Halloween (Misfits song)

Facts from the original

• "Halloween" is the fifth single by the American punk rock band Misfits.
• The single was released on October 31, 1981 on singer Glenn Danzig's label Plan 9 Records.
• 5,000 copies of the single were pressed on black 7-inch vinyl, some of which included a lyrics sheet.
• It was the first Misfits release to use their Famous Monsters of Filmland-inspired logo, and the first to refer to the band as simply "Misfits."
• It was the first Misfits release not to feature guitarist Bobby Steele; he was replaced by Jerry's brother and Steele's guitar tech, Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, after Steele's absence during rehearsals.
• The A-side is "Halloween" and the B-side is "Halloween II".
• The lyrics to "Halloween II" are in nonstandard Latin, translating to: "Ancient formulas of exorcisms and excommunications / That witches and those made wolves believe / I maim now the demon clothed in wolfskin / Having to hide in the hollow of a tree / I say werewolves can change shapes."
• All tracks on the single are written by Glenn Danzig.
• Side A track 1 is "Halloween" at 1:53; Side B track 1 is "Halloween II" at 2:13; total length is 4:06.
• Personnel on the single: Glenn Danzig on lead vocals, Jerry Only on bass, Arthur Googy on drums, and Doyle on guitar.
• Following the band's 1983 breakup, the 12 Hits from Hell version of "Halloween" was reissued on the 1985 compilation album Legacy of Brutality, one of the few tracks on the album not to have overdubbed guitar and bass tracks recorded by Danzig.
• The single versions of both songs were re-released on Collection II in 1995.
• All of the versions were included in The Misfits box set in 1996, along with the 12 Hits from Hell studio recording of "Halloween II".
• Mudhoney included a sample of "Halloween" in their 1988 cover of Sonic Youth's song of the same title on the "Touch Me I'm Sick"/"Halloween" split single.
• AFI covered "Halloween" for their All Hallow's EP (1999).
• Dropkick Murphys recorded a version for the compilation Back on the Streets: Japanese/American Punk Unity (2000), later re-released on Singles Collection, Volume 2 (2005).
• The American death metal band Winds of Plague recorded a cover included as an iTunes bonus track on their 2009 album The Great Stone War.
• Danzig re-recorded "Halloween II" with his post-Misfits project Samhain; this version appeared on November-Coming-Fire (1986) and Live 85-86 (2001).
• "Halloween II" was covered by Tenebre on the tribute album Hell on Earth: A Tribute to the Misfits (2000) and by Cradle of Filth on the Underworld: Evolution soundtrack and Thornography (2006), though Cradle of Filth's cover is based on the Samhain version.
• Alkaline Trio recorded their cover of "Halloween" in August 2002 while on tour.
• Alkaline Trio released their version as a single through Asian Man Records (AM-097), with a cover of "Children in Heat" (from "Horror Business") as the B-side, given away exclusively to attendees at their performance on October 31, 2002 at the Metro Chicago.
• The Alkaline Trio performance was filmed and released on DVD in 2003 as Halloween at the Metro, the fourth installment in Kung Fu Films' The Show Must Go Off! series.
• In 2004 Alkaline Trio re-released the single as a download exclusively to members of their fan club the Blood Pact, adding a cover of The Damned's "Wait for the Blackout" recorded in 2003 at the BBC's Maida Vale Studios.
• Alkaline Trio personnel on their version: Matt Skiba on guitar and lead vocals, Dan Andriano on bass, and Derek Grant on drums.