Blessed be emo kids! We have a fantastic new set of covers from some of our favorite powerhouses. The best part? They’re covering Misfits. Oh yeah. There’s honestly nothing we love more than some of our favorite early 2000s heartthrobs absolutely crushing some classics. It’s like a whole new bunch of songs that we already know all the words to. Singalong ready? Hello! Count me in. All thanks to Saves the Day and Senses Fail, who have created the appropriately named split EP Through Being Ghoul, featuring four tracks by horror legends themselves, Misfits. The timing couldn’t be anymore perfect, debuting the release the day before Halloween.
The two bands remain true to their own sound while doing justice for the iconic jams, digging deep into the Jersey roots all three bands share.
This odd connection is what inspired this incredible album. Senses Fail kicks the EP off with “We are 138” — a song that frontman James “Buddy” Neilson picked out personally. The deliverance of his vocals came so naturally, like he had been singing it for years, yet it is his incredible sound that gives the song new life. You can hear Neilson really feeling his inner Glenn Danzig in the cover. Featuring Gavin Caswell and Jason Milbank on guitar, Greg Styliades on bass guitar and Steve Carey on drums, Senses Fail does such an excellent job of infusing the emo-post hardcore style into these horror-punk tunes. On the next track, “Attitude”, the reanimation is enough to make you want to grab a few friends on Zoom and get a socially-distant circle-pit going. Buddy stays true to the band, giving strong vocals with no hesitation for harshness that decade-long fans came to hear.
Up next, Saves The Day gives us two more Misfit covers we didn’t know we needed. Track three on Through Being Ghoul (for those who aren’t aware, it’s a total play on words from Save The Day’s Through Being Cool album, debuted in 1999 and re-released by the band in 2019) features Saves The Day on “Some Kinda Hate”. While Chris Conley gives his Danzig’ed out vocal performance, the band (consisting of guitarist Arun Bali, bass guitarist Rodrigo Palma and drummer Claudio Rivera) provides an incredible mix of emo, pop and punk rock that do justice for the legendary originals. On the fourth and final track, Conley takes on punk calling “Where Eagles Dare”; the deliverance was nothing short of perfect, with emo and weirdo all in one. An actual beautiful horror masterpiece gifted to us right on All Hallow’s Eve. See, guys, we do have some good things to cherish in this year!
Through Being Ghoul is streaming everywhere now, but only 250 fans were lucky enough to snag the physical (insanely sweet designed) 7-inch vinyl copies! Senses Fail has indicated on their Twitter that “there are only 250 of each and, after that, it’s never happening again”, but then later “are going to be dropping music like this every six to eight weeks, give or take”, so fans can be on the lookout for more surprise music. Senses Fail has further indicated back in May that they are working on a forthcoming album that fans have been eagerly waiting for. There has not been any indication of more new music from Save’s The Day, but who knows, we have been surprised once before! You can catch Saves The Day in a number of online performances, most recently in the virtual iVoted Festival on November 3rd. Stay tuned for more music and virtual performances from these guys!
Purchase or stream ‘Through The Ghoul’ EP:
Track listing:
- We Are 138 – Senses Fail
- Attitude – Senses Fail
- Some Kinda Hate – Saves The Day
- Where Eagles Dare – Saves The Day
Senses Fail – “We Are 138”:
Saves The Day links: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Senses Fail links: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
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Disclaimer: All views presented in this album review are those of the reviewer and not necessarily those of Top Shelf Music.
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