| The Undead, a New York City punk band, initially formed
around 1980 under the leadership of Bobby Steele. For
those who don't recognize the name, Bobby is a former
guitarist for The Misfits. A traditional three-piece
band (drums, guitar, bass), The Undead have gone through
over two dozen members, with their founding father as the only constant.
The music of the Undead follows the tried-and-true Punk
recipe:
Pour two cups of dark, liquid social angst rock over
a bitter flour of rage and righteousness. Shape this
dough into little cookies that resemble Nazi policemen,smug middle-class drones, and those faceless bastards
that support the status quo. Sprinkle liberally with sex,
drugs, broken relationships, and vinegar. Let sit until
violent foaming begins. Knead thoroughly with pounding
drums until cookies begin to resonate on their own accord. Torment with raw and dirty
chords until the entire army of cookiedom stands up and begins assaulting its own members
to a pulp.
What I'm trying to say here is "The Undead are punk rawk. Good
old-fashioned NYC punk rawk."
While they are not a "cover band" in any sense of the word, The Undead have been known to take a few rock classics
and give them thorough thrashings. Notable victims
include The Beatles' "All You Need is Love",
Allan Sherman's "Ratt Fink" and an amazingly coherent rendition
of Barry McGuire's 1965 hit "Eve of Destruction".
Though I can't begin to count all the known bootlegs,
we can iterate their official releases (and labels):
"9 Toes Later" Post Mortem (1983)
"Verbal Abuse" Post Mortem (1983)
"Never Say Die" Post Mortem (1985)
"Never Say Die!" Rebel (1986)
"Never Say Die!" Post Mortem (1987)
"Act Your Rage" Post Mortem (1989)
"Dawn of the Undead" Post Mortem (1991)
"Live Slayer" Skyclad (1992)
"Invisible Man" Skyclad (1992)
"Evening of Desire" Overground (1992)
"There's a Riot in Tompkins Square" Overground (1993)
"The Undead" Post Mortem (1995)
"Til Death!" Underworld (1998)
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