Initium

Between the B-movie-fueled melodic-punk camp of the Misfits and the pitch-black rock & roll of Danzig, Glenn Danzig presented arguably his most unhinged and experimental musical vision in the short-lived Samhain. Opening with howling-wind sound effects leading into an unsettling Danzig sermon that promises to take the listener “Beyond race, beyond religion, beyond man’s fears…,” the album beautifully reconciles hardcore ferocity with goth atmospherics. Some of the tracks, including “Horror Biz,” a lightly modified remake of the Misfits classic “Horror Business,” continue faithfully in the vein of Danzig’s prior band, but the best material here — “Black Dream,” adorned with creepy synthesized church bells; “Macabre,” with its ritualistic backing vocals and bestial roars; and fist-pumping post-punk gem “Archangel” — find Danzig expanding fruitfully beyond his roots and meaningfully engaging the varied sounds of the mid-‘80s underground.