Description

Rare out of print 5 CD box set including remastered versions of ‘Intium’, ‘Unholy Passion’, ‘November Coming Fire’, ‘Final Descent’, and 'Live 85-96’, each in their own individual paper sleeves. Also included is the 'Live 85-86' video with exclusive unreleased footage. All handsomely packaged in a 7' x 12' box set with an eight page comic book and a 28 page booklet complete with colour and black and white photos. A collector's dream. Danzig originally planned Samhain as a side project, but after his earlier group, the Misfits, messily dissolved, it became his 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 #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. Danzig took the name of the band from the ancient Celtic New Year, the origin of the modern Halloween. The band's name is typically pronounced ‘sam-hane’, though when the word occurs in song lyrics; Danzig himself pronounces it ‘so-win’, in conformity with the generally accepted pronunciation of the eponymous ancient holiday. Samhain's lyrics were much darker than those of the Misfits, with themes rooted in paganism and the occult and eventually the horrors of reality, as opposed to the sometimes cartoonish ghouls and ghosts of the Misfits. Samhain's musical style was a dark, gritty, and experimental combination of punk, gothic rock, and on the last album, heavy metal. Samhain released three full-length albums and one EP during their three year career as an active band. Danzig has said that he initially wrote two songs (‘Death Comes Ripping’ and ‘Bloodfeast’) with the intention of using them on the first Samhain album, but instead recorded them with the Misfits for the ‘Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood’ album in order to round out that band's final series of recordings and release a full album. In 1990, Samhain's final album, Final Descent, was released. Material for the album was completed in stages from 1986 to 1990, with one song (‘Death…In Its Arms’) recorded by the band Danzig, including drummer Chuck Biscuits (who had never been a member of Samhain) during the sessions for Danzig II: Lucifuge. On all other tracks, a drum machine was used. As much of the material for Final Descent was intended for a planned Samhain Grim album, its sound and songwriting bridges the gap between 1986's November Coming Fire and 1988's Danzig. Disc Two marks the first time the remixed Unholy Passion EP was presented as a single CD on its own, though the contents had been added to the first CD pressing of Initium in 1987, and again to the original Final Descent in 1990. The original mix the of EP has never been released on CD, apart from unofficial/illegal bootlegs which are sourced from vinyl and cassette. This remixed version was probably done to avoid potential legal disputes with former guitarist Damien. Danzig had overdubbed/re-recorded all of the original guitar tracks with his own guitar playing in June of 1987. He also created a new track, a remix of the bass and vocal tracks from ‘I Am Misery’, entitled ‘Misery Tomb’. The faster version of ‘Lords Of The Left Hand’ that have been added to this box set was actually recorded in September 1986, while the ‘original version’ was not recorded until September 1987, and was not mixed in its final form until 1990. Track listing Disc: 1: Initium 1. Samhain 2. Black Dream 3. All Murder, All Guts, All Fun 4. Macabre 5. He-Who-Can-Not-Be-Named 6. Horror Biz 7. The Shift 8. The Howl 9. Archangel Disc: 2. Unholy Passion 1. Unholy Passion 2. All Hell 3. Moribund 4. The Hungry End 5. Misery Tomb 6. I Am Misery Disc: 3: November Coming Fire 1. Diablos '88 2. In My Grip 3. Mother Of Mercy 4. To Walk The Night 5. Birthright 6. Let The Day Begin 7. Halloween II 8. November's Fire 9. Kiss Of Steel 10. Unbridled 11. Human Pony Girl Disc: 4. Final Desecent 1. Night Chill 2. Descent 3. Death… In Its Arms 4. Lords Of The Left Hand 5. The Birthing 6. Twist Of Cain-previously unreleased version 7. Lords Of The Left Hand-previously unreleased version 8. Trouble-previously unreleased version 9. Possession-previously unreleased version Disc: 5: Live 85-86 1. All Hell-live Danceteria, New Yok 19th of February 1985 2. Samhain-live Danceteria, New Yok 19th of February 1985 3. The Shift-live Danceteria, New Yok 19th of February 1985 4. The Howl-live Danceteria, New Yok 19th of February 1985 5. Unholy Passion-live Danceteria, New Yok 19th of February 1985 6. All Murder, All Guts, All Fun-live Danceteria, New Yok 19th of February 1985 7. I Am Misery-live Danceteria, New Yok 19th of February 1985 8. The Hungy End-live Danceteria, New Yok 19th of February 1985 9. Horror Biz-live Danceteria, New Yok 19th of February 1985 10. He-Who-Can-Not-Be-Named-live Danceteria, New Yok 19th of February 1985 11. Black Dream-live Cabaret Metro, Chicago on the 13th of April 1986 12. Death Comes Ripping-live Cabaret Metro, Chicago on the 13th of April 1986 13. Mother Of Mercy-live Cabaret Metro, Chicago on the 13th of April 1986 14. To Walk The Night-live Cabaret Metro, Chicago on the 13th of April 1986 15. Halloween II-live Cabaret Metro, Chicago on the 13th of April 1986 16. In My Grip-live Cabaret Metro, Chicago on the 13th of April 1986 17. London Dungeon-live Cabaret Metro, Chicago on the 13th of April 1986 18. Archangel-live Cabaret Metro, Chicago on the 13th of April 1986 Video listing: 1. All Murder, All Guts, All Fun-live Typographers Hall, Baltimore 13th of April 1985 2. The Shift-live Typographers Hall, Baltimore 13th of April 1985 3. Unholy Passion-live Typographers Hall, Baltimore 13th of April 1985 4. Black Dream-live Typographers Hall, Baltimore 13th of April 1985 5. The Hungry End-live Typographers Hall, Baltimore 13th of April 1985 6. I Am Misery-live Typographers Hall, Baltimore 13th of April 1985 7. Horror Biz-live Typographers Hall, Baltimore 13th of April 1985 8. Moribund-live Typographers Hall, Baltimore 13th of April 1985 9. All Hell-live The Ritz, New York 27th of April 1986 10. London Dungeon-live The Ritz, New York 27th of April 1986 11. Archangel-live The Ritz, New York 27th of April 1986 12. Mother of Mercy-live The Ritz, New York 27th of April 1986 13. To Walk the Night-live The Ritz, New York 27th of April 1986 14. Samhain-live The Ritz, New York 14th of July 1986 15. Moribund-live The Ritz, New York 14th of July 1986 16. Black Dream-live The Ritz, New York 14th of July 1986