GG Allin and Antiseen – Murder Junkies

GG Allin and Antiseen – Murder Junkies / 2006 TKO / 15 Tracks / http://www.ggallin.com / http://www.tkorecords.com / Reviewed 12 August 2006

Let’s see if I can explain what this album is. You see, GG released an album called “Murder Junkies” with Antiseen in 1991. It fluctuated in and out of print until 2003, when TKO re-released the album with an extra track or two. TKO decided that the first run of vinyl and CDs were not enough for all of the scumfucks throughout the world, so they decided to re-release this album for 2006. The work of Antiseen GG Allin together is really of two parts of the same whole. Sometimes when bands hook up with famous frontpeople, the results are not as strong as they once were (with the band playing alone and the frontperson in another act).

Even if individuals have the original 1991 pressing, this 2006 version has been re-mastered and sounds miles beyond what it once did. There may be certain GG fans who would rather vouch for the older sound of the 1991 pressing, but Antiseen’s instrumentation on the disc sounds much more vibrant and fresh than before. What I would really like to see TKO doing is purchasing the rights to the GG library (if they do not already have them, I have no clue) and releasing a re-mastered version of each album much in the same way as the Ramones discs from a few years ago. This would not be to justr cash in on the legacy of GG, but I’m sure like Tupac and Biggie that there are scores of recordings that either never saw the light of day or were tucked away on little-known compilations and the like. This album is also essential for any Antiseen fans due to the fact that this is an Antiseen from 15 years ago. It is interesting to hear how the band has modified their sound in the years since then.

For those fans of GG, it is almost the reverse; this disc contains some of the last songs that GG ever wrote, and shows a time in which GG’s life was spiraling out of control more so than it had been in the past. This is a great disc, even if it not as groundshaking as eir albums with the Jabbers might have been. Pick this album up and the Terror” DVD and have yourself a GG Allin party today; hopefully, TKO can release some more GG stuff in the nearer future.

Top Tracks: I Hate People, Cock on the Loose

Rating: 6.7/10

[JMcQ]