We Bite: A 40th Anniversary Tribute to Earth A.D CD Review
2023 saw the 40th anniversary of the seminal horror punk album ‘Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood’. Although I prefer ‘Walk Among Us’ and ‘Static Age’, the Misfits really dialed up the hardcore punk element with ‘Earth A.D.’ which lent itself well to Glenn’s future endeavor with Samhain, which makes sense as he has previously stated that “Death Comes Ripping” and “Bloodfeast” were originally meant to be released under that moniker. Over the decades, there have been copious amounts of covers from this album, some of my favorites being Cradle of Filth’s version of “Death Comes Ripping” and AFI’s rendition on “Demonomania”.
Fortunately, courtesy of HorrorShock Records, we find ourselves with ‘We Bite: A 40th Anniversary Tribute to Earth A.D.’ which introduced me to a number of bands and versions of these songs that I was unfamiliar with. Some of the featured bands I found pretty interesting and felt warranted additional time and attention. But that’s the cool thing about comps., right? Finding a new band and digging into their discography and if you’re fortunate, finding a new band you like. This is the case with Los Morts’ cover of “Die, Die My Darling” with its addition of electronics and “Bloodfeast” by Die Ghost. I can’t really get over comparing the latter to Calabrese, especially when it comes to the vocal harmonies and overall aesthetics of the song. It’s so damn good and is easily my favorite track here.
Other standouts include: Rise From Your Grave’s “Devilock”, Ripsnorter’s “Death Comes Ripping”, American Werewolves’ “Wolf’s Blood” and “Hellhound” by Tomb of Nick Cage. I’m a big fan of Ripsnorter and American Werewolves, so it was a pleasant surprise to see them here. Ripsnorter put out an entire album of Misfits covers as the Ripfits, so if their effort here does anything for you, I suggest checking out ‘13 Hits From Hell’.
~TJ