All hell breaks loose.
M. Nichols | West Chester, OH United States | 02/06/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Previously issued on CD tacked onto INITIUM, the UNHOLY PASSION EP is much better on its own. Barely 20 minutes long, UNHOLY PASSION nonetheless stands as the most consistent, and perhaps the most satisfying, Samhain release. An excellent "sampler" for the Samhain-curious, UNHOLY PASSION provides marvelous examples of the variety within the Samhain sound, from the sinister Misfits update "All Hell" to the self-explanatory wail of "I Am Misery." The opening title track, the prototypical Samhain chant, is instantly infectious and intoxicating. It doesn't get any darker than this - nor any better. Fans who dig this should definitely shell out now for the rest of the collection."
Its Unholy
Patrick T. Grady | Palatine, IL | 02/09/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"First off, there's a lot of history to this EP. First, it appeared as 5 song EP on vinyl. Then it appeared on the "Initium" CD with an extra track. Then it appeared as the second half of the "Final Descent" album. Now, its back on its own. Another thing to note is that when "Unholy Passion" first game out, it featured Damien on guitar, but somewhere along the way Danzig, as he'd also done with some unrealeased Misfits' material, re-recorded the guitar parts himself (it was rumored that this was done to avoid paying Damien royalties) and I know that this was the version that originally appeared on "Final Descent" and that's also the version that appears here. So you're not really getting the original "Unholy Passion".
Secondly, this contains the 3 best songs Samhain ever recorded, those being "Unholy Passion", "The Hungry End", and "I Am Misery". "All Hell" (an updated version of the Misfits' "All Hell Breaks Loose") and "Moribund" are also good tunes. If you're not familiar Samhain's sound, the best description is sort of mid-tempo punk-goth-hard rock cross that takes its evil much more seriously than the Misfits ever did (but that doesn't mean you have to). And if you wonder why I keep mentioning the Misfits its because Samhain was Glenn Danzig's first post-Misfits project (but chances are you already know that).
Anyway, there 3 lowpoints to this release. One is the so-called "bonus track", "Misery's Tomb", which is just the backing vocal and bass tracks of "I Am Misery". Pretty dull. You'll probably only listen to it intentionally once. Then there's the production. Like all Samhain releases, the production pretty weak. The guitars are mixed too low and the vocals sound sort of muffled. And then, finally, the packaging is chintzy. No pictures, no lyrics, no credits, no nothing. Still, the songs, for the most part, are excellent so they make up for most of the album's weaknesses."
Unholy mix-up
Rick Bulwicz | Central Jersey | 10/08/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I remember hearing Unholy Passion for the first time back in the mid-80's. It was beyond spooky. The whole album had this pure feeling of evil and torture.
This CD is great to have around, as I don't like to wear my vinyl out. The only problem is the re-mixing. The guitar tracks were all done over, and the mix was "cleaned up". I loved the orginal mix waaaay more than this offering. The original had a deep, almost throbbing feel to it, even if the vocals were mixed low and instrumental separation was non-existant. That's what set the tone of the album however.
Unholy Passion is one of the best musical offerings any group could put out, but the new mix falls short of the original."
Track Listings (6) - Disc #1
