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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u2026And We All Die is the project of musician Raymond Burton Estes that first took shape in 2000. Estes wanted to collaborate with a diverse group of friends and artists to fuse heavy music in the vein of UK82 punk rock, US hardcore, and industrial with darker, melodic post-punk music (image throwing Exploited, Integrity, Ministry, and The Cure into a blender). Over the last quarter-century, Estes has combined forces with artists from around the country including Texas, Washington DC, and Chicago. Static Age<\/em> features Estes on vocals and bass, Walter Lee (Rockett Queen) on drums, and guitarist Guillermo Murillo (The Half Guided Hearts). Shelby Cinca (catbeats) provides additional guitar for the title track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe chose these Misfits covers because they\u2019re great songs from the band\u2019s early era that lend themselves to interpretation,\u201d says Estes. Misfits songs, like most early punk, are ingenious in their simplicity. Making them an optimal choice for covers. They can be an easy song to slip into your set when you\u2019re just starting out, but they also leave plenty of room to add flavor. \u201cWe leaned into their heavier elements but chose a more post-punk or noise-rock approach, rather than a straightforward punk or metal one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Estes was speaking the truth when he said they leaned into the heavier elements of the Misfits style. It\u2019s apparent from the opening drum roll of\u00a0 \u201cStatic Age.\u201d Este\u2019s gruff vocals distinguish themselves from Glen Danzig\u2019s \u201cgoth Elvis\u201d voice. And the \u201cextra spice\u201d from Cinca\u2019s guitar does a great job of carrying the song between each verse. It\u2019s immediately recognizable as a Misfits song, but also clearly not the Misfits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What I can especially appreciate about these song choices is that, lyrically speaking, they are connected by a theme. While the Misfits have lyrics that involve hacking the heads off little girls and raping mothers, they also have songs about the dangers of technology. Both \u201cStatic Age\u201d and \u201cTV Casualty\u201d are about the dangers of television and how it robs people of their humanity. Of course, the argument could be made that songs taking the point of serial killers and horror movie references are making that same statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Much like the first track, \u2026And We All Die\u2019s take on \u201cTV Casualty\u201d is heavier than the original. Part of how \u2026AWAD is pulling this off by bringing the instruments more forward. Este\u2019s vocals blend into the bass, drums, and guitar more than the Misfits tunes which end to put Danzig\u2019s vocals front and center in the mix (gee, wonder why). This strategy gives the \u2026AWAD versions more of a \u201cwall of sound\u201d feel. It\u2019s heavier. Where a Misfits song might cut like a knife, these takes hit like a truck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If I\u2019m going to be fully honest, the industrial versions on the back half are the more interesting half. Of course, being from Chicago, I might be biased. After all, this town arguably invented the genre. I listen to Stabbing Westward and Ministry a lot in middle and high school. So these versions speak to my angry younger self.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Featuring a fuzzy mix, especially on the drums, and additional synth bits by Gost, these versions are far more unique. While the front half disguises itself through sheer weight, it\u2019s the back half where \u2026And We All Die truly put their own spin on these punk standards. I\u2019m a sucker for cross-genre covers, and these mixes feed my predilections (if not my television screen). Also, the lyrics \u201cwe\u2019re all blue from projection tubes\u201d were made for industrial music. The genre as a whole essentially combines electronic music with metal and post punk, it literally uses technology to create a sense of unease. It\u2019s unsettling. Machine like to the point of transhumanist. These takes on \u201cStatic Age\u201d and \u201cTV Casualty\u201d feel like an HR Giger drawing put to sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like any good essay, the conclusion circles back to the intro. So, again, I must emphasize that covering a song is not something to be taken lightly. While there\u2019s no one approach to it, a cover must work hard to justify its existence. The best ones are a tightrope walk of being immediately recognizable while throwing in enough twists to make it unique. Too much in either direction will elicit the worst case scenario for any cover song: the dreaded eye-roll. Fortunately, \u2026And We All Die avoids this pitfall. The industrial mixes do an incredible job of inserting new life into these horror punk classics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/And-We-All-Die-Chicago-Fleurette-Estes-1-1024x683.jpg\")
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