So I started listening to the Misfits with Earth A.D. around 1985 and I thought that was the bomb. Around 86, I was able to get my hands on Legacy of Brutality. I think I listened to this record every day for years. Legacy of Brutality is the first Misfits record (yes record, I've got an original pressing) that I pick up even to this day.

From a historical perspective, Legacy of Brutality is really what a lot of people think when they think Misfits. This record basically defined them because it was the first full length LP you could buy (at least where I lived). Everything else was either bootlegs or EP like Die, Die, My Darling.

All the stuff on the new releases like Static Age, I only had as bootleg vinyl and it was tough to listen to on a regular basis becuase the quality was so bad. I don't know where I'd come down if I just heard the Misfits today. All I can say is that there is no other record that defines the Misfits more than Legacy of Brutality. On top of that songs like Attitude, Bullet, Last Caress, Die Die My Darling, London Dungeon, etc.. really fit in with the sound of Legacy of Brutality more so than the stuff from Earth A.D. So I'd say if you really wanted to capture the Misfits from both a musical and historical perspective, there's no better place to start than Legacy of Brutality.

The fact is that "Static Age" was and still is the album that most of these songs were intended for. It's been well documented--- they recorded the album (which they intended to call "Bullet") and then had no way of distributing it. Time passed, no one had the money and they settled for putting out an EP--- remixing 4 of the songs (Bullet/We Are 138/Hollywood Babylon/Attitude)and releasing them as the BULLET EP instead. All 4 of the songs, plus a remixed version "Last Caress" were released 2 years later on the British "Beware" EP along with two of the three songs from their next EP (Horror Business).

All of the above mentioned songs were eventually split between Misfits (now known as Collection 1) in 1986 and Collection 2 in 1995. In the years before those compilations were released, the entire Misfits catalog except for the Earth A.D. album had gone out of print by 1985. Meanwhile, their cult status was growing even after they ceased to exist. To cash in, Danzig (who ran Plan 9 on his own) released "Legacy Of Brutality"--- terribly mixed versions of many "Static Age" album tracks that had never been released (plus the electric version of "She" and "Spinal Remains" which were cut at the sessions but not intended to be on the album itself). The album is rounded out by a few later tracks (Where Eagles Dare/Who Killed Marilyn/Halloween/American Nightmare) which also get the terrible mix.

Danzig has always had a thing for tampering with the past (see his recreation of "Cough/Cool" on Collection 2) but this is the worst mixing job I've heard as far as I'm concerned. The reason this was and remains so popular is (1) it was the first Misfits release on CD and (2) Most of these songs had never been released prior to this in their original form so there was nothing to compare them to. As for the four post-"Static Age" tracks, all of them except "American Nightmare" had been released on various singles and EP's but they were printed in such limited quantities that few people had heard them. As of now, the only thing essential about this album is "American Nightmare". Beyond that, you can find better mixes of all of these tracks elsewhere. I'm not siding with Jerry Only over Danzig on this either. In my opinion, he's authorized plenty of shoddy, unnecessary remixes as well. The best way for everyone involved to honor the Misfits legacy would be to issue the songs the way they were meant to be on one chronological collection. It wouldn't be difficult--- lengthy discography aside, the Misfits really don't have that many songs and besides the legitimate albums (Static Age, Walk Among Us and Earth AD), the only things that need to be heard are those EP tracks and a couple of obscurities. Even the box set has some questionable tracks--- it's missing "Walk Among Us" (an absolutely essential album) and attempts to make up for it by substituting inferior remixes of many of the tracks (that one is at least understandable because they apparently don't own that album themselves).

The "Static Age" album was finally relased as it was originally intended on the box set in 1996 and as it's own disc the following year. After listening to it, I came to the conclusion that I never needed to hear "Legacy" again. Many people continue to praise this album as if they are alternate recordings to that first album but no...this is nothing but studio tampering. Why tamper with an album that doesn't need to be fixed? If he wanted to make the songs better, he failed miserably. This sounds so muddy compared to the original tapes that it's not even funny. The sickest thing is that Danzig got what he wanted--- by distorting the past, people now actually believe this to be a "real" album. I understand why some fans like this album because they grew up hearing this under the impression that it was an album in and of itself. Ultimately, he conned his own fans. When the revamped version of the band regained the rights to use the name, they did the same damn thing.

Unless you're a die-hard, skip this and instead go with "Static Age, "Walk Among Us" and the Collections. With the exception of a couple tracks on Collection 2 that have been tampered with, you'll hear what the original Misfits really sounded like. I think I'm being overly generous giving this one three stars but I'm doing so out of respect for the songs themselves, not the versions contained here.

Discography that is essential:

Cough Cool / She (organ version) 7" (both on box set disc 3)

Static Age + 3 outtakes (on the Static Age CD)

Bullet/Beware EP's (remixed from Static Age-- split between Collections 1 and 2)

Horror Business EP (split between Collections)

Night Of The Living Dead EP ( split between Collection 2 and Disc 3 on box set)

Three Hits From Hell EP (split between Collections)

Who Killed Marilyn?/Spook City USA 7" (solo Danzig single but sounds a lot like the Misfits--- out of print but on bootlegs)

Halloween / Halloween II 7" (both on Collection 2)

Walk Among Us (entire album)

Evilive (EP expanded into an album--- badly recorded but as a relic of the original live Misfits, it's worth a listen)

Earth AD (entire album)

Die, Die My Darling EP (on Earth A.D. CD and split between Collections)