When Worlds Collide
Michale Graves
I'll admit it, it's a rare moment when I find myself smiling while listening to a new album all the way through. The latest album by Michale Graves will give fans of both his solo work and the Misfits a lot to smile about. I literally felt a swelling joy hearing every track for the first time. I can only compare it to seeing an old friend again after a long absence and feeling like time had not passed.
Don't confuse my words with this album sounding anything like any of his previous material or trying to cover any of the same old ground. There is indeed an amazing sequel to the classic "Crying on a Saturday Night'. That specific track means a whole lot to me as a fan. I can recall the very first time I heard it and cherish those care free years when I was not worried about all the stuff you deal with as an adult. "Dying on a Sunday Morning" puts a nice wax stamp on those old days and is quickly becoming a bookmark on the "adultness" of now. It's somber and new. "I felt fine til I heard our song"...man those lyrics.
Back to the rest of the album. There is not one track that you'd ever consider skipping over or calling it filler. This is concise coming in a bit over the thirty minute mark. There is a really full sound to the album that makes the listening experience very warm and upbeat even if the material isn't particularly cheery. "I walk with a zombie" is another favorite off this album, it has the underlying Johnny Cash vibe mixed in with the classic Graves spirit. This album succeeds where the Misfits "red rain" album failed. Graves does not try to replicate a fifties or sixties vibe but that cadence naturally shows up in a a track like "Old Dark Horse" especially when he sings "I might just find what's missing in your eyes".
"Robot Monster" is a dirgey tune that fits the character and spirit of a mysterious being, real or sci fi, coyly trying to gain the admiration of it's target. The plodding and crunch places you beneath the skin of the character in a very clever way musically.
After all these years as a fan of Michale Graves, I've never compared the man or his music to the Misfits previous lead singer Glenn Danzig. "The Face behind the Mask" immediately brought to mine Danzig 3's classic band lineup. The swagger and sexiness of the musicianship in particular is fantastic! That's where any comparisons stop as Graves owns this song and makes me want to just tear down some burning walls with a sledgehammer. He knows how to write to the strengths of all the monsters that inhabit this album.
I'm telling you this album has everything that I want to hear from Michale and the band. If there was an apocalyptic fall out, Michale Graves would be the only person I'd allow to write a new national anthem for a country run by the walking undead....(some would say we are already are but lets not get into politics or Sanders supporters) The album closes out with the awesome title track "When Worlds Collide". Rocking guitar riffs, sincere lyrics about the end of time and a rhythm that makes me want to dance as the electrical grid slowly fades across the globe. Buy this album now. Don't wait. Life's short and you never know when you'll leave that closet door open ajar, just enough to let one of the monsters crawl into your bedroom and steal all your cool stuff.
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