Beware | ||||
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EP by the Misfits | ||||
Released | January 1980 | |||
Recorded | January 1978, January 1979, September 1979 | |||
Genre | Horror punk | |||
Length | 14:20 | |||
Label | Plan 9 | |||
Misfits chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Album of the Year | [2] |
Beware is the fifth release by the American punk rock band Misfits. First issued in January 1980, this EP combined the Misfits' previously released singles "Bullet" and "Horror Business", and was originally intended as a recording that the Misfits could bring with them on their tour of the United Kingdom with the British punk rock group the Damned in late 1979. Along with songs from "Bullet" and "Horror Business", Beware also includes the track "Last Caress", which had never been released previously.
In November 1979, the Misfits flew to the United Kingdom for a six-date tour with the Damned. [3] The Damned, having scheduled a different opening act for their tour, were not expecting their arrival, but the Misfits were added to the bill nonetheless. [3] After not receiving any payment for performing, the Misfits soon cancelled their remaining appearances on the tour. [3] [4] This was followed by the arrest of Misfits vocalist Glenn Danzig and then-Misfits guitarist Bobby Steele, who had been involved in a fight with a group of skinheads at the Rainbow Theatre in London on December 2, 1979. [5] [6] Danzig and Steele spent two nights in jail in Brixton, England, which inspired them to create the song "London Dungeon". [5]
Then-Misfits drummer Joey Image returned to the United States by himself on December 15, effectively quitting the band. [5] On December 18, the other members of the group flew back to their home state of New Jersey, where they produced Beware. [5] The title of the EP was derived from a series of road signs that the Misfits had come across while in London, which read "Beware Bollards". [5] The band, unfamiliar with the term "bollard", initially thought that it might refer to a cryptid such as their own Jersey Devil. [5] Originally planned as a record that the Misfits could bring with them on their tour with the Damned (they were not able to do so, as the cover artwork had not been completed in time), [5] Beware combined songs from the Misfits' previously issued singles "Bullet" and "Horror Business", except the latter's track "Children in Heat" was replaced by the song "Last Caress", which had never been released prior to Beware. [5]
Beware was the Misfits' only original UK release, [7] and was issued in the UK by Armageddon/Spartan Records and in the U.S. by the band's own label, Plan 9 Records. [8]
All tracks are written by Glenn Danzig.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "We Are 138" | 1:40 |
2. | "Bullet" | 1:37 |
3. | "Hollywood Babylon" | 2:17 |
4. | "Attitude" | 1:28 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Horror Business" | 2:42 |
2. | "Teenagers from Mars" | 2:41 |
3. | "Last Caress" | 1:55 |
Total length: | 14:20 |
The Misfits are an American punk rock band often recognized as the progenitors of the horror punk subgenre, blending punk and other musical influences with horror film themes and imagery. The group was founded in 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey, by vocalist, songwriter and keyboardist Glenn Danzig, and drummer Manny Martínez. Jerry Only joined on bass guitar shortly after. Over the next six years, membership would change frequently with Danzig and Only being the only consistent members. During this time period, they released several EPs and singles, and with Only's brother Doyle as guitarist, the albums Walk Among Us (1982) and Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood (1983), both considered touchstones of the early-1980s hardcore punk movement. The band has gone through many lineup changes over the years, with bassist Jerry Only being the only constant member in the group.
"Bullet" is the second single released by the horror punk band the Misfits. The four tracks comprising the EP were recorded, along with thirteen others, in early 1978 for the proposed Static Age album. When the band could not find a record label to release the album, they instead released four of the songs as "Bullet" on singer Glenn Danzig's label Plan 9 Records. The songs were re-released in different versions over subsequent years, until Static Age was finally released in its entirety in 1997.
"Horror Business" is the third single released by the American horror punk band Misfits. It was released on June 26, 1979 through vocalist Glenn Danzig's own label, Plan 9 Records, and is commonly said to have been inspired by the unsolved murder of Nancy Spungen. The B-side of the single features the songs "Teenagers from Mars" and "Children in Heat".
"Night of the Living Dead" is the fourth single by the horror punk band the Misfits. It was released on October 31, 1979, on singer Glenn Danzig's label Plan 9 Records. 2,000 copies of the single were pressed on black 7" vinyl. The night of its release the band performed at Irving Plaza in New York City and sold the single at the door.
Walk Among Us is the debut album by the American punk rock band Misfits, released in March 1982 by Ruby Records and its parent label Slash Records. It was the first full-length album to be released by the band, although it was the third to be recorded, after Static Age and 12 Hits from Hell. The recording sessions for Walk Among Us took place at multiple studios between June 1981 and January 1982, and the album also includes the track "Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight?", which was recorded live in New York City. The album features the single "Night of the Living Dead", which was released on October 31, 1979.
3 Hits from Hell is the sixth release by American horror punk band Misfits. The 7" EP was released in April 1981 via Plan 9 Records. While there was no actual insert, some of the first pressing included a Misfits Fiend Club ad.
Samhain was an American rock band formed by singer Glenn Danzig in 1983, immediately following his departure from Misfits. Samhain played in more of a deathrock and heavy metal-infused style of horror punk than Misfits. Glenn Danzig originally planned Samhain as a side project with Eerie Von. After the Misfits' contentious 1983 dissolution, Samhain became Danzig's full-time band. Samhain is the least-celebrated of Danzig's major musical outlets and catalogs a transitional period in his musical career, bridging the gap between the punk rock of the Misfits and the dark, heavy metal and blues-influenced sound of Danzig. Both Samhain and its successor, Danzig, use the same horned skull image originally drawn by artist Michael Golden for the cover of the 1984 comic book The Saga of Crystar No. 8, published by Marvel Comics. The font often used in the name logo of Samhain, and later Danzig, is taken from the film The Giant Gila Monster.
12 Hits from Hell is a cancelled studio album by the New Jersey horror punk band the Misfits. It was recorded in 1980 but went unreleased. Caroline Records attempted to release it in 2001, but band members Glenn Danzig and Jerry Only called off production and the album was scrapped.
Collection II, also known as Misfits II, a compilation album of songs by the American punk rock band Misfits. Released on November 14, 1995, it serves as a companion album to the band's previous compilation, Collection I. Both compilations collect all the early singles and the entire Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood album, and are meant to complement Walk Among Us and Legacy of Brutality with little overlap. All the early singles are supposed to be represented, although alternative versions of some songs are used instead of the original releases.
Static Age is an album by the American horror punk band Misfits, recorded in 1978. Although it was the first album the band ever recorded, it was not released in its entirety until 1996.
Misfits is a 1986 compilation album by the American punk rock band Misfits. Officially titled Misfits, but also known as Collection, Collection 1, or Collection I, the album features twenty songs by the band. The tracks include some of the group's early singles, as well as songs from their 1982 album Walk Among Us, their 1983 album Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood, and the 1985 compilation album Legacy of Brutality, which was curated exclusively by vocalist Glenn Danzig after the band had dissolved in 1983.
"Halloween" is the fifth single by the horror punk band the Misfits. It was released on October 31, 1981 on singer Glenn Danzig's label Plan 9 Records. 5,000 copies of the single were pressed on black 7-inch vinyl, some of which included a lyrics sheet. This was the first Misfits release to use their Famous Monsters of Filmland-inspired logo, as well as the first to refer to the band as simply "Misfits".
Bobby Steele is an American punk rock musician. He is the current guitar player, songwriter, and sole original member of punk band The Undead. He has been a member of multiple other bands, most notably, as the second guitarist of The Misfits. He was replaced by Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein. He married Diana Viar who joined The Undead in November 2014. They are both in the band RIP that started in 2013.
Joey Poole, known professionally as Joey Image, was an American punk rock drummer. He joined the Misfits in November 1978. He was the drummer for both the "Horror Business" and "Night of the Living Dead" sessions of 1979.
"We Are 138" is a song by the American punk rock band Misfits. Written by vocalist Glenn Danzig, the song was recorded in 1978 and released that same year on the band's single "Bullet", sharing the A-side with the title track. It was also included as the opening track on the Misfits' 1980 EP Beware, as well as the opening track on the 1995 compilation album Collection II. "We Are 138" was recorded with the intention of it being included on the band's proposed debut album Static Age, which remained unreleased in its entirety until 1996.
"Last Caress" is a song by American punk rock band Misfits, first released on their 1980 EP Beware. Written by vocalist Glenn Danzig, the song was later included on the compilation album Collection II, released in 1995, as well as on the album Static Age, which was recorded in 1978 but not released in its entirety until 1996.
"Teenagers from Mars" is a song by the American punk rock band Misfits. Written by vocalist Glenn Danzig, the song was first released as the B-side of the band's 1979 single "Horror Business", alongside the song "Children in Heat". "Teenagers from Mars" was later included on the Misfits' 1980 EP Beware, as well as on the 1986 compilation album Misfits. In 1996, when the band's proposed debut album Static Age first received an official release as part of the boxed set The Misfits, "Teenagers from Mars" was included as one of the tracks.
"London Dungeon" is a song by the American punk rock band Misfits. Released in 1981 on the Misfits' EP 3 Hits from Hell, the song was written by frontman and vocalist Glenn Danzig while in jail in Brixton, England with then-Misfits guitarist Bobby Steele. After having traveled to the United Kingdom for an ill-fated tour with the British punk rock group the Damned in late 1979, Danzig and Steele were arrested for their involvement in a fight, inspiring them to create the song.
"Attitude" is a song by the American punk rock band Misfits. Written by frontman and vocalist Glenn Danzig, the song was recorded and first released in 1978 on the B-side of the band's single "Bullet". It was also included on the Misfits' 1980 EP Beware, as well as on the 1995 compilation album Collection II. "Attitude" was originally intended to be included on the band's proposed debut album Static Age, and it remained included when the album was eventually released in its entirety in 1996.