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Nov 19, 2020 Web Exclusive By Matthew Berlyant

Appropriately reissued yet again in time for Halloween, this time on both clear and green vinyl to follow the excellent 2017 reissue on “ghastly green” vinyl, 45 Grave’s Sleep in Safety is one of the best horror punk albums ever made—a landmark of the sub-genre. Led by vocalist Dinah Cancer (what a name) and guitarist Paul Cutler, the group, at this point like an LA punk supergroup, included the late Rob Ritter (listed here as Rob Graves, he also played in Thelonious Monster later on) on bass and Paul Roessler (brother of Kira Roessler and another LA punk veteran, most famously in The Screamers) on keyboards, in addition to former Germs drummer Don Bolles. None of this pedigree would matter if the songs weren’t there and on this excellent 1983 album (the only one they made in their original run, not counting the reunited band’s 2012 album Pick Your Poison), they sure were. “Party Time” was released as a single the following year and used in Return of the Living Dead the year after that with a different “zombie mix.”

Musically, this isn’t hardcore punk, but rather a mix of ’77 punk, goth, New Wave, and ethereal/spoken word elements with lyrics inspired primarily by horror movies but occasionally referencing real life. And with excellent production by Blondie producer Craig Leon, they got a great sound here, too. Let’s thank Real Gone Music for keeping this hidden gem in print and hopefully allowing new fans to hear it and old fans to rediscover it. (www.facebook.com/TheReal45Grave/)

Author rating: 9/10