Here are some actual comments typed by Bobby Steele himself on this matter: "Jerry knew about this release. I have an interview in a zine, called ALTERCATION - that came out in September, 2001 - where Jerry talks about it. As far as his excuse that THE MISFITS were never intended to be a 5-piece - I'd like to see that lie, too. He didn't gripe about the combination of mine, and Doyles tracks on various cuts of the BOX SET. The agreement regarding CAROLINE's ownership, and the settlement in the lawsuit clearly state that Glenn and Jerry's approval cannot be unreasonably witheld... and their excuses are about as unreasonable as it gets, especially when you realize that Glenn is upset about not being properly credited - and he never gave anyone proper credit himself. On the LEGACY argument... compare those versions with the real versions, like on STATIC AGE - and you'll see that the real tracks are much better. The only true reason they are withholding this release is the most obvious one. For twenty years, they lied to you about THE MISFITS, and my guitar playing. This release would prove they lied, and it also gives the best representation of the band as it existed at that time. If Jerry had picked me up to do the rest of my tracks - instead of bringing Doyle in there'd have been a bit more of the 'feedback' tracks, and dynamics like you hear in LONDON DUNGEON. I spoke with Jerry at CHILLER, and he said he's working on buying the tapes from CAROLINE. Rocky said it'll never come out. That sure sounds like they're not thinking about the fiends,and what you want at all. The general consensus is that this is the best MISFITS album yet. There's a chance it could be mixed to sound a little better, but there's also the same chance that it could end up like NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD - listen to the original mix - which is on the BOX SET, and then listen to the muddied mess that Glenn remixed - as it is on the 45. If it aint broke, don't fix it." More comments by Bobby: "I ran into Jerry this weekend, and apparently, he's trying to buy the 12 HITS masters back from Caroline. Rocky said it'll never come out. I take this to mean they plan on destroying the tapes as soon as they gain custody of them. Wasn't there someone else who was born on the same date as Jerry - who wanted to rewrite history ? Hmmm... Again: CAROLINE owns the masters - and Glenn and Jerry only have a right to "REASONABLY REFUSE" any release. There is no reasonable argument for them to withdraw it, which is why they have come up with such whoppers as bad sound, poor mastering, and Jerry's claim that he never knew about it - despite running the ad on MISFITS.COM for a time, and discussing it in interviews last summer. He was all for it, until he realized it would PROVE WHAT A LIAR HE IS... Yes folks, we're looking at Hitler's last days in the bunker. Funny how the two share not only the same birthday, but the same philosophy... Hitler said "death before dishonor"; Jerry, in the original Cyclopean membership cards, had the slogan, "Life, without honor - is not a life at all". Maybe it's time for him to put a bullet in his own head... " More comments by Bobby: "CAROLINE owns the masters and copyrights, and WE are only allowed to REASONABLY WITHHOLD permission of any release. Considering how Caroline saw it fit to respond to inquiries from everyone other than me - including fiends - that's a major dis. I know of totally unassociated fiends who were given promos of this, months ago... that's another major dis. I merely asked if I could have some free copies - and they can't reply to that ? Seeing as the whole thing was being touted for having my guitar tracks - they should contact me. I know the exact terms of the settlement, and I am supposed to be respected for my contribution. There are some things in the agreement that are still questionable - like whether Jerry and/or Glenn had the right to sell these, and not pay me and Joey our share - could mean for some serious legal technicalities in the end. As it is, 12 HITS proves that you've been lied to by these guys. The "sealed" court documents prove that even further. " More comments by Bobby: "I just found out about this. I'm trying to find out what's going on. I think the mix is great. Maybe Glenn and "the MISFITS" don't like the fact that it shows them for what they have been for 20 years... liars. It is pretty funny that Caroline has evidently responded to those to parties, but still shows total contempt when it comes to me. I've been trying to get answers from Ashley for two weeks. " More comments by Bobby:" I don't think they'd be so stupid as to overdub new guitars at this point. I have been hearing that they intend to change the 'content' in the book, so that could mean removing any good things said about me in it. Of course, they'd be stupid to do that, too. Hopefully, they'll just give it a better cover. The more support I get, based on the current version, from fiends, the better chance we have of putting on the pressure to release THIS mix, or a better mix - approved by me. Maybe we can show Caroline that, if they make changes that are defamatory to me - it'll be boycotted (there's that word again) and MP3s of this mix will be the accepted version of this album. I'm fighting for this one. I mean, if they 'approved' the poorer sounding versions in the BOX SET, they have no argument for not approving this version. I understand a lot of you have written to Caroline, and I would appreciate it if you would forward his replies - with FULL HEADERS - to me at UNDEAD@JUNO.COM Thanks I just got an email from the legal dept at EMI - who, I guess made the mistake of buying CAROLINE... they have demanded that I cease and desist from, among other things - doing anything to try to get CAROLINE to tell me where my missing royalties are. In other words, if I email ASHLEY@ASTRALWERKS.COM and ask "where is my money" they'll have me arrested... Go ahead Ashley - tell me - why are you helping in this cover-up ? I'm just glad everyone has gotten copies of this music. I've heard rumors that Jerry has been telling people that I will be removed from these recordings. "

Caroline Records/Astralwerks (the record company): They stated the album would not be released "due to an inferior mastering error" in their original cancellation letter that they sent out. One year later after the original release date of the album I personally received an e-mail from Ashley at Astralwerks telling me exactly this: "The version that was withdrawn was not pleasing to the Misfits because this was a false remix and not a representation of the band's authentic sound as it had 2 guitars in the mix - the Misfits never had two guitarists." Now remember, when they say Misfits, that just means Jerry, because he owns the Misfits name now. After I read that, it seemed more like what Bobby stated was true. If you think about it, many of the original Misfits recordings have 2 guitars or more in the song mix. It is common to double your guitar tracks when recording. "12 Hits From Hell" was no different it even featured the original album producer Rob Alter playing additional guitar on "London Dungeon" and "Violent World". Are they going to take him off the album too??? Who ever said playing additional guitars on an album changes the band to a 5 piece??? Obviously that excuse is complete junk. We all know Misfits were never a 5 piece band. They never had this problem when they put these same songs in the "Misfits Box Set", or the original "3 Hits From Hell" 7 inch, or the original "Halloween" 7 inch, so why now? My point is, the complaint seems totally stupid, the band never recorded as a five piece, they just added an additional guitar track when a new member joined the band. Obviously that's what they wanted back then, and if you ask me, I think it is actually pretty great having a Misfits album that was fully recorded with 2 original Misfits guitarists!

3. Will the CD ever come out?

The version of the CD that you see on this web site will never be released. It is also not likely that you will ever see another version of the CD released either. The record company still says that they are trying to work something out. But they have also said "it looks as though we have lost so much money on this project that it seems like it never coming out." Caroline records had to cancel the CD just 2 ½ weeks before its release. They destroyed all the CD's and not to mention all the advertising and posters that were sent out. Needless to say a lot of money was lost on this project. We now know that if this CD ever does come out, it will be greatly altered (different artwork, and a mix that portrays the Misfits as a 4 piece band). If they do ever go forward with all the changes, the album will be much less desirable then the discontinued version, so it probably wouldn't be worth making. When Glenn Danzig was asked if it was ever coming out he was quoted saying "I doubt if they (the record company) will ever get that thing done correct."

4. What happened to all of the CD's that were made to be sent out to the stores before it was canceled?

We are told that they were all destroyed.

5. How many of these CD's were made?

No one knows for sure. One source says approximately 2000 promo CD's were pressed and distributed. It also says 40,000 of the regular store ready CD's were pressed and destroyed, but a few of these are floating around out there in Misfits collecting land.

6. What about the 12 inch vinyl record? Were those ever made?

Originally I told you, no, absolutely not. Thats not the truth. The truth is that 3 black vinyl copies were made -Caroline: CAR11207 (September 5, 2001)- . These test pressings were created by Universal Test Pressing and have "OUCH THAT'S HOT!" matrix etchings. At least 2 LP sleeves were also printed for review by band members. No further vinyl was ever pressed. The original plan was to press 2000 copies of orange vinyl and 1000 copies of white vinyl. None of the actual store shelf records were ever made. Caroline/Astralwerks, the record company has confirmed this over and over again. As for the Acetate, 1 set was made. This acetate set was created by The Hit Factory Mastering, inc.-Caroline: 24381-1207-1 (August 23, 2001)-

7. Are you sure there isn't a record, because I have seen it in stores and on eBay, and it even has the Caroline Records logo on it?

Nope, in 2002 someone bootlegged the whole album right from the CD It is said that they pressed 1000 of these records, they look authentic, but they are not. They may have come from Germany, it seems that's where they first popped up. Don't be fooled, if you get one $20 is a fair price to pay. The black vinyl has gone into second pressing on a bit thinner record. There is also a limited number of them pressed on RED vinyl (about 78 records worth). All of them are bootleg.

8. Where can I get one of these rare CD's?

Check eBay, but act fast because Caroline Records usually notices them and they will have the auction ended so it makes it hard to buy and sell them on eBay. Lots of collectors buy and sell them online, or check local music stores and see if by chance they have a promo for sale.

9. Was this CD really ever meant to be a full album, and how do you know the songs are in the order that they were originally intended to be in?

The master tapes of the album had the track listing written out and it that described the songs that would eventually go on side A and the songs that would go on side B of a record. The track listing was written by Glenn Danzig, you can actually see a scan of his handwriting on the back of the CD that shows the track listing.

10. Haven't these songs been released already?

Yes, all but one of them were in the box set and on various other Misfits releases, but this album finally brings them together as they were meant to be for the first time. Also every song was completely re-mixed and mastered for this release. Now all the songs sound like they belong together.

11. What's so great about these versions of the songs?

It is the only recording session to feature both Bobby Steele and Doyle on guitar. The sound on this album is much different then your typical Misfits release. The guitar is much less distorted then most other albums and is said to have an eerie vibe to it.

12. Is there anything that was previously unreleased on the album?

Yes, there is a never before released out take version of London Dungeon

13. I have a sealed version of the promo CD, should I keep it sealed?

To my knowledge these were never made. If it was factory sealed it would have a sticker on it. I have never heard of them shrink wrapping the promo CD's If yours is sealed, it was probably just sealed by the record store owner to make it look authentic or to add value to it. You can get anything shrink-wrapped at your local kinkos store. So go ahead and just open it up, why not?