Those who were hoping to finally hear a brand new album will have to settle for a collection of covers carefully chosen and darkly reinterpreted by legendary Glenn Danzig. The songs included in “Skeletons” date to between 1962 and 1974 so this album is also a hymn to nostalgia and the forgotten luminous fragments of childhood. As a whole, the album leans towards a horror punk attitude that recalls Danzig’s performance in Misfits and the production is rather rough stripped of any fancy modern magic trick.
So, once all the skeletons are out of the closet, Danzig’s unique iconic voice takes the center stage as it always should. Biker flick theme “Devil’s Angels” and “With A Girl Like You” by The Troggs are straight no frills punk songs full of rough edges in a home recording fashion and of course Danzig resurrects all his signature Misfits style screams.
Gifted with a mysterious baritone range Danzig really needed to cover a song by Elvis Presley and “Let Yourself Go” turns out to be a great choice as it all sounds like a darkly catchy vintage rock song.
If you need something more metal Black Sabbath’s masterpiece “N.I.B.” will satisfy all your desires as Danzig’s darkest low vocals savagely and spontaneously embrace all those beloved doom riffs. “Rough Boy” by ZZ Top and “Crying In The Rain” by The Everly Brothers gain a late night creepy melancholic vibe.
In the end, the unsophisticated vintage nature of “Skeletons” will satisfy more the Misfits era fanbase and it all feels like a clandestine teenager’s karaoke boozy night in the basement, which is a lot of fun.