Samhain - Box Set (5CD, 2000)

Samhain was an American rock band formed by singer Glenn Danzig in 1983, immediately following his departure from the Misfits. Samhain played in more of a deathrock and heavy metal-infused style of horror punk than Danzig's previous band. This Box Set was released in 2000, more than 13 years after Samhain effectively ceased recording and performing. The set's five CDs and one VHS tape compile nearly all of the band's original catalogue, newly remastered from the original mastertapes, with some (up to date) previously unreleased material.

Samhain has always been a well-loved band, often for many of the same reasons the Misfits were loved – the blood and gore on stage, the horror-filled imagery of the lyrics, and, most of all, Glenn Danzig's crooning vocals. So, after endless delays, the Box Set finally materialized in late 2000. Unfortunately, it wasn't able to live up to its hype. As with most box sets, the music isn't really the issue. Samhain always rocked, and now it rocks in a digitally remastered kind of way. Fans buy box sets for bonus tracks, liner notes, pictures, and the other cool stuff that comes with it. And, in the case of Samhain, their albums had been out of print since 1995, so this was supposed to be a chance for newer fans to fill in holes in their collections. The five-CD set includes what appear to be the official Samhain releases – Initium, Unholy Passion, November/Coming Fire, and Final Descent – as well as a live disk which draws from sets at both Danceteria (N.Y.C., 1985) and Metro (Chicago, 1986). As it turns out, the masters used for Unholy Passion were not the originals, but rather remixes which had actually been released on Final Descent. But not the Final Descent in the Boxed Set, as that has a different track listing from the original vinyl release. The song "Misery Tomb" was included on Unholy Passion unlike the original but rather as it was on Caroline's first pressing of Initium onto CD (for some reason Caroline included the entire Unholy Passion EP plus the song "Misery Tomb"). There is actually some speculation among fans that Danzig lost the real Unholy Passion masters and that's why he used the (real) Final Descent remixes for the Box Set. All of which means, in plain English, that there's still some Samhain material that remains out of print. The live CD was a bonus, but most serious Samhain fans have had access to this same material for quite some time. Danzig fans will be excited to find an early version of "Twist of Cain" on Final Descent – but the Samhain/Danzig fan crossover is hardly unilateral. Unfortunately, the rest of the package doesn't have much to recommend it: The liner notes provide no useful information at all; there isn't a single explanation of the track substitutions or even asterisks to point out the previously unreleased material; while there were lyrics for Initium and November Coming Fire, there weren't any provided for Unholy Passion or Final Descent; and, unlike the Misfits Box Set, the packaging was disappointingly budget.

Tracklist:

01. Initium / Samhain
02. Black Dream
03. All Murder, All Guts, All Fun
04. Macabre
05. He-Who-Cannot-Be-Named
06. Horror Biz
07. The Shift
08. The Howl
09. Archangel




Tracklist:

01. Unholy Passion
02. All Hell
03. Moribund
04. The Hungry End
05. Misery Tomb [Bonus Track]
06. I Am Misery




Tracklist:

01. Diabolos '88
02. In My Grip
03. Mother Of Mercy
04. Birthright
05. To Walk The Night
06. Let The Day Begin
07. Halloween II
08. November's Fire
09. Kiss Of Steel
10. Unbridled
11. Human Pony Girl




Tracklist:

01. Night Chill
02. Descent
03. Death…In Its Arms
04. Lords Of The Left Hand
05. The Birthing
06. Twist Of Cain
07. Possession
08. Trouble
09. Lords Of The Left Hand




Tracklist:

01. All Hell
02. Samhain
03. The Shift
04. The Howl
05. Unholy Passion
06. All Murder, All Guts, All Fun
07. I Am Misery
08. The Hungry End
09. Horror Biz
10. He-Who-Can-Not-Be-Named
11. Black Dream
12. Death Comes Ripping
13. Mother Of Mercy
14. To Walk The Night
15. Halloween II
16. In My Grip
17. London Dungeon
18. Archangel



Remastered by Tom Baker at Precision Mastering, Hollywood, CA.
Not my rip. But here is fully repackaged version.
Originally ripped by Dar_kW for MMT.

Release Date: September 5, 2000
Format: Original Recording Remastered
Number of Discs: 5
Label: Evilive Records/E-Magine Music
Catalog No.: evilive9