20 years of the Misfits’ American Psycho

For the most part, everyone already knows the scoop on American Psycho; after years of bitter legal disputes with Glenn Danzig, bassist Jerry Only was finally given the rights to record and perform under the Misfits name.  Recruiting new drummer Dr. Chud and vocalist Michale Graves along with longtime guitarist/Only’s brother Doyle, the resurrected Misfits signed with Geffen records and released their first album in nearly a decade-and-a-half.  End of history lesson.

25 Years of Danzig III: How the Gods Kill

All of these album anniversaries are starting to make me feel old.  But with that said, I can think of few better to celebrate than the silver anniversary of what is arguably Danzig’s masterpiece, How The Gods Kill.  I can’t remember exactly what year I bought the album, but I do remember picking it up at one of the three record stores that populated the local shopping mall (ah, the good ol’ days), bringing it home and subsequently being blown away.  It immediately struck me as one of the deepest, darkest albums I’d ever heard up to that point in my life, and given that I was still an impressionable teenager, I’d like to think it was one of the key albums that helped to propel me down the path of heavy music.

20 Years of Grand Belial’s Key’s Mocking the Philanthropist

According to Metal Archives, Grand Belial’s Key’s first full length, Mocking the Philanthropist, was released sometime in 1997 (I’ve been unable to track down an exact date).  The Virginia-based band recorded two well-received demos and an EP prior to their debut, but the removal of drummer/vocalist Lord Vlad Luciferian (who would go on to join Ancient) would signal the dawn of the band’s classic era; GBK were about to become one of the most infamous and instantly recognizable bands in US black metal.