The Misfits' legend grew over the years following the original band's breakup to warrant an increasing number of compilations like
Legacy of Brutality and the boldly titled
Collection (followed some years later by, but of course,
Collection II). Sometimes worthwhile, sometimes incredibly slapdash, they fueled the fire but still did the fans a major disservice, especially given the repetition and overlap on many releases. Though it has its flaws, the coffin-shaped
Box Set finally put things as right as seems possible with the Misfits, exhaustively covering all the releases the late-'70s/early-'80s version of the group put out (the exception being
Walk Among Us due to a label-rights situation). The first two discs feature, respectively, the material on the two
Collection releases and
Legacy of Brutality,
Evilive, and
Earth A.D.. The third compiles a slew of different demo and recording sessions, including the original trio lineup (with
Danzig on electric piano) on the "Cough/Cool"/"She" single takes, while the fourth presents the planned-but-never-released-as-such
Static Age for the first time. Though recording quality itself varies widely over the discs and arguably some of the mastering could have been sharper (
Danzig's own occasional remastering jobs in previous years weren't used here), it's still an explosive and exhaustive effort that any fan needs. The biggest downside: While the sessions on the third disc are thoroughly detailed, the studio cuts on the first two discs are placed without comment as to which sessions produced them, while aside from
Evilive and
Earth A.D. most of the time it's not clear in the slightest which takes were the ones actually released at the time by the band. The accompanying booklet does a good job in making up for this, though; besides a great band history from then-roadie/photographer and future
Danzig bassist
Eerie Von, there are complete lyrics for every song, a slew of amazing photographs from concerts and other shoots, and an exhaustive discography. ~ Ned Raggett