12 Hits from Hell
Encyclopedia
12 Hits From Hell is a cancelled studio album by 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.
In August 1980 the Misfits recorded twelve songs at Master Sound Productions studios with the intention of releasing a full-length album. The band's lineup at this time included singer
Glenn Danzig, guitarist
Bobby Steele
, bassist
Jerry Only, and drummer
Arthur Googy
. During the sessions Only was grooming his younger brother Doyle
to join the band, and Doyle recorded his own guitar tracks and overdubs separately in addition to Steele's. The tracks were mixed in September, but in October Steele was ejected from the band in favor of Doyle and the planned album was scrapped. Five of the songs were released in 1981, with "London Dungeon", "Horror Hotel", and "Ghouls Night Out" being released as 3 Hits from Hell
while the "Halloween" single included both "Halloween" and "Halloween II". The band used the remainder of the recordings as demos for their 1982 album Walk Among Us
.
The Misfits broke up in 1983, but after a series of legal battles in the late 1980s and early 1990s Only and Doyle regained the rights to record and perform as the Misfits, sharing merchandising rights with Danzig, who holds writing credits on all of the Misfits material written between 1977 and 1983. Only and Doyle formed a new incarnation of the band and released two albums during the 1990s. During the intervening years several of the tracks from the August 1980 sessions were released in various mixes on compilation albums: "Where Eagles Dare" and "Halloween" appeared on Legacy of Brutality
(1985), "Night of the Living Dead", "Vampira", "Skulls" and "Astro Zombies" appeared on Misfits (1986), and "Horror Hotel", "Halloween", and "Halloween II" appeared on Collection II
(1995). The Misfits box set (1996) contained the most complete collection of songs from these sessions, collecting the complete Legacy of Brutality, Misfits, and Collection II albums as well as a disc of unreleased studio recordings including the original mixes of "I Turned into a Martian", "Skulls", "Night of the Living Dead", "Astro Zombies", "Where Eagles Dare", "Violent World", and "Halloween II" from the 1980 sessions.
In 2001 Caroline Records announced that they would be releasing the complete 1980 sessions on October 31 under the title 12 Hits from Hell, including an alternate take of "London Dungeon", and sent promotional copies of the album to the band members. However, production was called off after Glenn Danzig and Jerry Only expressed concerns with the album's layout, packaging, liner notes, mixing, and mastering. All distribution copies of the album were destroyed, and only the promotional copies remain. Some copies did reach critics, however. Allmusic reviewer Jason Birchmeier gave the album three stars out of five and remarked that "This isn't an essential item and will probably appeal mostly to the legions of Misfits fanatics, who will no doubt savor these long-unreleased recordings."
On Halloween
2007 Bobby Steele posted his own versions of the 12 Hits from Hell songs, recorded with his band The Undead
, as streaming audio
through the band's website.
Caroline Records
Caroline Records started out as a subsidiary of Richard Branson's Virgin Records label during the early to mid 1970s. The label originally specialized in putting out budget price LPs by mainly progressive rock and jazz artists generally not considered to have a great deal of 'mainstream' or...
attempted to release it in 2001, but band members Glenn Danzig
Glenn Danzig
Glenn Danzig Glenn Danzig Glenn Danzig (born Glenn Allen Anzalone; June 23, 1955 is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, entrepreneur, and a progenitor of the horror punk subgenre of music. He is a founder of bands the Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig...
and Jerry Only
Jerry Only
Jerry Only is an American bassist. He is the current bassist and vocalist for the Misfits. He is credited with creating the infamous hair style known as the devilock.-Life and career:...
called off production and the album was scrapped.
In August 1980 the Misfits recorded twelve songs at Master Sound Productions studios with the intention of releasing a full-length album. The band's lineup at this time included singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
Glenn Danzig, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Bobby Steele
Bobby Steele
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...
, bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Jerry Only, and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Arthur Googy
Arthur Googy
Arthur Googy was a drummer for the horror punk band The Misfits.He was the longest running drummer of the bands original era, spanning the years 1980 - 1982, and was present during the "Master Sound Productions Sessions" that led to the Walk Among Us album...
. During the sessions Only was grooming his younger brother Doyle
Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein
Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein , is an American guitarist best known for his material with the horror punk band the Misfits.-Life and career:...
to join the band, and Doyle recorded his own guitar tracks and overdubs separately in addition to Steele's. The tracks were mixed in September, but in October Steele was ejected from the band in favor of Doyle and the planned album was scrapped. Five of the songs were released in 1981, with "London Dungeon", "Horror Hotel", and "Ghouls Night Out" being released as 3 Hits from Hell
3 Hits from Hell
3 Hits from Hell was the sixth release from the Lodi, New Jersey horror punk band The Misfits.The 7" EP was released in April 1981 as Plan 9 Records number PL1013...
while the "Halloween" single included both "Halloween" and "Halloween II". The band used the remainder of the recordings as demos for their 1982 album Walk Among Us
Walk Among Us
-Band:* Glenn Danzig – vocals, guitar on "Vampira", "Devils Whorehouse", "Astro Zombies", overdubbed guitar on all tracks except "Mommy Can I Go Out & Kill Tonight?"* Jerry Only – bass, background vocals...
.
The Misfits broke up in 1983, but after a series of legal battles in the late 1980s and early 1990s Only and Doyle regained the rights to record and perform as the Misfits, sharing merchandising rights with Danzig, who holds writing credits on all of the Misfits material written between 1977 and 1983. Only and Doyle formed a new incarnation of the band and released two albums during the 1990s. During the intervening years several of the tracks from the August 1980 sessions were released in various mixes on compilation albums: "Where Eagles Dare" and "Halloween" appeared on Legacy of Brutality
Legacy of Brutality
-Credits:* Glenn Danzig - vocals, guitar and bass on tracks 9, 10, and 13, overdubbed guitar and bass on tracks 1-8, and 11, clapping on track 13* Franché Coma - original guitar for tracks 1-8, and 11* Bobby Steele - original guitar for tracks 9, 10 and 12...
(1985), "Night of the Living Dead", "Vampira", "Skulls" and "Astro Zombies" appeared on Misfits (1986), and "Horror Hotel", "Halloween", and "Halloween II" appeared on Collection II
Collection II
Collection II is the companion album to The Misfits' 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...
(1995). The Misfits box set (1996) contained the most complete collection of songs from these sessions, collecting the complete Legacy of Brutality, Misfits, and Collection II albums as well as a disc of unreleased studio recordings including the original mixes of "I Turned into a Martian", "Skulls", "Night of the Living Dead", "Astro Zombies", "Where Eagles Dare", "Violent World", and "Halloween II" from the 1980 sessions.
In 2001 Caroline Records announced that they would be releasing the complete 1980 sessions on October 31 under the title 12 Hits from Hell, including an alternate take of "London Dungeon", and sent promotional copies of the album to the band members. However, production was called off after Glenn Danzig and Jerry Only expressed concerns with the album's layout, packaging, liner notes, mixing, and mastering. All distribution copies of the album were destroyed, and only the promotional copies remain. Some copies did reach critics, however. Allmusic reviewer Jason Birchmeier gave the album three stars out of five and remarked that "This isn't an essential item and will probably appeal mostly to the legions of Misfits fanatics, who will no doubt savor these long-unreleased recordings."
On Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
2007 Bobby Steele posted his own versions of the 12 Hits from Hell songs, recorded with his band The Undead
The Undead
The Undead is a horror punk band formed in 1980 in New Milford, New Jersey by Bobby Steele , Chris "Jack" Natz , and Patrick Blanck . Bobby had just been fired from his previous band, The Misfits, when forming The Undead.They released their first EP 9 Toes Later in 1982...
, as streaming audio
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
through the band's website.
Reception
Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic gave 12 Hits from Hell three stars out of five, saying "This isn't an essential item and will probably appeal mostly to the legions of Misfits fanatics, who will no doubt savor these long-unreleased recordings. Many of these songs are available elsewhere."Track listing
- "Halloween"
- "Vampira"
- "I Turned into a Martian"
- "Skulls"
- "London Dungeon"
- "Night of the Living Dead"
- "Horror Hotel"
- "Ghouls Night Out"
- "Astro Zombies"
- "Where Eagles Dare"
- "Violent World"
- "Halloween II"
- "London Dungeon" (alternate take)
Credits
- Glenn DanzigGlenn DanzigGlenn Danzig Glenn Danzig Glenn Danzig (born Glenn Allen Anzalone; June 23, 1955 is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, entrepreneur, and a progenitor of the horror punk subgenre of music. He is a founder of bands the Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig...
- vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Jerry OnlyJerry OnlyJerry Only is an American bassist. He is the current bassist and vocalist for the Misfits. He is credited with creating the infamous hair style known as the devilock.-Life and career:...
- bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Bobby SteeleBobby SteeleBobby 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...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Doyle Wolfgang von FrankensteinDoyle Wolfgang von FrankensteinDoyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein , is an American guitarist best known for his material with the horror punk band the Misfits.-Life and career:...
- additional guitar and overdubs - Robbie Alter - guitar on "London Dungeon" and "Violent World"
- Arthur GoogyArthur GoogyArthur Googy was a drummer for the horror punk band The Misfits.He was the longest running drummer of the bands original era, spanning the years 1980 - 1982, and was present during the "Master Sound Productions Sessions" that led to the Walk Among Us album...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....