Misfits

Product Information

Static Age is the only full-length Misfits album to feature the band’s original guitarist Franché Coma and 2nd drummer Mr. Jim, along with co-founders Jerry Only and Glenn Danzig. Far ahead of its time, “Static Age” is one of the truly great punk records bred in the scene of the late 70s, offering a unique blend inherent only in the Misfits. Lost for nearly 20 years, the record is equally potent, if not more so now, than it was upon conception and will hold-up for generations to come. The CD booklet included in North American pressings folds out to form a poster of the full cover painting by legendary “Famous Monster of Filmland” magazine cover artist; Basil Gogos. Project 1950 was the first full-length release from the newly launched indie label “Misfits Records” and the first to be distributed under the deal with Rykodisc (now Rykodisc/Warner Bros) as exclusive distributor. Limited edition colored vinyl LPs were also released. In North America, the first LP pressing was a limited edition of 1,000 pcs on 100-gram solid blue vinyl. The second pressing on 100 gram PURPLE vinyl was also limited to 1,000 pcs. Both pressings are sold out and long out of print. Earth AD” is often credited as being highly influential on the advent of the hardcore and speed metal scene.

In it’s initial release on LP and cassette in 1985, 1,000 copies were pressed in colored vinyl (500 red vinyl LPs and 500 white vinyl LPs). Legend has it that as a result of not cleaning the stampers during the color switch in the pressing plant, a small percentage of the 1,000 colored vinyl LPs (rumored to be 16 pcs) include various shades of pink.not long after that, i found a 12" bootleg of "Beware" and even for a raw needle-drop from a source with notable surface noise, it totally blew away any other versions of those songs i ever heard before. The music video for “American Psycho” included the instrumental intro “Abominable Dr. Phibes” and brought Basil Gogos’ cover art to life. The video had its world premiere at Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors convention in New York City. The screening was followed by a Q&A (hosted by Fangoria editor-in-chief Tony Timpone) with the Misfits joined by cover artist Basil Gogos and Director John Cafiero. Fiend Facts: North American & European pressings of Misfits Project 1950 include the above-mentioned bonus DVD but the Japanese pressing does not. The CD distributed by Video Arts in Japan included a rare limited edition 5” vinyl record of the Misfits studio version of “Day the Earth Caught Fire” (on Side A) and an unreleased live recording of Jerry Only performing the song with Balzac in concert in Japan (on Side B). Fiend Facts: Although 1978’s “Static Age” is the first full-length album ever recorded by the Misfits, it remained unreleased in its entirety until nearly two decades later. The album finally received its debut in 1996 in the Misfits Box Set. For more in-depth info on the history of the “Static Age” album, please see the “Static Age” entry of this discography (above).

For it’s debut release within the Misfits box set, “Static Age” was re-mastered using a cassette layoff of the final mix from 1978. The rare cassette had been kept in a safe deposit box at a Lodi, NJ bank for years by original Misfits guitarist Franché Coma. Had it not been for Frank (aka Franché) providing that source, the album may have never seen the light of day. The tape was in great shape, having been stored in a temperature-controlled environment for all those years.

The first US pressing, (as well as the Italian issued import), of the 1982 released LP featured a pink logo and pink cover. The second pressing introduced the purple cover commonly known today. When the album was reissued in 1988, the logo was switched to green and has remained that way since. In connection with the 1988 re-release, Warner Brothers circulated promotional copies of album in custom printed Misfits Halloween bags that have become collector items themselves. It’s estimated that approx. 3,000 of the promo Halloween bags were circulated in 1988.