''Walk Among Us'' is the debut studio album by the American

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band

Misfits MiSFiTS was the acronym for the ''Minnesota Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy''. This organization has now changed its name to GPS, an acronym for Geek Partnership Society. It was founded in 1999 and was the parent non-profit org ...

, released in March 1982 by

Ruby Records Ruby Records is an American record label, founded predominantly as a rock music label subsidiary of Slash Records. The original version of the label released seven albums in 1981 and 1982. Ruby was distributed through the same independent distri ...

and its parent label

Slash Records Slash Records was an American record label originally specializing in local punk rock bands, active from 1978 to 2000. It was notable as one of the first and most successful independent record labels in alternative music, before its eventual acq ...

. It was the first full-length album to be released by the band, although it was the third to be recorded, after ''

Static Age ''Static Age'' is the third studio album by the American horror punk band Misfits, recorded in 1978. Although it was the first album the band ever recorded, it was not released in its entirety until 1996. History In August 1977 The Misfits r ...

'' and '' 12 Hits from Hell''. The recording sessions for ''Walk Among Us'' took place at multiple studios between June 1981 and January 1982, and the album also includes the track " Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight?", which was recorded live at the Ritz in New York City. The album features a re-recording of the single "

Night of the Living Dead ''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American Independent film, independent zombie horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, written by Romero and John A. Russo, John Russo, produced by Russell Streiner and Karl Har ...

", which was released on October 31, 1979. ''Walk Among Us'' was first pressed with cover artwork featuring a pink background, with the band's logo in pink. The second pressing introduced a purple background on the cover, though the pink logo remained unchanged. When the album was reissued in 1988 by Ruby Records, the purple cover was retained, but the band's logo was changed to a green color. Until 2018, all official

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

or CD releases of the album in the United States were issued through Ruby, Slash, or

Warner Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

Rhino A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

. The album was reissued again on November 30, 2018, by

Earache Records Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by r ...

, with six limited-run variant colored pressings.

Recording

Prior to ''Walk Among Us'', the Misfits had recorded and shelved two full-length albums: ''

'', which was recorded in 1978 but would remain unreleased in its entirety until 1996, and '' 12 Hits from Hell'', which was recorded in 1980 and has never received an official wide release. The recording sessions for ''Walk Among Us'' took place at multiple studios. The majority of the songs were recorded at Mix-O-Lydian Studio in

Boonton, New Jersey Boonton () is a town in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 8,815, an increase of 468 (+5.6%) from the 2010 census count of 8,347, which in turn reflected a decline o ...

no later than August 1981, and these sessions also produced the recordings for the group's single "

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

". The album's sixth track, "Hate Breeders", was recorded at Newfound Sound in

Fair Lawn, New Jersey Fair Lawn is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and a bedroom community, bedroom suburb located northwest of New York City. As of the 2020 United States census, the boro ...

in June 1981. The seventh and only live track on the album, "

Mommy, Can I Go Out & Kill Tonight "Mommy, Can I Go Out & Kill Tonight" is a song by the American punk rock band Misfits. Written by vocalist Glenn Danzig, the song was first released as a live recording on their 1982 album ''Walk Among Us''. A studio recording of the song was la ...

", was recorded on December 17, 1981, at the Ritz in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. As the track fades out, the band can be heard beginning to play the song "

London Dungeon The London Dungeon is a tourist attraction/ haunted attraction along London's South Bank, England, which recreates various gory and macabre historical events in a gallows humour style. It uses a mixture of live actors, special effects and ...

", which was not included on the album in its entirety. In January 1982,

overdubbing Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio Music track, tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto o ...

took place at Quad Teck in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where Misfits vocalist

Glenn Danzig Glenn Allen Anzalone (born June 23, 1955), better known by his stage name Glenn Danzig, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, film director and record producer. He is the founder of the rock bands Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig. He ...

would also mix the tracks with both Chris Desjardins of

the Flesh Eaters The Flesh Eaters are an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1977. They are the most prominent of the bands which have showcased the compositions and singing of their founder, punk poet Chris Desjardins ...

and Pat Burnette. The track "Astro Zombies" takes its name from the title of the 1968 film '' The Astro-Zombies''. Additionally, the album title was inspired by the 1956 film ''

The Creature Walks Among Us ''The Creature Walks Among Us'' is a 1956 American monster horror film and the third installment of the ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' series from Universal Pictures, following the previous year's '' Revenge of the Creature''. The film is ...

''.

Cover artwork

The cover for ''Walk Among Us'' features flying saucers from the 1956 film '' Earth vs. the Flying Saucers'', as well as the "Rat-Bat-Spider" creature from the 1959 film ''

The Angry Red Planet ''The Angry Red Planet'' (also called ''Invasion of Mars'' and ''Journey to Planet Four'') is a 1959 American science-fiction film directed by Ib Melchior and starring Gerald Mohr. Melchior reportedly had an initial production budget of only $ ...

''. The first pressing of the album in the United States (as well as the Italian-issued import) featured cover artwork with a pink background and logo, whereas the second pressing of the album introduced a purple background, though the pink logo was retained. When the album was reissued in 1988, the cover artwork once again featured a purple background, but the band's logo was changed from pink to green. Reissues since 1988 in all formats have varied in usage of either the pink or purple covers. When the album was reissued in 2018 by

, the colors of the cover artwork were changed again, this time with a pink background and a green logo. In a 2009 interview with Joe Matera, Danzig expressed his displeasure with the album's cover artwork, stating that "I remember I flipped out on our label because it was supposed to be in all these different colors such as red, black and orange but the way it came out was truly awful. But they had already printed them anyway, though they had not shown us any proofs beforehand".

Release

''Walk Among Us'' was originally slated for release in 1981 on the band's own label, Plan 9 Records, but was neither pressed nor released due to a lack of financing. After several independent labels on the West Coast took interest in releasing the album, and it was released in the United States on 12" LP by

, an imprint of

, in March 1982. The first pressing of ''Walk Among Us'' featured a pink background and logo, while the second pressing featured a purple background. Danzig began claiming as early as 1983 that ''Walk Among Us'' had sold over 20,000 copies, and that it sold even greater numbers in overseas markets. Chris Desjardins, who helped mix the album and who operated Ruby Records, has considered Danzig's claims about the album's sales figures to be most likely inaccurate, as the label's most successful releases at the time generally sold between 2,500 and 5,000 copies. The album was reissued in 1988 on CD and cassette, this time with a green logo, and Warner Bros. circulated promotional copies of the album in approximately 3,000 custom Misfits Halloween bags that year. The album was released in Canada on LP by Slash/

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

in 1996. Until 2018, all official releases of ''Walk Among Us'' on

or CD in the U.S. were issued through Ruby, Slash, or

. The album was reissued on November 30, 2018, by Earache Records with six limited-run variant colored pressings, identified by the catalog number MOSH666. The cover artwork for the Earache reissue features a pink background and a green logo, and the vinyl records within were available in a total of six colored variants, limited to 300 each: "'20 Eyes' Clear", "'Martian' Green", "'Devil's' Purple", "'Hatebreeder' Red", "'Hell' Orange", and "'Skull' White". Pre-orders for the reissued variants were first announced no later than October 2, 2018, and both the green and purple variants sold out by October 10, 2018.

Critical reception

In his book ''This Music Leaves Stains: The Complete Story of the Misfits'', author James, Jr. writes that ''Walk Among Us'' was considered "an instant triumph" among Misfits fans upon its release, and that it was "the record everyone had patiently been waiting for since '' Beware'' and '

Horror Business "Horror Business" is the third single released by the American horror punk band Misfits (band), Misfits. It was released on June 26, 1979 through vocalist Glenn Danzig's own label, Plan 9 Records, and is commonly said to have been inspired by the ...

'." In a May 1982 issue of '' Sounds'', music journalist

Tim Sommer Timothy Andrew Sommer (born March 5, 1962, in New York City) is an American music journalist, musician, record producer and former Atlantic Records A&R representative. Sommer was the bass player for the slowcore/ dreampop band Hugo Largo. ...

described it as "a truly awesome album". ''

Forced Exposure ''Forced Exposure'' was an independent music magazine founded by Jimmy Johnson and Katie The Kleening Lady (Goldman) (zine). It was published sporadically out of Boston from 1982 to 1993, edited by Jimmy Johnson and Byron Coley. It was printed o ...

''s review of the album stated: "Just uythis fuckin' record". Ned Raggett of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

gave the album a rating of 4.5 out of 5, writing that "Nearly every song on the album – 13 total, delivered in a light-speed 25 minutes – is a twisted classic, with the band's trademark '50s/'60s melodies run through a punk/

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

meatgrinder on full display". Raggett also wrote that the album "became a legendary effort of U.S. punk, the more so because it so willfully violated many f punk'srules" at the time of its release, noting that the album is " terly devoid of political confrontation or social uplift". Jason Heller of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' gave the album a rating of 9.4 out of 10, praising the "insidiously catchy" nature of the songs and writing: "This album is a work of feverish imagination, but it's in no way escapist .. Danzigsings of butchering people and keeping their body parts even as the names

Ted Bundy Theodore Robert Bundy (; November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989), known colloquially as Ted Bundy, was an American serial killer who kidnapping, abducted, raped and murdered dozens of young women and girls between 1974 and 1978. His ''modus ...

and

John Wayne Gacy John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994) was an American serial killer and sex offender who raped, tortured and murdered at least thirty-three young men and boys in Norwood Park Township, Cook County, Illinois, Norwood Park Tow ...

sent chills down the spine of a nation. ..Neither glorifying nor condemning, Misfits simply distilled the anxieties of the early '80s into a putrid elixir." Doug Brod of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, writing that the album's tracks "perfectly capture he Misfits'''danse macabre'' before the tempos quickened and the choruses became scarce on 1983's '' Earth A.D.''". In his book ''The Complete Misfits Discography'', author Robert Michael "Bobb" Cotter calls ''Walk Among Us'' "one of the greatest officially released punk albums of all time." Guitarist

Jay Yuenger Jay Noel Yuenger also known by the stage name "J.", is an American rock guitarist best known for his work with heavy metal band White Zombie. Career As a teenager, Yuenger's interests quickly progressed from pop to hard rock to hardcore pu ...

of the heavy metal band White Zombie called ''Walk Among Us'' "the definitive statement" from the Misfits, noting its "dangerous sound with sweet melodies ..it's just so unique, and so uniquely American. It made a huge impact on everyone I knew." Vocalist

Dave Brockie David Murray Brockie (August 30, 1963 – March 23, 2014) was a Canadian-American musician. He was the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Gwar, in which he performed as Oderus Urungus, and he was a bassist and lead singer in the bands ...

of the heavy metal band

Gwar Gwar, often stylized as GWAR, is an American heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia, in 1984, composed of and operated by a frequently rotating line-up of musicians, artists, and filmmakers collectively known as Slave Pit Inc. Since ...

called ''Walk Among Us'' a "nearly perfect album". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked the album Number 32 on its list of the 40 greatest punk rock albums of all time.

Track listing

Personnel

The Misfits *

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar on "Vampira", "Devil's Whorehouse", "Astro Zombies", overdubbed guitar on all tracks except "Mommy, Can I Go Out & Kill Tonight",

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

on "Braineaters" * Doyle – lead guitar, backing vocals on "Hatebreeders", "Vampira", "Devil's Whorehouse", "20 Eyes", "I Turned Into a Martian" and "Night of the Living Dead" *

Jerry Only Gerald Caiafa Jr. (born April 21, 1959), better known by his stage name Jerry Only, is an American musician, best known as the bassist for the Misfits and later the vocalist as well. He is the only member to appear in every Misfits lineup exce ...

– bass, backing vocals * Arthur Googy – drums Production * Mike Taylor – producer * The Misfits – producers * Pat Burnette – producer