By DJ Astrocreep
Anniversary edition albums are ones I often avoid, as the tendency to cash in doing so is a level of cynicism I’m wary of, but the chance of hearing a remastered release of an album I’m quite fond of is a quite different matter.
The original ‘How To Make A Monster’ was Electric Frankenstein’s first for Victory Records’ all those years ago, so it makes good sense for it to be the re-release confirming them as a returning band, with their 30th anniversary not too far off – even if the number of line up changes over the years would give Spinal Tap a run for their money! On the first listen through, the memories of hearing this a number of years ago come flooding back. I’d been listening to The Misfits in work, not long after starting as a DJ, and spoke with a native New Yorker who was in early, ending up having a brief chat with him while not having much else to do, wherein he recommended these guys to me. Man, was I glad of that conversation!
Back to the modern day, the songs sound as good as ever and the remastering has taken off a touch of the rawness without harming any of the feel of the release, with the Punk heart of band still beating as fiercely as ever.
There are no extra cuts, demos or anything of the like included – which I’m actually very OK with, in this circumstance – with the focus of the release being solely on bringing this record up to date and giving the band some impetus from which to spring into a tour and some new material, which, for me, is a pretty good reason. Is it cynical? Maybe a touch, but I would say far less so than including a couple of rough demos or live versions that I’ve seen some bands do while charging several times what the original album was around for, which is not the case here. The Punk spirit remains and the attitude is as spiky and in your face as ever. Very much on the Rock side of Punk, as they always have been, this release would be worth adding into the collection of anyone who are already aware of a band that should have been pushing The Misfits for levels of popularity, certainly in terms of talent and songwriting ability, as well as those into their punk, hard rock and genres that sit around the edges of those, who is looking for something to add a lot of zest into their life.
‘How To Make A Monster’ is released today (Friday 21 June). You can get your copy HERE.
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