Initium

“Initium” is the 1984 debut album by Samhain, originally released on lead singer Glenn Danzig’s independent record label Plan 9. In various interviews, Danzig stated that the album’s title, which translates from Latin to English as “beginning”, represents his new start after disbanding his prior band, the Misfits, in 1983. Most of the final track, “Archangel”, was actually recorded in 1981, and was originally meant to either be a Misfits song featuring Dave Vanian (who never did vocals for the song) or a track for the band the Damned. The track “Horror Biz” likewise dates to Danzig’s Misfits era, as it is a new version of “Horror Business” with different musical arrangements. The album was recorded at Reel Platinum studio in Lodi, New Jersey, excluding the introduction which was recorded at Eerie Von’s home on a four track cassette. Also appearing here is Lyle Preslar of Minor Threat, who plays guitar on half the album.

Danzig’s early output (most early Misfits records, the Samhain discography, and the first four Danzig albums) still remain out of print since the 80’s and 90’s due to various legal (and personal) issues. The original vinyl records are very hard to find, and priceless. However, recently there have been some very good bootlegs made of these original releases. We came across a batch of these and handpicked the best looking and best sounding copies!

This one sounds exactly like the original, and comes in a well done scanned sleeve, very crisp and clear!