Michale left the band, he and Chud did so because Jerry was taking a love it or leave it approach to the band. After they quit the band, Graves did some guest spots on the 25th Anniversary Tour.

Since then, he stopped talking to Doyle, who was going through a divorce and his own personal issues with Jerry... Chud sued Graves and a couple of his friends over some ridiculous things and burned that bridge... but Mikey did an interview about a week ago talking about how he and Chud have buried the hatchet. They haven't settled the issue about who owns the Web of Dharma album yet, but they're friends again and would love to work together. He's also been talking to Doyle again a lot, and has listened to the new Gorgeous Frankenstein material, which he says is fantastic. Of course, it's just instrumentals at this point, but if Graves endorses it, then I am excited.

As of right now, Jerry Only is happy with the band being a three piece, but we'll see. The response to the new songs has been overwhelmingly "meh". People like them enough, and they're catchy enough, but nobody is really happy with them. Robo was having some visa issues again, and it's looking like Jerry might actually be seeking out a new drummer and vocalist at some point.

Keep an eye out for what Graves is up to though... he's been dropping hints about something big going down. Danzig and Gorgeous Frankenstein play in New York in December, and Graves has hinted that he's going to be there, will be meeting Danzig, and that something big will be announced. General consensus is that Graves will be the new singer for Gorgeous Frankenstein, which at last count was Doyle, Chud and Argyle Goolsby... essentially the 90's Misfits with a younger, better songwriter on bass. Now, I'm excited for this, but at the same time, Goolsby is one of my favorite horror punk vocalists, and he was supposed to be the guy to do the vocals on the second album... so... I don't know how to feel about it exactly. We'll see, I guess, how it turns out.

Also, Graves spent some time the past year touring with Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg... they didn't release anything, but there is a full show live audio somewhere, and a bunch of videos on YouTube.