Dead Alive!

post-Danzig era
Comprised mainly of tracks from 2011's Devil's Rain, and a handful from Famous Monsters and American Psycho.
Personnel: Jerry Only (vocals); Dez Cadena (guitar); Eric Arce (drums).
Audio Mixer: Ed Stasium.
Recording information: BB Kings, New York, NY (10/30/2011); Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ (10/30/2011); BB Kings, New York, NY (10/31/2011); Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ (10/31/2011).
Photographer: Tony Cano.
Surprisingly only the third live Misfits album, this live recording combines back-to-back 2011 performances, from Devil's Night at Starland Ballroom in the Misfits' hometown of Sayreville, New Jersey, and Halloween night at B.B. King's in Times Square, N.Y.C. From the opening thunderclaps and audience chants of "Jerry! Jerry!," it's abundantly clear that Dead Alive! features a post-Danzig group. With guitarist Dez Cadena (Black Flag) and drummer Eric "Chudacabra" Arce (Murphy's Law), bassist/frontman Jerry Only sticks to delivering quick and dirty songs from that year's The Devil's Rain, along with a few cult songs from when Michale Graves was the frontman, such as the thrash-styled "Helena" and the closing anthem "Saturday Night." Being a late October performance, the time when Misfits thrive most, this is spirited and festive -- so much so that the audience seems unbothered by the omission of any classic-era songs that involved onetime centerpiece Glenn Danzig. Even if the material stems mainly from a lackluster late-period record, Only seems more committed to yelling it out on-stage than he did in a sterile studio setting, and since they haven't changed up their subject matter from the early days, songs like "Land of the Dead," "Curse of the Mummy's Hand," "Dig Up Her Bones," "Dark Shadows," and "Cold in Hell" fit the bill. It's a treat to hear their horror punk rendition of "Science Fiction/Double Feature" from Rocky Horror Picture Show, and at the very least, they don't appear to be merely going through the motions. ~ Jason Lymangrover