Samhain was one of my favorite bands growing up, next to the Misfits and Minor Threat, a super dark, slow kinda punk that totally connected with me. Luckily, they were still around so getting their releases wasn't too hard and posters and merch were easy to find at the cooler record shops in town. Samhain trades the campy fun of the Misfits for a serious, goth rock feel, which really works with Glen's voice and the echo laden, percussion driven sound of the band.
As a kid, I dug the cover art for their records, especially this release and Initium. I actually bought a Samhain poster from Cheapo Records in Minneapolis when I lived there in 1989 with the cover art for Initium advertising a show and it was HUGE, in color and for a young rebelous youth, the perfect thing for showing how serious I was about punk and Samhain. Three dudes covered in blood? Skulls? Awesome. I put it up over my bed as soon as I got home and proudly showed it to my mother - who then promptly made me take it down and get rid of it. I traded it to a friend of mine for two Misfits posters which I still have to this day, but fuck, I really wish I had the Samhain poster. If you read this Tony, and you still have that poster, hit me up!
I bought this EP, Unholy Passion, on cassette tape back in the day and like Initium, I listened to it a ton. I was always impressed with the song writing, even at a young age, and liked the simplicity and vocal melodies and slow goth feel. Initium definitely feels like a transition record from the Misfits - which it is - and this was the first release to feel like they got their sound down. The chimes at the end of 'Unholy Passion' really show their penchant for percussion, as does their remake of the Misfits classic, 'All Hell Breaks Loose' as 'All Hell' with a massive drum sound.
It's one of the best Samhain records in terms of raw song writing, even if Samhain III - November Coming Fire has a few better standout tracks. There isn't a bad track here and its a showcase for Glen's voice for sure, but a total package release with the rawness Glen would leave behind later in Danzig, something I sorely missed.
I bought this EP about ten years or so ago and even though at that time I wasn't listening to anything nearing punk, I snagged it fast, as my cassette tape had long since given up the ghost. Now, of course, its rare and sought after and I'm stoked to have it in the collection.
I also found a flyer for a show of theirs with Poison 13, one of the best skate punk/garage bands that ever existed in the EP sleeve. I picked it up when I was listening to a lot of Poison 13 and trying to collect anything the members were involved in. I tend to keep things like that in with my records so they don't get lost in some box in some move and its a cool little addition this this fantastic EP. To be at that show in Austin would have been really amazing.
Unholy Passion was later remixed and rereleased on Final Descent and later, in the Samhain boxset with Glen playing the guitar tracks and this original version, as far as I can tell, is still out of print.
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