Everyone knows the tale of The Misfits, and how their records are hugely collectible these days, with the many variations and colors of vinyl especially. Well, when Glenn Danzig disbanded The Misfits and started a new band called Samhain, he carried on the tradition (as well as the label he had started to put out The Misfits records, Plan 9). While they may have only put out three records (and all of them great in my book), there was certainly enough variations to keep a collector busy.
Unholy Passion was their second record, and in my opinion their best. It originally came out on a 12″ slab of vinyl and then much later, was released on CD as bonus tracks on the first pressing of the Initium CD. It was removed from later pressings of that CD and the tracks were then included as part of the lame Final Descent CD which was marketed as being a collection of unreleased Samhain tracks, but in actuality was mostly just unused Danzig recordings that were not used on the first album. It should be noted though, that the versions of these songs on the CDs are not the same as on this vinyl. Rumor has it Glenn re-recorded the drums and guitar himself, in an effort to not have to pay any royalties to the other band members outside of Eerie Von. He was also alleged to have done this to Misfits recordings on Legacy of Brutality among other collections.
The first pressing of this record came out on black vinyl with a tan sleeve. There was 1000 pressed, which to me seems awfully low.
It was then pressed on two different colors of vinyl. First was 200 on white vinyl with a tan sleeve. I imagine these were done to use up the remaining sleeves before changing the color of the cover and doing the second pressing.
Then there was 500 pressed on red vinyl with a maroon cover. There was a sticker on the cover on most copies indicating it was on colored vinyl (sadly the replacement copy I now own doesn’t have it). I also remember it costing more at the store when I bought it upon its release. Well, at least the store I bought it at was charging more, perhaps in an effort to gouge people, it may not have been that way everywhere, though it wouldn’t surprise me.
And lastly there was an unknown number (probably a few thousand) on black vinyl with a maroon sleeve.
As mentioned, the only way to hear these original versions of these songs is on this old vinyl, its a shame they didn’t correct this problem in the lame Samhain box set when it was released, as it would have made for a better package as that thing was a total letdown after the greatness that was The Misfits box set.
So there you have it, the many faces of Samhain’s Unholy Passion.
why don’t you post a song on the many flavors posts. like you do on the regular ones. love the blog, i check it daily to see what you got. that s squad song has been stuck in my head for days.
Unholy Passion is the best release by Samhain by far. “Unholy Passio”, “Hungry End” and “I Am Misery” are my favorite songs by this band. Its not a rumor that Danzig recorded part of this record, its true. I have the Plan 9 version of “Final Descent” on cassette and Danzig is listed as guitarist and vocalist on these “remixed” versions of Unholy Passion (Steve Zing is still listed as the drummer). I heard that the original tapes have been lost, which is why the “remixed” version is still available and the vinyl version has never made it to CD or to the Samhain box set.