Punk Rock is Dead
by Michale Graves
A CD Review by Kris Avalon

I felt it would be nice to digress, momentarily, from my job-hunting misadventures and do something that I have been intending to do for the past month now, which is to write a review for the new Michale Graves album. After all, those of us in the Conservative Punk sphere ought to look out for another, and with any luck this review will help Michale sell a couple more CD’s.

First off, I love the horror punk genre, with all its silly gimmicks. I was hooked from the first time I heard Die, Die My Darling playing on the stereo at a local gothic clothing store. There’s something about combining the innocence of 50s doo-wop with the sacrilegious subject matter of necrophilia and mass murder that just makes for great music (who’d have thought?). Add to that the carefree energy of punk rock and a heavy emphasis on minor chords to set the dark horror atmosphere, and it’s no wonder why the two-minute songs of a group of kids from Jersey turned into an entire movement.

For as much as I love horror punk, however, it’s hard to come by such music that truly lives up to its name. There are a few good bands out there, like Balzac and Blitzkid, but the majority of the bands in this genre are lacking. The Horrorpops aren’t really very dark, the Murderdolls sound too much like “Marilyn Manson meets Andrew W.K.” Calabrese and Dr. Chud’s X-Ward are a bit boring, and the Jackalopes and the Goblins just plain suck. The one artist who never disappoints me, however, is Michale Graves, and his new album, “Punk Rock is Dead,” is no exception.

The thing I have always admired about Michale is his originality, in the way he is able to fuse the conventions of traditional horror punk with elements of metal and goth music. Since leaving the Misfits in 1998, he has done things his own way, unconcerned about what the genre “should” sound like, which I suppose is why I give his music more credence than that of many of today’s Misfits-wannabe, cookie-cutter horror punk bands. His style is his own, consistent throughout his song-writing career, be it in the form of Graves, Gotham Road, or his current solo effort.

This consistency is perhaps one of the primary reasons why I so easily warmed up to the music on the new album. Hearing it for the first time was like returning to a place of peaceful familiarity. The unique tenor-esque timbre of Michale’s voice, the unconventional but flawless harmonies, the simple, addictive chord progressions, the pleasant variation of happy and dark melodies; the album is vintage Michale Graves, and I dare you to try not to sing along after becoming familiar with the music.

The first song, Beware, is an upbeat, 50’s-reminiscent song with the always-pleasing characteristic of sounding joyous and celebratory, until you actually listen to what the lyrics are saying. The second song (and possibly my favorite on the album), Teenage Monster, is so catchy and addictive it should be illegal. It’s basically a metal-oriented song, reminiscent of some of his Gotham Road-era songs like Sidewalk Ends, that beautifully illustrates how the light-hearted gimmickry of horror punk can actually underlie serious personal issues. He sings in the chorus, “I am growing up ugly and stupid; what has happened to me? I’m so different I can’t stand it. Teenage monster that is me.” The use of the word monster can obviously be interpreted both literally and figuratively, making the song multidimensional.

The next song on the album is Earth vs. Spider, another favorite of mine which starts off sounding like a rhythmic variation of Teenage Monster, but carries with it a more doo wop feel and shifts into a fantastic four-chord progression for the chorus. The next song, Exit, doesn’t have much of a melody, and admittedly I usually skip over that one, but it does demonstrate Michale’s old school punk side. The lack of melodious appeal in Exit, however, is more than made up for in 1119. This song starts off as being reminiscent of old Ozzy Osbourne, but the chorus bears more a resemblance to Fiend Club, a song from the Graves-era Misfits.

Storybook and Rhyme is stylistically similar to Beware and Earth vs. Spider, while Godzilla is darker and follows Michale’s former Misfits format of alluding to specific films (i.e. Dr. Phibes, Mars Attacks, etc...). Queen Taste has a bit of a psychobilly essence, which is a delightful change of pace, but unfortunately the chorus is a bit disappointing. Radio Deadly, however does not disappoint, nor does the title track, Punk Rock is Dead, which, besides having a great melody, contains some great lyrics about individualism. Michale brilliantly uses the cliché “punk rock is dead” in accordance with the horror punk glorification of death to essentially say, “so what?” As the chorus marvelously opines, “Punk rock is dead and I’m punk rock.” Given the message, Michale couldn’t have chosen a better name for his album.

The last song is Dawn of the Dead, which I think was a fantastic choice for a concluding track, and not just because it ends with the words “Goodnight, farewell.” The song represents the harmonious and melodically-appealing greatness that put Michale Graves on the map. Much in the spirit of Don’t Open ‘Til Doomsday, Forbidden Zone and Casket, the song is fun, easy to sing along to, and impossible to get out of your head.

So all in all, I have to give “Punk Rock is Dead” my highest recommendation. As I mentioned, there are a couple of songs I’m not crazy about, and Michale’s vocals are occasionally a bit flat, but these things in no way detract from the album’s positive qualities, which are infinitely greater. If you haven’t gotten it already, what are you waiting for? You can order it at http://www.merchmonster.net/