Puneet Varma (Editor)

The Undead

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Years active
  
1980–present

Associated acts
  
Misfits

Members
  
Bobby Steele

Labels
  
Stiff, Post Mortem

Past members
  
(See #Lineups)


Origin
  
New Milford, New Jersey, United States (1980)

Genres
  
Horror punk, Hardcore punk, New York hardcore

Albums
  
Dawn of the Undead, Act Your Rage, 9 Toes Later, Live Slayer, The Morgue the Merrier

The Undead is an American horror punk band formed in October 1980 in New Milford, New Jersey by Bobby Steele (vocals and guitar), Chris "Jack" Natz (bass) and Patrick Blanck (drums). Steele (then of the Misfits) and Natz had been playing with drummer Richie Matalia as a side project called The Skabs. When Matalia departed and Steele was fired from his main band the Misfits, the trio of Steele, Natz and Blanck formed The Undead.

Contents

History

They released their first EP, 9 Toes Later, in 1982. A few months later, Natz and Blanck left the band, replaced by Brian "Payne" Aliano on bass and Bobby Savage on drums. This lineup released the Verbal Abuse single in 1983. Steve Zing (of Mourning Noise and later Samhain) then took over as drummer. Between 1983 and 1986, Aliano and Zing performed with the band intermittently, while many other musicians played in The Undead for short periods. Aliano and Zing finally quit the band in December 1986.

The Undead have released numerous singles and EPs. Their full-length studio albums include Act Your Rage (1989), Til Death (1998), Dawn of the Undead (1991) and The Morgue, The Merrier (2015), as well as a 2007 full-album cover version of the Misfits' 12 Hits From Hell, released only as a download. The group went on hiatus from live performance between late 2002 and early 2006.

Return of The Undead

The Undead returned to the music scene in 2006 with a lineup of Steele on guitar and vocals, Joel Gausten on drums and Joff Wilson on bass. They played CBGB on Saint Patrick's Day (also Steele's 50th birthday) as well as a free show at Tompkins Square Park in June of that year. September 2006 saw the remastered rerelease of Dawn of the Undead. Band profits were used to fund Steele's lawsuit against his landlord who allegedly ignored his demands to fix weather-related water damage to Steele's apartment. Wilson left the band in July 2007, and Gausten in September 2008 (the latter became involved in the experimental project Effectionhate).

The Undead recorded their own version of the infamous "lost" Misfits album, 12 Hits from Hell, and made the full recording available as a stream on the band's website on October 31, 2007. This release was quickly followed by a new single, a cover of the Misfits' "Halloween," on Germany's No Balls Records.

Former drummer Blanck (who later played in the bands Damage, Virus and The Blacksnakes) died on January 2, 2001 in a diving accident in the Dominican Republic. Ex-bassist Roxy Michaels died in 2005. Original bassist Natz later played in Virus, The Blacksnakes and Cop Shoot Cop.

Steele released a solo album called Bobby in 2009. He reformed The Undead again in late 2012 with Paul Mauled (bass), Serial Bill Gotta (drums) (of The Bad Whoremoans) and Diana Steele (keys and vocals). In 2015, Boris was recruited to play drums. The band released the album "The Morgue... The Merrier" in October 2015. In May 2016, Ryan Switzer (bass and vocals) joined the band. In 2016, Joe Stoker (drums) joined the band.

Albums

  • Never Say Die - LP (1986); cassette (1987)
  • Act Your Rage - LP, cassette (1989)
  • Dawn of the Undead - LP, CD, cassette (1991); remastered CD (2006)
  • Live Slayer - LP, CD, cassette (1992)
  • The Undead - Cassette (1995)
  • Til Death - LP, CD (1998)
  • Still The Undead After All These Years - CD (2007)
  • 12 Hits from Hell - Uncovered - digital-only (2007)
  • Bobby (aka Bobby Steele) - CD (2009)
  • The Morgue... The Merrier - CD (2015)

    • EPs

  • 9 Toes Later - 7" EP (1982)
  • Evening of Desire - 12" EP (1992)
  • Times Square - split 7" EP (2000)
  • Third World U S A - 4-song EP(2002)
  • Rockn'Roll Whore - 4-song EP (2002)
  • Be My Ghoul Tonight - 4-song EP (2003)
  • I Made a Monster - 3-song EP (2009)

    • Singles

  • "Verbal Abuse" - 7" single (1983)
  • "Never Say Die" - 7" single (1985)
  • "Invisible Man" - 7" single (1992)
  • "Evening of Desire" - 12" single (1992)
  • "There's a Riot in Tompkins Square" - 7" single (1993)
  • "Halloween" - 7" single (2007)

    • Lineups

    Current lineup

  • Bobby Steele - guitar, vocals, bass (1980-current)
  • Ryan Ratcliff - bass, vocals (2016-current)
  • Joe Stoker - drums (2016-current)
  • Diana Steele - keyboards, vocals, guitar (2014-current)

    • Former members

    Guitarists

  • Eddie Van Migraine (August 1996)
  • Bryce Bernius (July 21, 2000)

    • Bassists

  • Chris "Jack" Natz (1980–1982)
  • Brian "Payne" Aliano (on and off between 1982–1986)
  • John Fiore (1986)
  • West Rocker (1987, 1988)
  • Pete Lisa (1987)
  • Tim Taylor (1988–1990)
  • Rich Pressley (1990)
  • Jim Joyce (1990–1992)
  • Phil Portuesi (1993)
  • Brian (1993)
  • Anthony D'Amico (1993–1995)
  • Jay Von Hack (1996)
  • Will Harper (1997, 1998)
  • Danny Duke (Mr. D) (1998)
  • Ian Lawrence (on and off between 1998–2000)
  • Rahne Pistor (on and off between 1998–1999)
  • Bryce Bernius (on and off between 2000–2006)
  • Roxy Michaels (2002)
  • J~Sin Trioxin (2002)
  • Argyle Goolsby (2002)
  • Joff Wilson (2006–2007)
  • Hiromu C Yanagiya (2008–2011)
  • Zombie Alex Kopec (2010-2011)
  • Paul Mauled (2007, 2012-2016)

    • Drummers

  • Patrick Blanck (1980–1982)
  • Bobby Savage (1982–1983)
  • Steve Zing (on and off between 1983–1986)
  • Rich Matalian (1986)
  • Stacey Morris (1987)
  • Tony DiLeo (1988–1989)
  • Eddie Enzyme (1989–1990)
  • Steve Sloppy (1990, see Sloppy Seconds)
  • Joe Darone (1990–1992)
  • Jeff O'Hara (1993, 1993–1994)
  • Ratty (1993)
  • John Rosado (1994–1995)
  • Atom Cheeze (1996)
  • Mormo Stinkbat (1997, 1998)
  • Sébastien DeChamplain (1998)
  • Gram Slam (on and off between 1998–1999)
  • James "Jaw" Alexander (1999–2000)
  • Joey Image (2000–2002)
  • Angel Bartolotta (2001)
  • Joel Gausten (1998–1999, 2002, 2006–2008)
  • Hitomi (2008–2010)
  • Serial Bill Gotta (2010-2015)
  • Boris (2015-2016)

    • Songs

    Somebody Super Like YouPhantom of the Paradise · 1974
    Evening of DesireLive Slayer · 1992
    When the Evening ComesLive Slayer · 1992

    References

    The Undead Wikipedia
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