Misfits

Oooooo! Spooky!
*special introductory paragraph!
*Legacy Of Brutality
*Walk Among Us
*Evilive
*Al's Bar '82
*Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood
*Misfits
*Collection II
*Box Set
*American Psycho
*Psycho In The Wax Museum 7"
*Evillive II
*Famous Monsters
*Shocking Return
*Project 1950
*Land Of The Dead 12"
*The Devil's Rain
Glenn Danzig was a diminutive young lad in New Jersey round abouts 1977 when he put together the first incarnation of this popular punk rock combo. Initially, they sounded like a fuzzed-out '50s act (like, say, the Ramones, for example!!!) with one key difference - almost every song that this Mr. Danzig penned was based on an old horror movie! With titles like "Spinal Remains," "Teenagers From Mars," and "Night Of The Living Dead," these cats immediately ripped to shreds any possibility of being taken seriously, but prevented their bloody tales of gore from rendering them a harmless novelty act by dressing and playing the part - to a T. They wore scary dark outfits, grew their hair into these eerie "devilock" things that hung menacingly over their faces 24-7, powdered their faces white, drew dark make-up rings around their eyes in a very zombie-like fashion, and, most importantly, threatened and beat up a lot of their fans over the years! Okay, this is only rumor talking, but you know rumor!!!

What seems clear no matter who you ask, though, is that Glenn Danzig has a very distinctive outlook on the world. He's a very short man, but extremely violent and confrontational by nature, and whether leading the Misfits through lightning-speed death punk, pushing Samhain through blood-soaked goth metal, or kicking Danzig (the band)'s ass through traditional cock rock or industrial grunge, he has always displayed an obsession with comic book-style bloodshed, as well as a healthy hatred for society in general. Plus, he has really big muscles now so he can beat people up more! But darn it, no matter what you may say about the fellow's attitude, he's still probably got the coolest voice that punk rock has ever glimpsed - a really cocky, swaggering, and angry... umm, baritone or something... that comes across kind of like a cross between Elvis Presley and Jim Morrison, and gives the music an overwhelming melodic strength that may not have shown through had that Candlebox guy been singing for them - plus he would have been about six years old, so it would have sounded even wimpier.

Okay, so the Misfits were a punk band that turned into a hardcore band and finally broke up all together in 1983. It might seem tough to decide which albums to buy, since most of them are repackages of early material and stuff, but don't worry about it. No matter which one you get, it's gonna kick your ass. They were one of the greatest punk bands ever.

No hang on. They later reformed without Glenn Danzig and released the worst music ever created on the face of the earth.


Legacy Of Brutality - Plan 9/Caroline 1985.
Rating = 9


Although this compilation thingy contains tracks recorded across a span of three and a half years ('77-'81), it is still very clearly the sound of "early Misfits." The songs are uptempo, but not speedcore - each one takes its time to develop an evil pop groove (like a more morbid version of the Sex Pistols), and the overall tone is extremely spooky and dungeon-like, thanks to a heavy reverberating bass groan and guitars that sound like a vacuum cleaner. See, back at this point, they didn't really sound that much like The Ramones because the music was so darn weird. The production puts so much emphasis (understandably) on Danzig's voice that the music becomes kinda like a strange creepy-sounding pop background for his grotesquery ("Some kinda love / Some kinda hate / The maggots in the eye of love won't copulate").

Goth? No, the distorted guitars and upbeat rhythms make it clear that this stuff is still intended as some sort of punk rock music, but it is awfully B-movie for the otherwise "political" punk genre (such as it was back in those early Clash days). Titles include "TV Casualty," "Angelfuck," and "American Nightmare." Enjoy one today! No, see, about half of these songs were meant for an album called Static Age that just never came out. The other half were, I guess, from singles or whatnot, and contain total rock classics like "Halloween," "Who Killed Marilyn," and "Where Eagles Dare." The melodies are endlessly catchy though dismal in tone, the vocals are as powerful as a malevolent god, and only a fink would bitch about the relative slowness of the tuneage.

Reader Comments

AFU69@hotmail.com
This was the first Misfits album I bought. It was also the first 'punk' album I ever bought. What an introduction!!!! Although it's not as upbeat as Walk Among Us is, I think I like it a little more; especially the last half of side one and all of side two. "Where Eagles Dare" rules!!!!!!

ECQW36A@prodigy.com (Ms. Jennifer A. Wilson)
Who can argue with a chorus like "Hybrid Moments"? Or how about the sinister feel of "Theme for a jackal"? Legacy of Brutality is the first Misfits album I ever heard, and it convinced me to seek out more....Glenn Danzig has a way with catchy choruses and a great voice!!!!

AMNIGHTMARE@webtv.net (Mike Black)
"american nightmare" is the best song of legacy and one of the best overall. glenn doin an elvis like voice and it sounding so good mixed with cool lyrics shows how much talent he has.

reech@dorsai.org
A grand showing of the pre-walk among us misfits. Glen has got his Elvis voice in full lock and load and aside from the crappy production, a must have.

DrLillen@aol.com
The best non-greatest hits album they made. "American nightmare" shows Glenn's versatality.

pmtapia@worldnet.att.net (The Chameleon)
The first Misfits' songs I ever heard was on Legacy of Brutality. Sure these songs aren't complex, or they don't do any bad ass solos, the beauty of these songs are that they follow simple formats and simple chord patterns but the songs still kick my ass anyway! How the hell can you go wrong with the chorus line in "Where Eagles Dare"? How can you get sick of listening to "She"? It's only like a minute and I can listen to it over and over again. "Angelfuck", "Who Killed Marilyn?"...they're all good! This is an album where you can just sit back and listen to and actually just concentrate on the music and still be entertained for god knows how long.

xfoundationx@mail.geocities.com (Dean Reis)
the band is awesome. "static age" is fucking awesome. However this is probably my least favorite album of their's. it's still fuckin awesom.

Psycho74x9@aol.com
This album rules! The early morbid punk provides the perfect background for Glenn's incredible vocal strength...definitely one of the best frontmen ever. "Hybrid Moments" and "Where Eagles Dare" plow through everything in their path, "Come Back" is creepy and immersing (blows my mind every time I listen to it with lights out and headphones on), and "Some Kinda Hate" is killer. I always stop it at track 12, though. "American Nightmare" is a pointless parody that's only funny the first time you listen to it. Would that "Spook City USA" has been included instead.

mccan100@chapman.edu (Adam)
hey.. i am a huge misfits fan and i was wondering what you think about the new release of Static Age??? if you reviewed it, i think legacy would be dropped down to a 5 or 6 because how crappy it sounds... glenn's vocals are just hammered by all that hideous groaning guitar and bass...but don't get me wrong, hideous groaning guitar and bass sounds cool on earth ad because that was murder/death/kill put onto tape, it is supposed to sound crazy and distorted.... the only thing that saves LOB is "american nightmare..." because that is the coolest track they ever recorded... but with the cleaner guitar on SA, songs like "hybrid moments" and "come back" and "last caress" and "angelfuck" become some of the greatest songs ever to come outta rock-n-roll.... glenn's voice is just utterly amazing and i think the best parts are his "rawness" and the "swagger" in his voice... i listen to danzig I-IV and he is sorta crooning and it doesn't come out the same was as when he was in the misfits... he sounded like a pissed off adolescent when in fact, he was about 22.... thanks listening to me ramble...

DoYLe42332@aol.com
Legacy is a great album,but that makes perfect sense with it being the Misfits and all.This is not the first Misfits album I've heard but it does kick your ass each time you pop it in.

hood004@bama.ua.edu
I'd have to say, Legacy of Brutality is one of the best Misfits collections. Though the sound quality is abysmal (which most serious Misfits fans have learned to deal with), there are some true classics to be found. "American Nightmare" is worth the price of the CD, and this does have some of my favorite songs. Most of it should really be listened to on the Static Age CD, but this is the only place to find "American Nightmare" and "Who Killed Marilyn?" on CD (besides a boot, of course). I'd give it a 7.

rjconi@cpn-net.com (Rowana Condry)
Legacy is a great collection, the production is bad though, the versions of these songs on the newer Static Age CD are much better. But if you don't get this you miss out on the all time greatest Misfits tune: American Nightmare. American nightmare is only available on Legacy, so go out and buy it. Plus, the version of of the classic "She" is a little better. I asked Glenn Danzig why he didn't play American Nightmare after a small show he did with the Danzig band years ago, he just looked at me with a half smile pulled back his fist and knocked me to the ground with a quick jab. He wasn't even as big as I thought he was, he was short but buff and my jaw hurt for a good week, it was the greatest experience of my life, only actually seeing him do American Nightmare on stage could be better.

stevenbrown@tinyworld.co.uk
I'm a massive misfits fan!

Legacy of brutality rocks. Haloween is more like an anthem than a song, and hybrid moments.....hybrid moments....that chorus!!!!! breath taking...Putting the Danzig era aside for a moment, i think that famous monsters is even better...who can argue with forbidden zone? easily one of the best songs iv'e ever heard.

Iv'e got American psycho on order, and i can't wait to see what its like..... fantastic if there other albums are anything to go by!

misfiend138@hotmail.com
This album is one of the finest that the Misfts released. It is a collection of earlier material that pick up where their 7" single Cough/Cool leaves off (though released some time later), only now they have replaced the keyboard with a guitar. It has the same gloomy, brooding intensity that has made the Misfits the premiere dark punk band of all times. The hook that they have used for not only this album, but the majority of their others, is the use of B-movies for subject matter and inspiration. I feel that the forboding voice of Glenn Danzig has made this work. The song Hybrid Remains is a great example of this. Not only is the music catchy, but the vocals are "grab you by the throat" intense. The record, in my opinion, is under produced, with more of a bass driven production that is undoubtedly engineered to suit not only the tone of the early music, but Danzigs vocals as well.

res09dv7@verizon.net (Barron Von Sanchez)
holy crap! What else is there to say about The Misfits Legacy Of Brutality.It so rocks, anyone who is a Misfits fan should have this album no matter what. My favorite song definetly has to be Hybrid Moments I think thats one of the best songs ever ,so if you dont have this album you suck

deuce13@shaw.ca (Chad Collins)
This is the first Misfits record I heard; I wasn't blown away at first but it grew on me. Anyway, a few years ago a friend and I took some mushrooms and explored an abandoned building down the street, which was very creepy, we found dead pigeons and ghostly Polaroids from the 70's. When the shuffling sounds and strange vibe of the place proved to be too much for our fungus addled brains, we went back to my house where we played this record. It turned out to be THE creepiest musical experience I have ever had. We sat in the front room, lights on and shit, chilled to the fucking bone by this recording. All other "horror" inspired bands PALE in comparison. Great record, though not as good as Static Age.

Moe Aboulkheir
The Misfits are better than The Ramones. there is a fucking atmosphere to those songs that i cannot describe. "Come Back", "Hybrid Moments"...

Add your thoughts?

Walk Among Us - Ruby 1982.
Rating = 9


Okay, this one sounds more like traditional Ramones-influenced high-speed headbangin' punk rock. And classic, how! Every single one of these babies will grab you by the throat and force you at knifepoint to sing along - "Whooooooaaa! Whoooooaaa! Whoooooaaa!" Gleeful, hopped up, pissed off, and singin' the hits like some kind of big rock star, Mr. Glenn leads his competent combo through thirteen individually amazing tracks, not a one of which you could mention around your mother without having to explain yourself. You've got your "I Turned Into A Martian," your "All Hell Breaks Loose" (which contains the moving couplet, "I send my murdergram to all these monster kids / It comes right back to me, signed in their parents' blood!"), your "Hatebreeders," your "Devils Whorehouse," your "Braineaters," your "Skulls," your... oh, this is getting preposterous.

Again, this stuff could easily be written off as novelty music except that, if you write it off, you're missing out on some of the poppiest and most exciting punk rock music that our fair country has seen since the early days of Paul Revere And The Raiders (who I guess would probably be considered "grindcore" by today's standards, but at the time....). Plus, it has a song called "Mommy, Can I Go Out & Kill Tonight?" that is CLEARLY hardcore!!!! You know what that means? They're goin' hardcore, lanky! Hold your wife!!!

Reader Comments

AFU69@hotmail.com
Probably the best record by the Misfits, but as I stated above it's not my favorite. Ya know what pisses me off? The fact that "All Hell Breaks Loose" didn't make the Box Set. That's because Caroline records doesn't own the masters of Walk Among Us (I'm pretty sure it's Elektra). They should have made a deal or something (I'm sure that someone at Elektra likes blow jobs).

@vskol.fi
Walk among us must be the greatest misfits release ever!!!!!

reech@dorsai.org
I look at the Misfits as a sort of more Psychotic Ramones. While the Ramones could delve into the realm of horror ("texas Chainsaw Massacre", "Glad To See You Go"), the Misfits just went totally over the top. But they pull it off. The songs on Walk Among us are genuinely songs- hooks, choruses and GREAT lyrics. This is what American Punk should always aspire to!

xfoundationx@mail.geocities.com (Dean Reis)
first album i ever bought by them. best album by the misfits. arguably one the best american punk albums ever. the band was great and the songs are timeless probably because of their lack of political stance. everybody can listen to them because they offend everybody equally, not just one group of people. What happened to walk among us on the box set?

DoYLe42332@aol.com
This album i liked better than Legacy,especially since Glenn gets all tounge tied on the live version of "Mommy,Can i Go Out and Kill Tonight?"that just makes it worth the while of buying the album.Along with great songs like "I Turned Into a Martian", "Violent World" ,and "All Hell Breaks Loose".

ANTITACO@aol.com
are you kidding me?this record deserves a 10 without a doubt in the world.the ONLY thing that brings this album down (not even enough to get a 9) is the way "mommy...." is just thrown in there.a live version of one of their more hardcore songs right in the middle of all these insanley powerful pop punk tunes,a little awkward.all the classics....martian,astro zombies,devils whorehouse,last caress would fit but...

jltichenor@earthlink.net (James L. Tichenor)
killer fucking album man!!!!!! I never get tired of playing "skulls" on my guitar. And "mommy can i go out and kill tonight"? My god man- that song kicks excessive amounts of ass. Careful when you go in the pit at live shows during this song- that's when all the big guys come over and beat ass!

hood004@bama.ua.edu
If you're a fan of the Misfits looking to spend some cash, I suggest buying the Box Set, Walk Among Us, and Static Age. Walk Among Us has most of the Misfits' best songs ("I Turned Into A Martian", "Mommy", "All Hell", "Astrozombies"...), and also sports fairly good production. I really don't think "Mommy" being stuck in the middle messes up the feel of the album; I kind of think it serves as a welcome break in the Ramones-ish downstrumming and "Whoahs!". It really serves to keep the album from sounding like a 24 minute song. Don't get me wrong, I like the "Whoahs!", they're part of what made the Misfits so goddamn cool in the first place. I have to give this a 9.

4yrgnuh@ehound.com
Walk among us is a timeless jewel of monstrosity and destruction. If you like violence and destruction and the death that is very often inherent to them then your favorite song must be "Astrozombies", it's not like the other songs don't kick goddamn ass, because they do. It's just that when we think that today's world is more violent simply because it's more modern and that's the trend; when we see characters like DC's "Lobo", I mean, everything's ok, but you know what, the Misfits were first, and it doesn't matter what kind of horror, or gore, or destruction they sing about or whether it's beyond space or beyond death, it's all great and it's ageless. The Misfits rule.

robjenn@bright.net
Not only is this one of the most kickass Misfits albums, it's one of the most kickass albums of all time!! Walk Among Us is the best representation of the Misfits' work: most of their best songs and the production isn't as amateur as on most of their other work. Plus it's their most famous lineup with Doyle on guitar and Arthur Googy on the skins. Definitely a must-have for any self-respecting punk fan!! I give it 10 skulls...

nichols@innernet.net
This was THE best Misfits album ever produced. All the way from the hardcore sounds of Last Caress and 20 Eyes to the oi sounding Brain Eaters. This is the album that you MUST have in order to fully enjoy the Misfits. I wore out 2 tapes and a cd of this album... it fucking rules....

At first, i didn't like this album for one reason..its too fucking short!!!!! This IS the speed metal bible... those who hate must fucking die.....

APeeples@Koehler-Isaacs.com (Arthur Peeples)
Not only the best Misfits recording, but one of the best punk recordings period. A friend provided me with a tape cassette of Walk Among Us in the early '80s and I instantly loved the album. Every song is memorable and the hooks/melodies are great.

irontyrant@earthlink.net (Michael Grefski)
Beyond classic. Beyond essential. There is no greater punk LP than this. Astro Zombies. Vampira. I Turned Into A Martian. Night Of The Living Dead. 20 Eyes. THE Misfits release. THE album of the decade for punk! And from New Jersey! You gotta love it.

Add your thoughts?

Evilive - Plan 9/Caroline 1987.
Rating = 7


I originally gave this record an 8, thinking that the godawful squeaking noise covering the entirety of side one was just a bad cassette dub on my part. When a friend bought me the box set and I came to the horrific realization that the piercing high-pitched tape noise is actually on the original recording as RELEASED, I had no choice but to lower the grade to a 7. No matter how much fun the band were in concert, it's inexcusable for them to release a live album of such poor recording quality. Muddy sound is one thing -- squeaky tape racket is another entirely. Now on to the original review....

Yes, they were unbearably messy during their live shows, but they were so funny and threatening, who gives a chysanthemum whether the music sounds like shit or not? The whole band continually screams at the top of their lungs between songs and during, with strange howls and threats ("One more fuckin' time, you asshole, you DIE!") floatin' out all over the place, creating the kind of idiotic and unpredictable chaos of a slam dance "pit," as the kids say, right in your very own bedroom! They cut too much out of the show (you can hear patter being edited out between songs), but for what it is, it's a lot of fun - especially if you're already a fan and can thus decipher the melodies as the band plays them. Henry Rollins adds his trademark screams to a particularly unlistenable version of "We Are 138," too, so if you like him, buy it!

Reader Comments

AFU69@hotmail.com
I don't think that Evilive is worth an 8. Glenn sounds like shit (the few times you can really hear him) and it sounds really messy. Good band, bad recordings. I guess "All Hell Breaks Loose" is on the Box Set, but it's this live version. tsk tsk tsk

DrLillen@aol.com
Awesome album. Awesome rating. Not a great album to listen to but shows the misfits' live majesty.

pmtapia@worldnet.att.net (The Chameleon)
I don't think this album deserves an 8 either, because as cool as they were, they sounded like shit live. However I like how Rollins screams on "We are 138". This is just like a novelty album. Just buy it if you...nah..don't buy it unless you want all of them.

xfoundationx@mail.geocities.com (Dean Reis)
its hard to appreciate the misfits live on audio alone. It would be a lot better with more pictures or a video to accompany it.

InMyEyes82@aol.com
you people are kidding me, arent you? i think Evilive is a wonderful album because its so messy that its fun. punk rock, last time i checked, is not supposed to be all clean and perfect (like Offspring or Blink 182), hence those bands are not punk at all. Plus, its alot better than the "reincarnation" of the "new" Misfits. I saw them live and it was, at best, mediocre. The new singer is a stupid hick who can't keep his breath, let alone sing like Danzig. Plus, as you already know, the guys in the Misfits are, ahem...not the best musicians in the world. Actually, they suck a nut. I have been playing bass for less than a year and i can easily play all the stuff Jerry plays. But those old tunes, like "last caress" and "mommy..." kick ass so it doesn't matter.

Trmpoline2@aol.com (Nick Leu)
For a while, I thought this album was just a really bad performance worth listening to only for the cursing and such. Then, I listened more closely and discovered that the band isn't playing THAT terribly, it's the sound quality that sucks. Everybody sounds fine on here, except for maybe Doyle. I guess that makes it a really bad recording of a decent performance worth listening to only for the cursing and such. By the way, I think the person they're yelling at during the songs is none other than Bobby Steele.

DoYLe42332@aol.com
This album was terrible,in a somewhat good way,with Glenn missing lyrics her and there,Doyle messing up the terribly easy solos on "Hatebreeders" and "We Are 138", Jerry's godawful yet godlike back-up vocals,and the overly loud drums on "Ghouls Night Out".

Nameles790@aol.com
Come on, so what if the recording's a little messed up? They're still the most awesome band ever to take the stage. I do agree on one thing these guy's are not the best musicians. I can play the bass just as good as Jerry (better than him on Evilive) on all the songs except for Come Back. But cut em some slack, what they lacked in music they more than made up for in vocals and style.

hood004@bama.ua.edu
I cannot give this album more than a 6. I'm sorry, but the Misfits were the SLOPPIEST band ever to play. It's not that bad if you're there, because the energy of the live show make up for the sloppiness, but listening to it at home is unbearable. Worst of all (and I have the same problem with Evilive II, Samhain, and Danzig live stuff), it just makes me wish I were at the damn show! The odd taunts (One more time you asshole, you DIE!!!) are cool, but this is a pretty poor live compilation. A 6.

rockpud@earthlink.net (Terence Burke)
I've heard early pressings of EVILLIVE, I'm not certain of which label, but years before Caroline released that new cover-extra song, INEXPICABLY crappy squeak shit sound version! the earlier EP version at least sounds better presssing-wise ....

Anyways, the Misifts live sloppiness is infamous. Glen has claimed inmany interviews that he had to play alot of the guitar parts on most of the records ...

I've heard a bunch of bootlegs and the music is always sloppy live, but the mood of this particular show blew me away when I first heard it!!

If you can locate these earlier version of the Evillive EP, I think 10" & 12" the 12" I heard was far superior sound quality than the subsequent Caroline release.. although the Caroline version has about 4 or 5 extra songs

nichols@innernet.net
This is one of the worst albums you can get... if your into bootleg stuff, this is what you want, but why do it when you can just get a real bootleg much cheaper... the only good part is when rollins does We are 138... he sounds drunk.....

misfiend138@hotmail.com
Though the production of this album is not great, it is as close to a live Danzig era Misfits show that you will find. Of the many live bootleg albums that I own and have heard, this is the closest to the live shows that I have attended. The editing could have been improved upon, but the problem was the quality of the performance. In concert, I have found, that the Misfits do not perform to the quality of studio recording, which is true of almost all bands. Danzig has a habit of not singing, or screaming, into the microphone, and it seems Doyle tries to play faster, and more intricate than he is able to. This is not to say that the Misfits are not one of the most revered and influential bands of their time, which I truly believe they are, but one that you have to experience live to appreciate the full force of their show.

no_feeble_bastard@hotmail.com (Ben)
Evilive is the definitive Misfits release and possibly the greatest music ever put on vinyl. I don't know why everyone complains about the production, b/c it's punkrock and the "studio" production on their albums is crappy anyways. The point is how fast they play and how great Glenn sounds. I give this a 10. This is my desert island record.

nwiger@arvig.net (Neil T. Wiger)
Evilive has that terrible tape squeak and muddy tone but believe it or nor not this was the album that captivated me and compelled me to by more of there cds/tapes/vinyl. Think about it... Seldom has any band recorded something more eerie sounding than the version of "London Dungeon" found on this album. No other band should ever try to get away with releasing something as noisy and garbled as this but the Danzig era Misfits had no problem convinvcing me of their true hardcore punk stance with this live album.

SuprK90@aol.com (Digger)
There is no better way to end an album than "I am FUCKIN' drunk!" compliments to Mr. Rollins. Glenn has said in interviews that he was never impressed with Jerry or Doyle's playing during live shows. Why? They barely tuned their instruments or anything. This is probably the least worst of their live recordings and should probably get a higher rating.

thepublicimage79@hotmail.com
I don't have this album and I don't plan on getting it, but the live version of "we are 138" with henry rollins is easily one of the best misfits moments ever, completely blows away the original studio version on Static Age. The other all-time fabulous Misfits live moment is the live version of "Mommy, Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight." anyway, this song? Semi-tuneless wall of slopfingered brute noise with Glenn and Damaged-era Henry howling over it. Classic. "GODDAMN I AM FUCKIN DRUNK!"

jjdiazsanchez@hotmail.com
The annoying squeaky sound on the later "long" version of this album is like that of a deteriorated DAT tape, which I believe to be the case since Danzig is not known to be particularly careful in storing tapes.

There's a Earth AD + Evilive CD put out by Aggressive Rock Produktionen / Modern Music in Europe that includes the original 7-song version and I think that's the best way to get the album on CD, though I'm not sure if it's still in print.

Add your thoughts?

Al's Bar '82 - Bootleg 198?.
Rating = 8


This is one of about sixty-eight billion Misfits bootlegs you'll likely find on the black market. I figured I'd review it just to point out, yet again, that even if the music is reduced by lousy recording to an impenetrable wall of noise, the Misfits were still such an entertainingly angry live band, it's worth buying it just to hear the between-song patter (classic quotes include "Fuck the British! The British suck! Fuck those limey cunts over in England!" and "Let's kick some ass!!! You - and us! Kick some ass!!!"). I certainly wouldn't recommend this "live bootleg" thing to the uninitiated, but if you're already a fan, you might wanna check one of 'em out, just for defecations and smiling countenances.
Reader Comments

xfoundationx@mail.geocities.com (Dean Reis)
the brits do suck (except for the clash and the damned) america is where it's at. The misfits definetly do make america proud.

areygers@chapman.edu (Adam)
inmyopinion, this is much better than evilive (though that "one more fucking time you asshole and you die!!!" quote still puts me into hysterics). i love jerry's psudeo-darby crash impersonations with his "gimmie a fucking beer" thrown in all over the place and glenn trashing the limeys and what not... a very fun album with kids who can't even sing trying to sing along with uncle glenn... a perfect encapsulation of one of the all-time greats...

plan9@arn.net (Ricky)
i think al's bar is a great recording myself. it gets even better when henry gets onstage too. all these records are great. i have a small but growing collection of the originals. i don't really care for the bootleg vinyl and cds. but i do have a lot of live shows recorded on to cassette that i've trading with other collectors. have you the whiskey show? if not you should check it out. its better than al's bar in my opinion.

DoYLe42332@aol.com
I never heard this one

notthekid@hotmail.com (James)
this is definetly one of their better bootlegs.especially the rippin' version of "we bite" where glenn says before the song,"those who know the words may sing,those that don't...pull it.1234!!" and after the song"you're fuckin' learnin' fast!"is just classic.best part is the kid who jumps on stage and goes,"hey wait a minute,shut up!the misfits is the best fuckin' band in the world,and wanna thank 'em for comin' to california!"

nichols@innernet.net
This is the Holy grail of Misfits bootlegs... number one fact about bootlegs: if it aint vinyl or tape, its shit... fuck cds and cd-r's. i havent listened to this bootleg in awhile, but i remember liking it....

mikeandlorieg@earthlink.net (Mike Grefski)
Had a totally inaudiale bootleg of this crap. Sold it to Jerry as part of his Danzig lawsuit. Peace Out Bitch.

Add your thoughts?

* Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood - Plan 9 1983 *
Rating = 10


Now THIS is hardcore!!!!! The first Misfits record I ever heard, and it totally blew me away - starting off with blasts of guitar feedback and tortured moans, soon giving way to faster-than-Satan drumbeats courtesy of Black Flag's old drummer Robo, every one of these tracks slashes, screams, pounds, and thrashes across your scalp and into your soul.

So fast, so loud, so mean - decimeters more threatening (if you find music "threatening") than that pop fluff they'd been forcing down the throats of the American public for the previous five years, these nine tracks reach beyond the boundaries of traditional Ramones melodies to find a sound so ugly and agitated that, combined with the disturbingly morbid pointillism of the cover painting and song titles like "Death Comes Ripping," "Green Hell," and "Queen Wasp," this little record accomplishes in fifteen minutes what Ozzy Osbourne spent his entire career trying to pull off - effectively scaring the daylights out of old people and conservatives. Lots of Misfits advocates will claim that this is the worst Misfits record ever, as it replaces the band's trademark melodic know-how with straight thrash metal, but I for one have seen the light and can honestly say that there are probably only about two thrash records in the world that make me feel like I'm having a religious experience of some sort whenever I put them on the ol' vinyl scratcher (the first is Slayer's Reign In Blood, the second this 'un). Even the slow "Bloodfeast" is spookier than a truck drivin' man. I love it to death. Don't pay 45 dollars for it, though, if you can avoid it.

Reader Comments

DrLillen@aol.com
This album should get a 2. It is more like a worst hits album. Cool cover though.

pmtapia@worldnet.att.net (The Chameleon)
Whoever said this album deserves a 2 is full of shit. Now this album is power!!! I didn't like Earth AD when I first got and heard it, but it's one of them albums that grows on you the more you listen to it. An easy 8.5 for me on these set of songs. No wonder James Hetfield and Cliff Burton liked these guys so much.

chris@intown.net (Chris Schwarz)
A two?! A fargin' two?! Don't listen to that mama's boy at the top o' the name pile -- this album deserves much more than a two. More like an eight or a nine, but definitely not a two. American Psycho, now there's an album that's more suitable for a lowly two; but not Earth A.D. Man, are punks scared of change! Fugazi fans bitch about Steady Diet Of Nothing being too mellow and slow, while Misfits fans bitch about Earth A.D. being too fast and loud. Screw anyone who thinks this album is too "un-Misfits" simply because of its different harder-edged, heavy-tinged sound. Like The Humpers' song, this album is fast, fucked and furious! How can Misfits fans NOT appreciate the booming beginning of "Death Comes Ripping," or the rapidly reiterated chorus of "Green Hell," or even the harrowing howl of "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH, BOOM!" at the start of the title track "Earth A.D."? What Mark said! This album contains so much power and muscle and speed and adrenalin that I can't help but grow horns and play it loud. Plus, it's the only true hardcore album the 'Fits ever recorded (aside from American Psycho. Pffft!). PURE, UNADULTERATED EVIL!!!

xfoundationx@mail.geocities.com (Dean Reis)
totally amazing. Now this is the closest thing on record that comes close to the power of the misfits live. "devillock" and "green hell" and "death comes ripping" and...fuck...every song. totally amazing.

Psycho74x9@aol.com
Look upon me, I am the beast! This album is great. Robo pounds at speeds though unattainable and Doyle shreds like the madman he is. Glenn reaches new levels of incomprehensibility, but his vocals remain as powerful as ever.

areygers@chapman.edu (Adam)
the first time i heard this album, i hated it... it had no really catchy vocal hooks, no whoa-oh-oh's, no silly lyrics. i listened to it a couple times and dismissed it. about 6 months later, i listened to it again and was freaking' blown away. this, ladies and gentlemen, is the hard core/rock/whatever bible. every song on this album makes me wanna rip some poor sap's arm off and beat him with it... and i am considered a really mellow dude. "earth ad"/"queen wasp"/"devilock"/"death comes ripping" has to be the most intense sequence of songs ever, EVER... this is murder/death/kill put onto tape and, yes it does scare people. my mom saw the cover of this one and overheard me listening to it and she wondered what the hell happened to her little boy, listening to that satan music... i had to convince her that jerry and doyle were good Christian boys (and they REALLY are, crazy huh) and that seemed to shut her up... anyways, this album kicks more ass when you add the three other songs that were recorded at this session, but were chopped off... "Die Die My Darling", "We Bite" and "Mommy..." it is hard to believe this is the same band that recorded Walk Among Us.

DoYLe42332@aol.com
this album is just greatness,that's all i have to say

jltichenor@earthlink.net (James L. Tichenor)
yes yes yes!!!! This album is faster, meaner, scarier than the others, and it just kicks too much ass! so your right to ignore the idiot who says give it a 2. This is album is a 9 all the way baby.

hood004@bama.ua.edu
Now I know a lot of Misfits fans don't like this turn to the hardcore, but how can you not have your ass kicked by "Death Comes Ripping"? I think this is an interesting album, lyrically, as the horror shifts from ghouls and zombies to more real life stuff like murder and, well, okay - werewolves. So maybe the transformation isn't complete, but I still think we see Glenn shifting from the B-movie Misfits to the real-life horror Samhain (though Samhain really does very little thrash). Except for "Hellhound", possibly the biggest piece of useless shit ever recorded by the Misfits, this album kicks ass all the way through (and Glenn is as unintelligible as ever)! I give it an 8.

Hauntedkid@aol.com
This record isn't as fun, but I think this music is as brilliant in its style as the earlier songs were in thiers, which is a testimony to how great a band the Misfits were. The Ramones, though I hate to knock my favorite band, never sounded too comfortable when they departed from the sound of thier first 3 or 4 albums.

There are horror/scifi movies out there with the tiles Wasp Queen, Monster From Green Hell, Hound of Hell, and "Blood Feast", so I don't agree that the themes shifted as much as the music (Eerie Von also wrote about the alleged turn to "real life" horror for the box set).

Spot produced Earth Ad so much better than he did Black Flag. The songs were recorded perfectly. Only I do prefer how on Collection I "Earh Ad" and "Devil Lock" are one big evil medley.

mbrock@vol.com (Melissa Brock)
earth a.d. was a great abulm!!!!the misfits took on new heights and accomplished them very well.although robo is not my most favorite drummer in the world .he sure as hell put down so very punishing drum beats in this abulm.it can be considered a bible to speed meatl bands

misfiend138@hotmail.com
This, to many fans, is the worst Misfits album. I don't agree, the Misfits were moving into the 80's style of music for their genre. Kiss did it, the Ramones did it, hell, even Black Flag did it (though I feel they changed genres). The music is very different from the Misfits we knew, but it was still great music. The only changes were the tempo and lack of a medolic chorus (yes, I know that IS the Misfits). It was not a new band, it was still Danzig and Only. Only this go around they had the greatest punk drummer this side of Spit Stix and they sped it up a bit. I have been told that the Misfits sold out with this record, playing to what was the "new" style of punk at the time. The Misfits didn't play to any one style of punk to begin with, hell, are they even punk? Hellhound, great song no B.S.(no matter what Pringle's review says); Death Comes Ripping, powerful and medolic; Queen Wasp, still using the B-movie formula and driving it into you without mercy. Of course others, Green Hell (Metallica did a remake) and Bloodfeast to name a few. Worth the money if only on cassette.

KnuckleFiend138@webtv.net (Jamie Keegan)
this album rocks, especially mommy can i go out and kill tonight? death comes ripping, we bite,bloodfeast and the whole album is good..whoever said this should get a 2 is stupid...considering this album is from 1983 the sound isnt all high tech or something like they got now.. but anywho...this is a great album...go get it

kcbj@gallatinriver.net (Kimberly Palmer)
earth ad is definatly the best misfits album ever. The band never has or never will have a better line-up. the fast pace music and Danzigs screaming is fucking awsome. i give the album an 11 because like i said they were excellent when they had robo and Glenn. but then again id give all of there albums an 11 except the ones with out Danzig because he is the true misfit. without him they are nothing

antnego@earthlink.net (Anthony Negron)
Earth A.D. is a worthy finale for the Danzig-era Misfits… although I must admit it takes some time to grow on you. Those who are hard-line fans of old-school punk (Sex Pistols and Ramones) will probably like Walk Among Us and Static Age much better. Earth A.D. lacks the infectious melodies and cartoonish-ness that made its predecessors so endearing; instead, you’ll find breakneck-speed polka rhythms (which pretty much characterize most hardcore punk), droning, almost tuneless walls of guitar sound, and incoherent vocals. At first listen, you may not catch anything of interest… yet spin it a few more times and you may discover yourself shouting “Queen Wasp Go!,” being immersed in the sheer chaos of “Mommy…Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight?,” or bouncing with the demented foxtrot chant-alongs “Green Hell” and “Devilock.” The addition of bonus tracks (particularly “Die, Die My Darling” and “We Bite”) on the CD-reissue make this a much more solid album than the original version. I have to give this one an 8.5 out of ten for the sheer power and fun of it :p~~

AmericanPsycho66@hotmail.com (Tony Josefsson)
This is acctually one of the latest misfits album ive got, but i now that it´s very old... ! Well my favourite´s in this album is: Death comes ripping, Mommy, can i go out and kill tonight? And finally Hellhound... It i´snt so many who likes Hellhound but i think it ROCKS ! It´s a headbang song :) /Hellhound lover !

Whelang7@aol.com
Earth Ad is without a dout the darkest and most hardcore of all misfit albums.Moving from Horror movies to more realistic blood and gore. The new misfits do those songs pretty good espiacalled DEATH COMES RIPPING.

msshaggy@msn.com (Michael Schroeder)
I have to say screw all of you guys because this album definitely deserves a 10, the way the Misfits just throw down the most heavy hardcore down to earth punk music ever. Oh yeah I just want to throw my feces all over the guy who said to give it a friggin 2.

bmanning@comcast.net (Brad)
Man I hate that everyone wants to slow down or this is there worst record, Earth AD is the best Misfits record there is.(for hardcore anyway) The other records are cool to but if you are not hardcore then go listen to some slow shit and have your mom go make you a sandwich!

scottjenkins138@charter.net
This is one of the greatest hardcore albums of all time! We had two clear purple vinyl's back in the 80's. Alot of people say this album is their worst work. But, how could you not like Death Comes Rippin, and Green Hell!! This album is totally misunderstood by fans. Some of the songs were actually Samhain songs.. Glenn had stated that later on! Even Jerry and Doyle didn't get it!

mkerouac@sport.rr.com
Jerry Only once told me that this record was kind of an accident. He said that it didn't come out the way any of them wanted it to, but that was okay because it was awesome regardless. If you overlook this record than you are missing out on the purest example of hardcore that there is.

johnc@212hardware.com (John Castiglia)
I got into the Misfits because Metallica covered Last Caress/Green Hell on Garage Days. Plus, they wore Misfits T shirts so I figured they must be good. This is the first Misfits album I bought and I was disappointed in the shitty production, lack of melody, and overall sloppiness. I went on to buy Walk Among Us and LOVED it. I discarded this album as a mistake. Boy was I wrong!

This album is probably the most important album in metal history. It has elements of punk, thrash, speed, death, hardcore, grindcore, and just about every other sub-genre of heavy metal you can think of. While the earlier Misfits were more melodic and catchy, this album is like a big fuck you to anyone that said the Misfits were riding on the late 70's, early '80s NY punk band wagon. Entirely original. I can't think of any other album that redefined punk music.

This is definitely not the first album to buy if you're first getting into the Misfits. I recommend Walk Among Us just because it sounds like it was recorded for more than $20.

aciccone@uchicago.edu
I'm listening to the Misfits' 'earth ad' album and i'm thinking 'WHY isn't this considered pretty much one of the best albums of all time?!'

Not only that, but why is it that most misfits fans consider themselves "punk" or whatever and yet love the most TAME shit these guys will put out?! 'Walk among us' is a great POP PUNK album, but Earth A.D. is UNBELIEVABLE and tops it on so many levels.

seriously, tracks like 'demonomia' and 'green hell' and 'wolfsblood' and 'bloodfeast' and 'earth ad'... i'm just going to end up naming every song on the album.

To the people who hate this album: PLEEEEASE get new ears.

elizacus@insightbb.com
Earth A.D Is what you could call The Misfits "Hardcore Album" Obviously heading in that direction, I feel that It was there time to start speeding things up and changing there style, kinda like the crossover from the "Bullet" ep to the "Horror Business" ep. I give it a 10 because it is the most original album I have EVER heard. I love The Misfits and I don't think they could dissapoint me. (I mean THE MISFITS, not the 96---band)BOOOM!

mr.marc@gmail.com
Earth A.D. is distilled power. It's the soundtrack for plundering, pillaging, conquest, and destruction. Few records can match it's force and intensity. Maybe the older punks had a problem with it, but us 80's hardcore kids knew this was the real deal. We tape traded it with reverence.

Worth it for the cover art. A solid 10 out of 10!

Add your thoughts?

Misfits - Plan 9/Caroline 1986
Rating = 9


See, this rating system I came up with allows each artist or combo to have only one record that receives a grade of 10. What this means is that, out of all the great albums (9's) that the band has released, there is one that is the teeniest bit more recommendable than the others. And that's why I originally chose this here twenty-track compilation. Although it's been said that none of the band members wanted it to be released, this record does a fantastic job of guiding the listener through all of the Misfitters's phases, even throwing in rare non-album tracks like "Hollywood Babylon," "London Dungeon," and "Die, Die My Darling" where possible. I guess some of the Walk Among Us tracks are alternate versions, but all five of the Earth A.D. tracks are exactly like the ones on the original record, except that the cool feedback seems muffled for some reason. Strange, sad, and stupid, but never mind.

Anyway, even though I personally love the hardcore explosion of Earth AD best, if you're a normal punk rocker who has never heard the Misfits before, this is probably the one you want. Spooky early tracks, Ramones punkers, and noisy hardcore - it's all here! Man, they had a cool drum sound. Just thought I'd mention that in passing. And you know, this song "Bullet" about the Kennedy assassination seems to really be crossing some sort of obscenity line, but I don't guess we need to talk about that right now.

Reader Comments

AFU69@hotmail.com
I love this album. "Bullet", "London Dungeon", and a superior recording of "Where Eagles Dare" is just about reason enough to own this. Need more reason? "Teenagers From Mars" is about aliens invading the earth and screwing teenage chicks. Pretty funny music (in a perverted way) if you ask me.

library@job.careernet.org
I heard "she" and instantly was turned into a huge Misfits fan. I heard the rest and tried combing a devilock on my head. Great record.

norma@scptac.org
COLLECT THE HEADS OF LITTLE GIRLS AND PUT EM ON MY WALL, HACK THE HEADS OFF LITTLE GIRLS AND PUT EM ON MY WALLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- skulls

ILL BRING BACK A SUVONIER FOR ITS MY MOMMYS DREAM!!!!!!
-mommy, can i go out and kill tonight!!

DrLillen@aol.com
Definitely a ten. The sound was bad but I can live with it. Perfect until after "die my darling".

pmtapia@worldnet.att.net (The Chameleon)
If you do not have this collection, you're a very incomplete person.

HeraldSkif@aol.com
not only is "Teenagers From Mars" a kick ass song, but Buck O Nine does a kick ass ska version of it too.

xfoundationx@mail.geocities.com (Dean Reis)
not quite perfect but almost. while all the unreleased on cd material is awesome ("ghoul's night out," "london dungeon" and "die die my darling" are reason enough to buy the album) i still prefer the original versions of the walk among us songs.

danzig5@hotmail.com (Nima J)
I gotta agree with Prindle in saying that this is the must-have misfits album if your going to get any of them. IT FUCKING ROCKS!!! There are so many good songs on this album its amazing. and there are 20 tracks of this amazing stuff!!!! not only do you get stuff from Walk among us and others... but you get Earth A.D./Wolfs blood!! Now thats a deal! Out of the 20 tracks 18 of them are great and 2 of them are ok. Now that's gotta tell ya something. Glenn Danzig was and is a genius!! He can do no wrong!! DIE DIE DIE, MY DARLING!!! 10 ALL THE WAY BABY!!

InMyEyes82@aol.com
okay, so it may be a very good listen, but I think it's downright wrong to say the best misfits album is a collective. It's not even a real album, its just bits and pieces of other stuff.

DoYLe42332@aol.com
By far the best album put out by these great guys,i mean you can't go wrong with any of the songs on this album.

"Don't cry to me oh baby,your future is in an oblong box"-Die,Die My Darling

jltichenor@earthlink.net (James L. Tichenor)
yes the ultimate asskicking compilation of the MIsfits to ever kick ass! Bullet is a deranged chuck berry sounding song. Teenagers from Mars? Skulls? this shit kicks ass little kiddies.

malester@cpuinc.net (Lester)
i bought this the other day after owning walk among us for a year or so. Collection (or whatever it's called) is cool, but all the songs from walk among us sound like they recorded in Danzig's butt! They're horribly muffled and you can't hear anything. Really quiet, too. But the rest of the songs are extremely cool. "London Dungeon" is supriseingly moving for a punk song.

hood004@bama.ua.edu
This album is a great intro to the bulk of the Misfits stuff. It presents a great slice of the Misfits' best Ramones-with-a-death-fetish style music, as well as most of the good stuff off of Earth A.D. The album has the best version of "Where Eagles Dare" available, as well as the studio versions of "London Dungeon", "Ghouls Night Out", and "Mommy, Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight?" (which is the only song the misfits play better live). However, the best part of the CD is "Die Die My Darling" (Metallica's cover be damned!). It is worth the whole CD, and fortunately, the rest doesn't disappoint (except the Walk Among Us stuff sounds like crap). I give it a 9.

peter.triantafillos@sympatico.ca (Gus Triantafillos)
This is my favorite Misfits album. Even though all these songs were already released as singles it was great for them to be re-released. I still love all the other albums but this one is the one that sticks out the most. I heard some rumours that glen took these songs and reworked them and added new guitar tracks. Even if this is true he did a great job, but i don't think he did. Earth A.D. and Static Age also kick ass. I don't really mind the new misfits but i hope one day those two stubborn fucks glen and jerry can come to some agreement and do a few shows together for all times sake and end. Maybe in Lodi or something, but I hope they don't release an album because I can guarantee you it will suck. (Look at KISS) Never the less Glen and the boys are a great influence on a lot of people and if they do do a few reunion shows (like SAMHAIN) then I hope Glen sings like a Misfit and not like DANZIG of SAMHAIN.

davepark@gateway.net
I think you have too many posers on this thing. The misfits weren't about compilations. I feel that punk compilations weaken the anti-establishment measage. Sure, I bought the collections but just to help them out.

ipeak@hotmail.com (Israel Peak)
To the above poster....you are on gateway.net. Please refrain from calling anyone a poser, or defend the "anti-establishment" message. You are either a child using your parent's email privliges, or a sucker that pays 6.95 a month to a very "established" corparation. Dont buy anything to "help" someone out. Buy something becuase you like it consumer boy.

The misfits compilation is rockin' i have listened to this CD for many years. It simplifies me diggin thru all the other albums and flipping records. I am lazy.

antnego@earthlink.net (Anthony Negron)
A good starting point for the uninitiated… all the “hits” are here, including the sublime “Where Eagles Dare” (I AIN’T NO GODDAMN SON-OF-A-BITCH…YOU BETTER THINK ABOUT IT, BABY!”), the pounding “She” (featuring some of the best vocals Glenn Danzig has ever put to tape), and pretty much all of the best moments from their two official albums and miscellaneous EPs. It’s also a must-have for Misfit-heads – most of the album contains alternate versions, outtakes and weird mixes of their best songs (of course, you could get them on bootlegs if you can find them). A perfect ten!

Jns1gordon@aol.com
Killer album, glen Danzig's fucking voice either you love it or you hate it, i think his JIM Morrison/Elvis voice is arguably the best voice in punk or any music for that matter

nakedeye_666@webtv.net
IM IN A MISFITS COVER BAND AND MISFITS PLAN9 CHANGED MY LIFE...ITS SO SURREAL. I MEAN THE OTHER ALBUMS WERE ICK BUT I WILL GIVE MY HEART TO THIS ONE

Add your thoughts?

Collection II - Caroline 1995.
Rating = 9


I was really excited when I saw this in the record store in 1995! NEW MISFITS TRACKS!!!! Well, not new, but previously hard-to-find and now??? Easy to find!!! For the very first time, I got to hear clean studio versions of "We Are 138," "Attitude," "Horror Hotel" and "Last Caress," as well as some other cool songs I'd never even heard of, like "Cough/Cool," "Return Of The Fly," "Children In Heat," "Rat Fink," and "Mephisto Waltz." I bought it enthusiastically and was not disappointed!!! Besides the exciting new discoveries, there are some more alternate versions of Walk Among Us classics, as well as, inexplicably, original versions of the four songs from Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood that weren't on that last compilation.

Glenn Danzig compiled this record, probably just to keep former Misfit brothers Doyle and Jerry Only from cleaning house with their coffin-shaped Misfits box set (from which Glenn sees not one dime, so I hear). Anyway, "Children In Heat" might not be the greatest song ever recorded, and "Halloween II" is clearly a SAMHAIN song that Glenn has included on the record probably just to piss off his former bandmates, but this record is still pretty much testament to the fact these guys really had something - a great gimmick, a cool sound, and one heck of a talented singer/songwriter at the helm, even if he was a total asshole.

Reader Comments

mozzer@pegasus.rutgers.edu (Ryan Stephens)
Actually it was "Mephisto's Waltz" that was a Samhain song. "Halloween II" is the b side to the orginal "Halloween" single.

justin20@airmail.net (Victor Foia)
A good deal of the material on Misfits Collection I and II come directly from their first LP, Beware. Also, much of the Static Age material was (according to long standing rumor, and somewhat substantial sources) originally penned for the Cramps, but due to some act of God they remained Misfits tunes. Plus, I have indulged in several versions of these including the proto-versions available on one of those bootlegs you find at a convention and pay too much for. All of which are great due to their flaws. I enjoyed your review, Take it easy.

"Nick Ruggia"@worldnet.att.net (Nicholas Ruggia)
"Children in heat" is my favorite song on the album!

DrLillen@aol.com
Needs a ten. Any album with "last caress" does.

pmtapia@worldnet.att.net (The Chameleon)
Another fucking good collection comes along! Not as good as Collection 1 because some of these songs toward the end really blow.

xfoundationx@mail.geocities.com (Dean Reis)
this album is great, but i think people would be better of paying $25 for the bootleg version of beware. You get all the unreleased songs on collection I and II but you also get an alternate no guitar version of "she" that i think is even better, "spook city usa", and "teenagers from mars" and "children in heat" combined together (the way they're supposed to be heard. ever wonder why they say "teenagers from mars/children in heat take one" @ the beginning of "teenager"?)

deriksen@dawson.net (Dan Eriksen)
Collection 2 kicks ass eight ways from Sunday I think "cough/cool" is brilliant, it's kind of like "London dungeon" slowed down and made more creepy. Don't get me wrong I love their fast songs too but all that thrashin' and bashin' makes "cough/cool" stand out Glen's Vocals are, for lack of a cheesier word, haunting.

geowi@voyager.net (Eddie W.)
Hate to break it to you people, but the Walk Among Us outtakes, and Cough/Cool were totally re-recorded by Dan Glennzig in the late 80's. This was going to be released shortly after Collection One, but Ziggy lost interest. He was either too embarassed of the original versions(WHY!?), or he thought he would try to pass these off as "never-before-heard-rare-ass-demo-versions-straight-from-the-vaults-" so he re-recorded these ones supposedly from Walk Among Us, and re-did the guitar on the rest. What a dirty trick. You can totally tell that the vocals on these tracks are from a much older Danzig who is trying to take all the fun out of the songs, trying to sound scarier in a more mature way or something. Also, the songs off of the first collection didn't satisfy this guy either so he over-dubbed new guitar tracks over many of them. Finally he stripped the original clear as a bell, crunchy bass guitar off of the songs from Static Age, farted into the microphone,turned a bunch of knobs and made Legacy of Brutality. Only recently have these tracks been restored on Static Age, and some on the box set. Fans that hear these compilations from the late eighties should know that they do not contain the music the way it was meant to be heard, and were merely contractual-obligations, and money makers for a stingy old man. Get the box set or Static age or the original Walk Among us for the original, non-molested songs.

DoYLe42332@aol.com
One word says it all,"DEMONOMANIA".

hood004@bama.ua.edu
I think this is a good collection, but it isn't really necessary with the reissue of Static Age and the release of the box set (since it's included there). "Last Caress" is a perennial fave, but my favorite tracks are "Horror Hotel", "Halloween", and the version of "Hatebreeders" kicks ass! I really don't get into the Misfits' version of "Halloween II" because Samhain's is so much cooler. I would give this an 8.

ry1011@earthlink.net (Ronald J. Young)
The guy who said this album isn't the best because it's a compilation is a dumbass since only like 2 or 3 of all the misfits cds out now were proper albums to begin with. Collection I fucking rocks!

ramadapekin29@ntslink.net
collection 2 rocks. WE BITE rules.

robjenn@bright.net
Seeing as how the Misfits only ever released two full albums (Walk Among Us and Earth A.D.), I think the compilation discs did the Misfits fans a great service. That is unless you want to spend HUNDREDS of dollars buying all the original singles. Plus, for a newcomer, they are the perfect introduction to the band. You get everything from their first single, "She", to songs from their last album.

Poseurs and punkers alike have everything to gain from buying this disc, 'cause it flat-out jams!!!

limingan.sarjakuvalinja@lko.inet.fi
"Children in heat" got the most beautiful chorus I've ever heard. Simple and a bit sad. Band with such an attitude brings out this kind of a tune can't be that BAD! Actually... when someone asks: "What would be the MISFITS song you could present to a people who haven't ever heard the band. My pick would be "Children in heat". The reason for the decision might be the contrast that lies within the tune. 20 eyes is awesome too. Actually there is no MISFITS tune I don't like. I love all of them. Weird that all the negative aspects in the band makes me feel good. There is at least one band in the world you can trust! (pardon my england... I'm Finnish)

antnego@earthlink.net (Anthony Negron)
Not as exciting Collection I, but nevertheless, brings some of those hard-to-find Misfits tracks back into print for your listening pleasure. Almost entirely worth it just for the inclusion of “Last Caress,” although I prefer the version on Static Age :p~~~

As a side-note, I think some of the comments geowi made earlier are interesting. Glenn Danzig did re-record tracks for “Legacy of Brutality,” so what would have stopped him from butchering some of his best material for Collection I/II? Food for thought…

Add your thoughts?

Box Set - Caroline 1995.
Rating = 9


Sure, it's overkill, with like six different versions of every song included, as well as Evilive, Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood, and Legacy Of Brutality in their entireties, but it sure is neat to hear the original song order of the unreleased debut album Static Age, which was later cut into pieces and separated across three or four different albums. And as an added bonus for paying 62 million dollars for the coffin-shaped box, you get the previously difficult to locate "Spook City USA" track! Whoopee! Of course this is a great release, but after 104 interchangeable tracks, even The Misfits start to sound dull, if you can believe them apples. If you already have all the other albums, this is a waste of your hard-earned American Robert DeNiro, but if you're full of cash and ready to delve on in, feel free. How much of a crap am I expected to give? Also, I'm not positive that this is actually called Box Set, but again, how much of aforementioned crap am I expected to give?

IMPORTANT NOTE: Decades after Danzig left the band, Jerry Only revived the band with a new singer named Michale Graves. I urge you to buy every Danzig-era Misfits record available but, for Christ's sake, avoid the living SHITworms out of the non-Danzig stuff!

Actually, you should probably avoid the living shitworms altogether.

Reader Comments

Unknown User
Misfits were one of the first punk bands i ever listened to. i promptly went out and bought every one i could lay my claws on or dub. This is not easy in Armpit, VA. I was getting into the alternative shit for lack of anything better to listen to, but i bought Earth A.D. on a lark. It was cool so i started trying other punk bands. Mostly old shit (the best shit) like Dead Kennedys, Exploited, Fugazi... etc. I mostly made myself punk and did it without another around. The few I knew burned out or died... the misfits are a great band.

AFU69@hotmail.com
Static Age has been released seperately from the box set. I got it a few weeks ago and it kicks ass. It has a few songs that were not released on the box set: "She", "Spinal Remains", and "In the Doorway". "In the Doorway" was previously unreleased. I didn't even know they had recorded it, but I knew they had played it live in the early shows. It's not the best Misfits song ever, but it sounds fucking awesome. Glenn really sings on it and doesn't scream or shout. I guess this is my favorite Misfits record now.

xfoundationx@mail.geocities.com (Dean Reis)
this is awesome for any serious misfits collector. the out takes on disc three is reason enough to get it..at least i think so. there are some really brilliant versions of "20 eyes" and "who killed marliyn" that they never used . the alternate lyrics (well just one line) in "martian" are pretty kool too. by the way i have a kool bootleg performance of the misfits in which they change the lyrics to "teenagers from mars" to "bobby steele's a fuck...bobby steele is a homosexual!"

deriksen@dawson.net (Dan Eriksen)
I just got the box set I am very impressed. The Static Age disc is clearly the high point of the set, "Last Caress" and "Attitude" two of the best songs I ever heard plus "Hybrid moments" is also great it really showcases Glen's crooning. I often myself singing "oooh baby when you cry ect." My only small grievance with the box set is that the sessions version of "She" is of pretty poor sound quality (I know it's the Misfits and thats to be expected) but I was really looking forward to the slow piano version of that song and although it's good it didn't live up to my expectations.

hood004@bama.ua.edu (Joshua K. Hood)
i believe the newly released Static Age is one of the greatest albums ever made. It is worth it just for the version of "Spinal Remains" and "In the Doorway".

"American Nightmare", "Who Killed Marilyn" and "Spook City U.S.A." are 3 of the greatest songs ever written.

DoYLe42332@aol.com
kicked my ass all over the place

nichols@innernet.net
I wanted this bitch for a year and finally got the chance when a girl i know pretty well said, "hey, my brother is selling some of his stuff. i know you like the misfits, and he said he wanted 10 bucks for these..." At first i thought she was gunna pull out somne cd-r's or crap like that, but when i saw the big crimson ghost covered cds come out of her purse, my smile was identical to the ghosts'. i was in my wallet fumbling around before she could ever pull them all the way out........ i love these damn cds..........

scottjenkins138@charter.net
THE BOX SET WAS WORTH IT FOR THE FUCKING WORDS TO EVERY MISFITS SONG!!!!

jjdiazsanchez@hotmail.com
Hi, I'm on a Misfits roll, hah.

OK, while I appreciate the value for money aspect of it (getting the 5 albums included in the first 2 discs would cost a lot of money in comparison), the basically just-as-previously-released inclusion of 'Collection I', 'Collection II' and 'Legacy Of Brutality' makes the Box Set a mess. Throughout disc 1 the listener goes through tracks thrown randomly, EPs dismembered across the disc or completed by tracks on other disc on the set, it just doesn't flow, and that continues on disc 2 with 'Legacy Of Brutality'.

Also, they didn't get it totally right when eliminating redundancies: 'She' is included in both the 'Collections' and the 'Legacy Of Brutality' discs and it's exactly the same track, yet they left out most of the 'Bullet' EP and 'Last Caress' from 'Beware' when they are actually different mixes to those on 'Static Age'. The first two songs from the MSP sessions ('Halloween' and 'Vampira') were left out of the sessions disc (disc 3) and appear only in the form of awful remixes made by Danzig after the band broke up, on disc 1.

Maybe they just wanted to release the set quickly and overlooked some of this stuff, but with little more effort it could have been much better, they would have just had to re-organize the songs from the compilations, mainly.

I think this is what the box set should have been:

Disc 1: Singles/EPs '77-'82 (Cough/Cool, Bullet, Horror Business, Night Of The Living Dead, 'Last Caress' from Beware, 3 Hits From Hell, Halloween) and Evilive.

Disc 2: Earth AD, Die Die My Darling EP and Danzig's terrible post-breakup remixes and re-recordings (if he really needed them included)

Disc 3: Sessions/outtakes, basically the same way as it was released, but obviously without the tracks that belong to some EPs. A few songs from the compilations would be here.

Disc 4: Static Age, with the newly mixed extra tracks (buying an album again for just 3 extra tracks? fuck 'em)

I think that makes a lot more sense, I actually burned a re-organized version of the box set (including the 'Collections' stuff left out) and that's the way I listen to it. I would advice everyone to do the same.

Add your thoughts?

American Psycho - Geffen 1997.
Rating = 2

Fourteen years after the last record, axe brothers Doyle and Jerry Only for some reason started believing that they were The Misfits, even though Glenn Danzig wrote all the damn songs. And why, you ask, did Glenn Danzig write all the damn songs? Well, have you ever heard Doyle and Jerry's songs????

I knew that this album would be bad, but I didn't expect it to be this bad. All four members are sportin' them dumbass "evilocks," new singer Michale Graves is an empty-throated boy next door pretending to be Danzig, and every single song is a weak-kneed rip-off of earlier Misfits glory. The spirited "WHOA!!!"s, the pained "OHHHH!"s, and tons of sing-songy nonsense, none of which holds a candle to anything Glenn has written before or since (including the somewhat "ehh" Danzig 5 record). These songs are just not very good. The title track is catchy, and "Shining" (which is about that famous horror movie.... Poltergeist? I'm not kidding....) is a neat one, but most of the other SIXTEEN (!) tracks are just mindless, pointless generic punk riffs that don't do nuthin'. Come on guys, you're over 40. Grow the hell up.

Reader Comments

SimonGerf@aol.com
FUCK YOU! American Psycho is great. How can you even compare it to old misfits albums. Not to say that it's better, but they're a whole new band. Danzig's gone, so you dont have to trash 'em for it. They're just as good without him.

ZERO847954@aol.com
Ugh, this is a lousy album. It's so polished and so mainstream-friendly. The lyrics are just stupid, and the evilness has been sucked out. The intro, and the title track are the only two really worth mentioning. This review was right on the money. The music is the other highpoint. Though, too polished off, the music riffs are pretty good and the only reason I don't give this disc away.

I saw them live, and that was the best. They played a lot of their old, good tunes, and a few of these crappy songs. They kick ass live, playing the old stuff. Oh yeah, with AP, you also get a poster! Whoopee! That's the other highlight.

If you want to listen to the Misfits, go buy the newly-released Static Age, that's their best album. Don't buy this album first. Get collection 1 and 2, and every fucking album before this one and you'll understand. Go see them live too, and tell Jerry that the new album sucks shit!!! Or ask him about Glenn!

Psycho74x9@aol.com
Thanks for the reviews of my favorite punk band of all-time!!! I agree with all the ratings except that of Evilive, which doesn't deserve an 8 because of the horrendous sound quality. As for Walk Among Us being poppy, remember this: just because you can sing-along to it doesn't mean it's pop. Can you seriously call "Vampira" and "Devil's Whorehouse" pop, even in comparison to the thrashing Earth A.D.? I agree with the American Psycho review. The only good songs are the title track and "Crimson Ghost". Are you planning to add Static Age to the reviews? This unreleased masterpiece deserves a 9 on your scale.

chris@intown.net (Chris Schwarz)
This album is a cruel joke being played on Misfits fans by Jerry and Doyle Only. But guess what? We're not laughing!

xfoundationx@mail.geocities.com (Dean Reis)
this album is just pure shit. worse than the clash's cut the crap. whats with the samhain wannabe intro. "crimson ghost" and "mars attacks" have got to be among the worst songs ever made. why are they even singing about mars attacks anyways. do the old 50's and 60's horror movies not have enough modern day special effects and explosions for mister graves. maybe he just thinks b/w is for old people and computer nerds. danzig would never put up with this crap. this why jerry only wasn't allowed to right songs or lyrics in the first place. the whole album is just a parody of danzig's original vision of the band. especially the exaggerated whoa's. "speak of the devil" is never horrible track. The only decent songs are the title track and possibly "walk among us" (how come that song isn't on the album entitled walk among us? hmmmm.) at its worst this album is a large pile of stinking shit. at its best it still is not the misfits. anybody who likes this album is in denial and it aint just river in egypt.

danzig5@hotmail.com (Nima J)
Alright, i dont actually have a review for american psycho, but i do have commentary about the misfits and Glenn. First of all, Glenn Danzig is THE MAN. What ever band Glenn touches, it turns to gold. Like i said earlier, he can do no wrong, he is a master in his own way. I believe that Mr. SimonGerf is very confused. A band cannot be better after Glenn Danzig leaves. There just is no way. Im also a big Danzig fan, and that band is also pure genius. (well before Blackacidevil anyway), and i haven't heard Samhain, but im planning on it, and that has to be good. So, in short, Glenns the man, and The misfits cannot exist anymore.

johnf@san.rr.com (Lucky Kachunk)
I was suprised to hear a new fits' album coming out, when I heard they were signed on the Geffen! I expected shit. When I heard the Danzig was not included! I knew it was shit. And guess what it was! Jerry Only's a fag, and with his little brother. Somehow they must think that they were the creative genius behind the misfits, even though Glenn did EVERYTHING, and I see why he did. This is fucking horrible. Oh yeah, and I love bobby steele, he and Glenn were friends, even after bobby was kicked off by Jerry for Doyle, (good trade, yeah right). Jerry ran the band and controlled Danzig, (jerry's idea to change lyrics to "teenagers from mars"), I saw some of Jerry's old yearbook pictures, and he was a fucking football player and was voted "most popular", hardly a misfit. Well, all I'm saying is that this album sucks. It deserves no score.

InMyEyes82@aol.com
I bet alot of Misfits fans are thinking exactly what I am thinking- "I wonder what old Misfit fans like James Hetfield and Henry Rollins think about this new piece of shit?"

judge138@home.com (frank.m)
AMERICAN PSYCHO??????? Hell yes. Sure I miss Glenn, but this a great CD. Everyone seems so brainwashed into hating this cd. It's got a lot of Glenn's influence on it, and it gets combined with a newer sound that really works. I'm not comparing this to the Misfits of 1982. This is just a great (punk)rock and roll record. Let's get past this blind loyalty to Glenn.

bankrobber@usa.net (booji boy)
Once again Dean Reis is a crybaby.

lgachl@san.rr.com
This is the worst piece of shit from a good band I have heard since the Clash's Cut the Crap. The Misfits were just plain stupid to reunited, and with a different singer even. Well the Misfits WERE a great band. Sighhhhh......

beefblood@hotmail.com (Tony Burt)
god this album sucks. its so fucking cheesy. get the box set.

k.gorman@sympatico.ca
this is one of the catchiest punk albums i own its great. but i think they should have called themselves something diffrent. not the misfits because the misfits of the 90's are not the misfits.

DoYLe42332@aol.com
Another great album,i'm listening to it right now as i type.All the people who don't like this album are the same people that say Metallica sold out,which they didn't,they simply did what the they wanted.All the people who don't like this album are stuck so far up Glenn Danzigs ass they can see out of of his mouth,Michale Graves is greatness,although Glenn does kick ass,Graves writes great lyrics,has his own vocal style the band purely kicks as much ass now as they did then.

bsbatzel@p3.net (Brian Batzel)
Misfits are freakin awesome! They're old stuff is fuckin awesome! Their new stuff is different than what they used to be so you can't compare them to eachother cause they're 2 like totally differnt bands. No matter what you people think, no one can change the old Misfits no matter what. So keep complaining about the new ones instead.

StuartJ329@aol.com
I don't care if the misfits are pushing 40 they still rock not as good as they used to be but to be 40 they still rock but i'm just a stupid little kid

streloar@yahoo.com (Stephen Treloar)
I just want to get something off my chest about the criticism that this album gets. First it fucking rips! Second if Glen left the band to do his own stuff then he deserves no loyalty for what is egotistical greed. Thirdly, the old Misfits stuff is great but if you want to delude yourself into thinking that its good because the production on most of it is shit-house, thats your problem. When I go to a concert energy is everything. Normally the ticket is cheap and the atmosphere great. But when I buy an album I expect good production and to be frank if it wasnt for the underlying music then I wouldnt even piss on Evilive. Most of the Earth AD music is shit. Its an attempt to sound evil and a poor one. If you want evil, listen to Slayer (they do it better). Its about time that the old bastards stop whinging about their lost youth by clinging to the Danzig wagon and appreciate the new vitality that Graves has brought to the band and and forget that little posing runt.

metal@airmail.net (Ryan Parker)
OF COURSE MORE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SHOW LOYALITY TO GLENN BECAUSE HE WAS WITH THE MISFITS LONGER AND HE WAS A HUGE PART OF THE MISFITS. GRAVES BEING THE NEW SINGER STILL HAS TO PROVE HIMSELF. PERSONALLY, I LIKE GLENN BETTER, BUT GRAVES PUTS ON A HELL OF A LIVE SHOW AND INTERACTS WITH THE CROWD. BOTTOM LINE THE MISFITS ROCK AND THEY ARE THE BEST BAND EVER(OLD OR NEW). JERRY AND DOYLE ARE FAGS HUH?? FUCKIN GROW UP.........

Ransoul@aol.com
the new misfits suck dick

imes.judy@mcleodusa.net (Elliot Imes)
Regardless of the production, the age of the members, or who the new singer is, I like this album. Granted, there are some real bad songs on here. Plus the lyrics are really generic and drive the horror gimmick straight into the ground. But ignoring that, it's a good album. "Dig Up Her Bones" has an excellent melody and riff, and "The Shining" tears like a bitch. The title track is also catchy. So stop hating the Misfits just because Glenny ain't there anymore. They're still a good band, so get over it.

Efangz@aol.com
First off the old misfits were the best band i have ever heard. samhain was great as well and i wouldnt say samhain was "goth metal" because i dont look at them like a metal band haha i meen glen puts the paganistic influence into the band and not so much horror but if your a samhain fan you know what i meen its more about the horror in glens mind then about horror movies,. the new misfits ....well they arent the same anymore but they have good songs and perform good live, i saw them 6 times already. they have a good stage presence. american psycho isnt what i expected because i had high hopes of course being a misfits fiend for years however i think they are having fun and some new stuff is cool. jerry only is a great guy and so are doyle, chud and graves. If you heard jerry and doyles band christ the conquerer then you would think american pyscho is a much better attempt from there part. Anyway i dont knock them there still good and there doing there own thing. Lets see what they have instore for there future albums!!!!

Nameles790@aol.com
Come on! Ok, Glenn had an awesome voice and had such a messed up head that he could right lyrics that would make Kurt Cobain shy, but don't trash Mike Graves! Personally, I think the only Samhain cd worth buying is November Coming Fire (and don't even get me started on those crummy Danzig cd's!), I feel if Glenn had stayed with the Misfits into some whinny Gothic junk! I feel a two is a really unfair rating because your comparing the new Misfits to the old ones when they're almost completely different bands! I know plenty of Graves fans who can't stand Glenn and plenty of Glenn fans who hate Graves (as your site has proved!). From the darkness of the Abominable Dr / American Psycho to the awesome, Catchy tunes of the Shinning! I can't get enough of it! I think these guys can play their part very well (Why would you call Jerry and Doyle fags? They're both married men!). You all fell some odd attachment to Glenn! HE LEFT!!!!! HE DESERTED THE BAND!!!! Should they stop doing what they love because their front man left! That's insane! Personally, I can't decide who I like better Glenn or Graves. I think they're both awesome vocalists and front men, but from different worlds. Open your minds and stop trashing Graves.

dashay@earthlink.net (Yulia Dashevsky)
Man this album is fucking horrible! What Doyle and Jerry are doing... imagine East Bay Ray and Klaus Flouride and two other unknowns coming out with a brand fucking new Dead Kennedys album. Well, this isn't THAT bad but it is pretty lame...

zitherking@aol.com
Anyone who calls themselves punk rock and dismisses this album as a stupid commercial ploy to milk the credibility's and loyalties of diehard Misfits fiends is full of shit. The Misfits (yes, I'm calling them the Misfits) dropped the anchor and replaced the kerosene Danzig droning garbage with turbo charged rocket fuel. Jerry doesn't fumble around, Doyle's crunch is right on the money, Dr. Chud has tight rhythms and Michael Graves is far more consistent in his vocal delivery than Danzig ever could be. I have the box set, I've heard Danzig and I'll freely admit he's a fantastic lyricist but he's not the singer type, it just ain't so. Jerry and Doyle were both Misfits and they've decided to carry on the banner, no one of you can challenge their credentials just because they're not in the spotlight. The songs on American Psycho actually make sense, maybe that's what some of the nay-sayers are hung up on. EVERYTHING on it is great with the exception of the Crimson Ghost song, that one's more retarded than Forest Gump's inbred donkey. Dig Up her Bones and Don't Open till Doomsday are excellent, instant classics. The fact that these songs are packing a powerful punch and that they're easier to listen to doesn't decrease their viability. Everyone is always a fucking critic, no one who disses this album can do better and if they think they can they're full of shit. This album is 35+ minutes of pure punk fucking rock. It's still the same Misfits and when I caught them along with Gwar this past year, both bands were spectacular live draws. Jerry and Doyle are continuing the greatest punk band of all time (besides NOFX of course) and doing it with class. They're not taking credit for anything and they're not disrespecting the Misfits Legacy of Brutality. No, they're just changing the recipe so it goes down a little smoother and the aftertaste ain't hard to swallow. Feel free to disagree but don't be some mindless fuck who thinks that just because Danzig's gone means the rest of the band are posers. Far from it.

hood004@bama.ua.edu
Man. All these people whining about how fucking terrible the new Misfits record is. If you just don't like it, that's cool. If you hate it just because Glenn isn't in the band, fuck you. The band's changed into a new band, but is still the Misfits. I must admit, I'm a bigger fan of Glenn Danzig than his bands, but this album is just really good. And if you don't believe me, go see the new line-up live, and then tell me they suck. If you can still do it and mean it, that's cool. But I really doubt you can. They play SO much better live than they used to, without sacrificing any energy. Graves isn't Danzig, but he isn't supposed to be. He's supposed to be Michale Goddamn Graves and put his own mark on the music, and he does. I saw them in July, and they fucking rocked. The new stuff is great live, and Graves sings the old stuff very well (in fact, better than I've ever heard Glenn sing it live). I will say that there are a handful of songs that I personally think that only Glenn Danzig can do justice to ("Last Caress" and "American Nightmare", to name two), but anyone who can pull off "Horror Business" and "Die Die" as convincingly as Graves does IS the Misfits frontman. I give American Psycho absolutely no less than a 7 and say bring on Famous Monsters!

Saddison46@aol.com
Man all you people suck. American psycho kicks fucking ass!!! just cuz your hero glenn danzig aint on it don't mean you gotta trash it i like the misfits old and new. i love there new sound it rocks. fuck glenn danzig he sounds like a jim morrison wannabe ( am i the only person that realizes this?). the new misfits kick ass.

gabe.stearns@wcom.com (Erin C. Crigger)
so the misfits are back uh! but whats this, these aren't the misfits i remember. just about every song is blatently based on a horror movie, plus there's a new feel to the songs both structurally and verbally, also if i'm not mistaken that's not glenn! there has been much debate on the misfits current incarnation being to exploitive of the horror theme, that quite frankly made them stand apart in the first place, giving them that punk but not punk following. speaking of the punk angle-many fiends wonder where it went musically, wondering what exactly the misfits are playing now.

true most original fans and fiends were followers of the punk scene (yours truley being no exception). the misfits themselves could have given two shits about the political and social statements that punk bands stood for and against. this is neither here nor there though. the facts are that only a handful of the 53 songs originaly recorded by the misfits had somewhat nothing to do with a specific horror influence or movie, at least none that is known by me. these songs are:

anglefuck, attitude, bullet, children in heat, cough/cool, hate breeders, hollywood babylon, light in the doorway, nike a go go, rat fink, she, some kinda hate, spinal remains, static age, theme for a jackal, tv casualty, violent world, where eagles dare and who killed marilyn

even most of these songs have some reference at least to a horrorific, if not just morbid theme. the song bullet of course written about the assissination of president john f. kennedy. hate breeders possibly a manson family christmas song, would make a great horror movie in itself. hollywood babylon most likely centers around the hollywood of old, glitz-glamour-drugs-orgies-suicides (or is it the hollywood of today), and the novel by kathleen and kenneth anger of the same name . nike a go go is filled with the word missile and could possibly have been written about the nike missile, hinting of mans destruction by himself. the song she is the true story of the abduction of patty hearst by the symbionese liberation army, a deranged tale indeed. some kinda hate is filled with morbid imagery, as well as the songs spinal remains, theme for a jackal, tv casualty and violent world. leading us of course to the tragic life and suicide/murder(?) of marilyn monroe forever captured in the song candle in the wind....oops! forever captured in the song who killed marilyn. rat fink although a cover song possibly had inspiration to the misfits because of the horror/dragster models by ed "big daddy" roth. remember that these are the songs without direct horror connection, it's like saying only a few horror films deal with the supernatural.

to understand fully the horror influence on the misfits you should consider that the songs released by the misfits were not in there intended order, at least a whole albums worth wasn't. here's the song/album release timeline as they originally came out (songs that are repeated on follow up recordings are not included):

cough/cool-she; bullet-we are 138-attitude-hollywood babylon; horror business-teenagers from mars/children in heat; night of the living dead-where eagles dare-rat fink;beware ep: last caress; 3 hits from hell ep: london dungeon-horror hotel ghouls night out; halloween-halloween II; walk among us lp: 20 eyes-i turned into a martian-all hell breaks loose-vampira-nike a go go-hate breeders-mommy, can i go out and kill tonight?-skulls-violent world-devils whorehouse-astro zombies-braineaters; evilive ep;earth a.d./wolfs blood lp: earth a.d.-queen wasp-devilock-death comes ripping-green hell-wolfs blood-demonomania-bloodfeast-hellhound-die die my darling-we bite::

the official death of the misfits october 30, 1983

die die my darling single;legacy of brutality lp:static age-tv casualty-hybrid moments-spinal remains-come back-some kinda hate-theme for a jackal-angelfuck-who killed marilyn-american nightmare; misfits lp::

the official ressurection of the misfits january 01, 1995

collection II lp:coffin box set spook city u.s.a.; american psycho lp: abominable dr.phibes-american psycho-speak of the devil-walk among us-the hunger-from hell they came-dig up her bones-blacklight-resurrection-dead kings rise-this island earth-crimson ghost-day of the dead-the haunting-mars attacks-hate the living, love the dead-shining-don't open 'til doomsday-hell night; static age lp:light in the doorway; dig up her bones single; evilive II lp; i wanna be a new york ranger single: i wanna be a new york ranger; famous monsters lp: kong at the gates-forbidden zone-lost in space-dust to dust-crawling eye-witch hunt-scream!-saturday night-pumpkinghead- scarecrow man-die monster die-living hell-descending angel-them-fiend club-hunting humans-helena-kong unleashed-devil doll-one million years b.c.; monster mash single: monster mash::

now a look at the song/album release timeline as originally intended by the misfits, taking out the collections such as legacy-misfits-collection II. the collections may or may not have been released if the misfits had gotten static age released--possibly the ep's below would have been re-released with some alternate versions of other songs?!

cough/cool-she ep; static age lp; the ep's may or may not have been released if the misfits had gotten static age backed up by a label and them possibly some singles would have been picked for radio play and 7" release but most likely: the ep's horror business, 3 hits from hell and halloween would have come out because they contained new material; walk among us lp; evilive ep; earth a.d./wolfs blood lp; ?initium lp; unholy passion ep; november coming fire lp; (even if the misfits stuck together this long the transition to danzig would have surely broke them apart.)

either way you look at the legacy the misfits were up to their necks in horror right from the start. from the crimson ghost (although not a horror character persay), to posters-stickers and album covers with ghouls, creatures and morbid imagery to the black clothes-devilocks and danzig's bone gloves the misfits invented the true horror rock scene, not just horror as a stage gimmick but horror as a band.

as far as the writing goes, yes it is different to say the least. the misfits are writing songs for the most part based solely on the premise of a specific horror/sci fi movie. sure they could try and copy glenn's style of writing about a specific influence without naming the song after it or using the name in the song, but doing this consciously would not get the same effect. further more the mystery of the songs written by glenn may not have been do so much to his writing style but rather that the songs influences were not discussed, of which most are based on obscure horror movies of the 50s, 60s and 70s. glenn may have been good at writing about his movie subject in around about manner but if glenn had openly talked about the movies that influenced the songs, it could truely be determined how much he ventured from the actual source material.

musically as well the style of the misfits is different, or is it? looking at the different albums released by the misfits there really are no common bonds, besides they were all released by the misfits. the five main recordings put out by the original members (if you can call them that) of the misfits cough/cool-she, static age, halloween, walk among us and earth a.d./wolfs blood have little in common. well actually nothing in common, except the horror, danzigs writing and jerry on bass. it seems the true "misfits" style is part punk, part thrash, part 50s/60s rock n roll, part blues, part horror/sci fi. no one will ever know what their future sound would have been if the band had not split up, though glenn had already written songs that would be used for samhain material by the time the band broke up in '83'. leading one to believe this would have been the direction the misfits would have gone.

as far as the line up goes, one really can't complain that the misfits are some bastardiza-tion of the misfits. yes, the misfits lack glenn but he is certainly not the first misfit to be replaced, although probably the most influencial. now for a look at the many incarnations of the misfits::

1977--glenn danzig(vocals), jerry only(bass), manny(drums)
1977--glenn danzig, jerry only, manny, franche' coma(guitar)
1978--glenn danzig, jerry only, mr. jim(drums), franche' coma
1978--glenn danzig, jerry only, mr. jim, rick riley(guitar)
1978--glenn danzig, jerry only, joey image(drums), bobby steele(guitar)
1980--glenn danzig, jerry only, arthur googy(drums), bobby steele
1980--glenn danzig, jerry only, arthur googy, doyle(guitar)
1982--glenn danzig, jerry only, robo(drums), doyle
1995--michale graves(vocals), jerry only, dr. chud(drums), doyle
1998--myke hideous(vocals), jerry only, dr. chud, doyle
1998--michale graves, jerry only, dr. chud, doyle
(there were other minor changes throughout the years with different guitarists, drummers and vocalist [within the current lineup] filling in at a show or for a short time)

talk about sequels friday the 13th hasn't even caught up with the misfits. reportedly, at least by glenn, he was the biggest influence on song style and lyrics. the other members of the misfits say for the most part this is true but each member helped add to the music and to a lesser extent the lyrics to the songs now and then. replacing glenn was not something that could be avoided (just ask glenn) as jerry and doyle would find out. this had to be a frightful endeavor no doubt, one might even say a grave undertaking. indeed it would be like doing a nightmare on elm street without robert englund as freddy, it could have possibly turned out like the horrible attempt of replacing the munsters. they made the right decision, michale is his own misfit, not a glenn imposter or clone. any similarities perhaps coincidental due to the fact that michal had not listened to the misfits or saw videos of glenn from his misfit days. dr. chud as well has definately fit the fits', more so than any other drummer before him, he is surely the heaviest hitter they've had. some would argue you can't beat robo, but most of those would be fans of his from his black flag stint. I has well no him from this connection, but he looked more like the misfits dad than a member. no offense intended robo! the misfits have finally come together as a band striving for one goal-- total domination of the earth.

one can only assume that the misfits are headed down the same path they got misdirected from in 83', making the music they want to using imagery inspired by the horrors of the silver screen and still searching for a label that will back them up on their conquest of the world. the misfits may even get some commercial recognition with their new entity (now that metallica, rob zombie, marilyn manson, death metal and darker imagery as a whole is being played across the world-something that wasn't being done when the misfits first started), but even some of the original songs could have been commercialy accepted given the right record company backing them up. even if the misfits do gain that commercial success it will probably be dwindled down to the halloween season with radio stations playing them for the season of the dead, some advertising spots and a few appearances on talk shows during the month of october.

along the way the misfits may lose those fiends who want to live in the past (a past that they have no direct connection with other than rumors and stories from the original members) and those that say that the bands goals have changed. most of those probably side with glenns veiw of the current incarnation of the misfits, of which he has stated it's an attempt to cash in on the misfits name. in fact this may be some what true glenn himself is getting royalties and has been for years and of course jerry and the current members aren't going to purposefully be in a band for free. then there are those fiends who have taken a disliking to the misfits new songs for what ever reason. some of those reasons are that they feel the songs are not fast enough, they are to closely based on source material and some just complain because they were not written by glenn. well the misfits once again have had a wide variety of tempos to their songs, something a true fiend should be already aware of. as far as the horror theme being overused, even back in the early days the misfits were described as "ghoul rock", "monster rock", "horror rock" or "death rock", they didn't get that name by singing about sunshine and bunnies.

i'm writing this as a biased fiend myself, a fiend that had heard last caress and green hell way before metallica defiled them. one who has seen the movies that the misfits wrote about and who from a young age was fascinated by the universal monsters and horrorific things overall. a fiend who had just as much to lose as any other if the misfits came back and sucked. i have tried to objectively show that the misfits are the same band today as they were 20 years ago when a group of teenagers got together to play music that was their own in everyway, but i must admit i like the new drive that the band has with jerry at the helm. the new music, as well is in my opinion just as catchy and brilliant as the songs glenn scribed, combining the overall feel of all the misfits earlier releases.

well, tis october 5th, 1999 and i for one will be running out right after work to purchase famous monsters, having heard almost the whole album i am convinced that those among us who truely are fiends shall not be disappointed!

source material::
the misfits bible (invaluable date source)
liner notes from box set (eerie von)
original articles (various articles i've collected)
some of my on opinions (it's my freakin' story)

martin.williams@neicoltech.org
all you losers out there who are sucking glenns dick ive got one thing to say to you blackacidevil a true fiend

akreuter@acsu.buffalo.edu (Alan Kenneth Reuter)
Oh boy. What of American Psycho? Well, it's weird. The songs are lame with lame lyrics, but yet the songs are oh-so-catchy! I like the album now more than I did before (Not that I hated the album before, I just wasn't totally impressed). Do I like the old 'Fits better? Yes. But the new 'Fits are great. Thumbs Up.

P.S. Buy Static Age. Best Misfits release.

nlerdel@hotmail.com (Nathan Erdel)
Ok...

To state first... this is just my opinion... take it or leave it.

Yes... I do agree that the Misfits best music was with Glenn. It's just the way it is... there was something magical about Glenn's crooning voice and Jerry's pounding bass... and the slew of drummers/guitarists. The lyrics were on the edge, psychotic, and raw. They didn't pander to anyone. Fuck the world, love the Misfits.

But after Glenn's ego got to big (no one kicked him out or forced him to leave) he left the band. The Misfits team were disbanded, so Glenn could work on his Satanic ego-driven frontman image. Granted, I like a lot of Danzig's solo work, and most of Samhain's music is good too, but Glenn has never made music like he did with the Misfits.

Jerry and Doyle did the Kryst thing... yuck... and them moved on to the Misfits (American Psycho, Famous Monsters, the Monster Mash), and kept the image alive. Granted, American Psycho sounds a little cheesy at times, but to many people outside the origianl fans, all of the Misfits work walks the fine line between bad ass punk and trash. It's just a fact, as painfull as it may be.

Michale Graves is a very talented vocalist... yes, when I first heard him, I thought... damn, he's trying to be Glenn... but at a second listen, and especially on Famous Monsters, Michale suprpasses Glenn on a vocal level. Glenn can do the crooning, Michale does the singing.

No one who argues online knows the true story of why Jerry and Glenn are no longer on the same side... no one really know's why the 'Fits threw it all away... but I can say this... The New Misfits are very good... it's not the same band... but they rock... and as for Glenn... well, I hope Satan's Child 6:66 is better than blackacidevil... and trust me... I love the new songs very much... but nothing will ever be the way it was in the years of Jerry and Glenn... the real Misfits.

h8breeder@hotmail.com (B A)
Listen...

American Psycho is a good c.d. Michael sounds great, the terror is still there, but theres one problem...Wheres danzig? Lets face it the misfits died out when danzig left. Now they do crap like go to wrestling events to push their new album famous monsters. And don't try to explain how by doint that they will make more sales. Because you have to remember, Misfits were about punk rock. Not about the mainstream crap. So the new misfits have sold out. As expected. Jerry should wake up and smell the dried up blood. Move on, there is no more hope. Join Danzig.

DNX138@aol.com
the MISFITS without Glenn Danzig is like the Jimi Hendrix Expeirienc without Jimi Hendrix!!!! How do you replace the guy that wrote everything?....You can't. If the Jerry and Doyle want to prove how vital they are as artist why don't they stop living in the past and create a new band with a new name....oh yea I forgot Kryst the Conqueor, what a piece of dog shit that was. Anyone who thinks that the new misfits is any good probably thinks that Green Day is actually a punk band. Hey what's up with the new Jerry and Doyle dolls?......no they didn't sell out

hyp@mediaone.net (Doug Hyyppa)
3/4 of American Psycho and 1/2 of the stuff on Famous Monsters are amazing. Both albums have weak spots, but I can't get enough of either record, same as I can't get enough of songs like "Bullet", "Skulls", and "Astro Zombies". As for Danzig, he lost me when he lost his sense of humor, though his first two post-Samhain records have some great moments.

geldof@webtv.net (Mike B)
I am curious as to when the webmaster is gonna review Famous Monsters? Maybe he doesn't want to 'cause it fucken rips and he has already decided that the 'fits suck without Glenny? I don't own AP, but FM is a great record. Pure fucken punk rock gold in an era where music is suffering from a massive loss of greatness. Just put on Scream, Descending Angel, Sat. Night or a few other tracks (okay so Scarecrow Man sucks) and let your ears decide for you. Sure, the old Misfits are special, but IMO Glenn is now a hack, and his music has gotten more and more ridiculous as the years pass. There is something fresh and classic at the same time with the new line-up. They have had to deal with a lot of pressure, and I think they stood up just fine. I saw 'em last week, and it was one of the best punk rock shows I've seen (I'm 27 and was around back in the day). I have also noticed that most of the posts dissing Graves have been simple and childish, compared to some very intelligent and passionate opinions supporting the new band. What does that tell you?

mrgonzox@hotmail.com
I think the Misfits could describe this album best with a classic Earth AD tune, "We Bite". C'mon, this does bite, it just isn't the same. By the way, am I the only one who thinks the vocals on Earth AD aren't that good? The music drowns them out, and the Misfits are spookier when we know what the hell they're saying.

Sid40@aol.com
this is one of the best punk cds i have ever heard , mainly they captured the rawness and newness the misfits lost there at the end with danzig , you are clearly a danzig fan as am i,but i can apreciate michale graves , i couldnt say he didnt bring something danzig never did because he might have , if he wouldnt have been an ass , the misfits will and always will be the best punk band of all time with or without danzig, and long live michale graves!!!!!!!!!!

rhhanna@hotmail.com (Richard Hanna)
The new misfits suck to the max. I can not listen to their crap anymore, with the new singer/pansy graves. Get a life everybody and buy albums that Glenn sang on. It is the difference between going to Vegas or Laughlin. Glenn rules, rocks, everyone else just poses and it is sad and lame I must say.

kurten@swafo.com
I repeat what someone posted here earlier: Misfits without Danzig is like the Jimi Hendrix experience without Jimi, or the Dead Kennedys without Biafra. Come on, duh.

They should have at least had the decency to change the name.

geedot@enter.net (Dottor Family)
who the hell wrote that long treatise on the Misfits? What a fucking moron.

MARKBILL777@aol.com
when i first heard about the misfits it was when metalica covered some of there songs,then i found evilive on viynl in the shop so i bought it and was converted. i now have quite a collection

Phalisin@aol.com
i am 23 and have been listening to the misfits since i was 13, i have seen them 3 times(new band) and i own every misfits albulm there is...all i can say is that die hard danzig fans will never accept mike graves...cause they want to see the band as it was..but get over it ...it won't happen. AP and FM were both great fuckin albulms...and they are a real band not some guys jumpin around screaming..even though that is what some of you think punk should be...it should still be listenable...

danzig was cool with samhain..and danzig (up to 5) was awsome until he did the the same thing he did with the fits he dumped john christ, eerie von, and chuck biscuits for a crap industrial band( i like industrial but they suck) and he can't even sing without reverb or distortion on his voice...he screams..he can't hold a note anymore hes close to 50 and he blew his voice out

guys get over it the misfits from 83 are no more but to say they shouldn't use the name is childish and selfish..they are performing not you so if u don't want to hear them don't go to the concerts or buy the albulms...grow up or shut up..see u at the show

4yrgnuh@ehound.com
At the begninning, you could say for sure that there was a gap that could not be saved, a tremendous difference between the sound of the original Misfits and the new one. But I would still listen to "Famous Monsters" or "American Psycho" and you know what, the more I listened, the more I liked them, they're great, though cheesy at times, but what the hell, the lyrics still reflect that same pursuit of horror and fatality, destruction and others alike of the original Misfits; there's power in them. It's ok by me that they kept the name. They wanted to continue something, just as Danzig wanted to do something on his own and nobody blames him for it. Now I think the gap has narrowed down to the mere fact that there is a gap, that there is a difference, not a big, not a small one, just a difference. And being different is ok. 1999 is not 1982. I think the Misfits of today have found their niche once more. They didn't have to create one like the original Misfits had to, but they certainly will have to fight, to prey, to rock just as hard as in 1982 to survive and they will. The rock and they rule.

atewaysatan@hotmail.com (Matt Hager)
I would have to agree. The Misfits just make me cringe with digust when i listen to them at that age. I remember when i first heard of the MISFITS in 8th grade i belive. and this kid in my class at SCHOOL said "oh you have to hear the Misfits they rock" and they're my favorite band". Unfortunatly that kid gave me "AMERICAN PSYCHO" to listen to on the way home from school And i thaught "HMMMM maybe it will get better after a while"..... i think after hearing speak of the devil or some terible song off that album i said "ah, who am i kidding? the misfits suck my ASS HOLE DRY!!" And i gave up on the misfits for a whole year or two!! later in my life i downloaded the ealry years of the misfits in the DANZIG DAYS off the computer and i thaught "MAN the MIsfits must have REALLY sucked ass hole after GLEN left!" i think later i figured out that Glen had left years before and they were all old as sin and they're just a couple of old men trying to act like demon-like shit heads for no reason. SHEESH do the MISFITS SUCK NOW OR WHAT? Aren't they like, WRESTLERS NOW? WOOOOOOOAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA poor poor, middle aged shock rock posing demon like losers :(

mfranklin00@email.msn.com
first off all this bashing of glenn or jerry isnt what it was about. the misfits are a universal punk band.the songs that you listened to in youre room at 12 years old will never pass you. the first misfits record i heard was walk among us i was 12. now im 18. i didnt even see the o.g.misfits.all u old school people are like old people never wanting a change.if you had to eat shit everyday youd be pretty sick long live the misfits and the universal idea that everyone's entitled to and deserves long live punk rock

ry1011@earthlink.net (Ronald J. Young)
Just to clear things up, Mars Attacks was an old trading card series long before the movie ever came out. As far as American Psycho goes, I've never heard the album simply because the idea behind it disgusts me. Glenn was the only reason the Misfits had so many ass-kicking songs, but now these two losers think they're something special so they go out and find a couple more wannabes and use the Misfits name to sell an album. Although, I don't really blame them for doing it, because if they had released the album under a different band name no one would've cared enough to buy it in the first place.

ASTROZOMBIE7783@aol.com
american psycho blows!! you should have given it a -2

nichols@innernet.net
this was not a great album... but it was no 2, maybe a 6... this album was made to be kinda shitty and wannabe hard just to try to get old fans into it again, jerry didnt want to put out the slow stuff quite yet, he saved it for famous monsters... a masterpiece......

rileypmriley@webtv.net (Paul Riley)
I DONT BELIVE THEY HAVE THE BALLS TO CALL THIS A MIISFITS ALBUM.THE SINGER (GRAVES )SHOULD BE DOING COVERS OF THE BLACK CROWES IN CRAPPY BAR SOMEWHERE.HE MUST OF HAD COMPRIMISING PICTURES OF DOYLE WITH A SHETLAN PONY IN ORDER TO JOIN THE BAND.LET IT GO MAN!!!!!!!!!

ANARART@msn.com (Edgar Sanchez)
American Psycho is what got me into the misfits and when heard the old stuff I liked them even more so i can really say which is better because its true that every band that had some thing to do with the Danzig turned into something fantastic. in short i like everything that is evil and so far its all good.

KnuckleFiend138@webtv.net (Jamie Keegan)
Man nobody can in this fucking world can top Glenn Danzig for the Misfits....i am somewhat pissed at Glenn that he left and that he was so fuckin good in the misfits...and it made me sad that he left for metal...and i that i heard Glenn and the rest of the misfits and black flag chased some cock rock metal band down the street by the name of motley crue...and now Glenn Danzig is in a cock rock metal band....it pisses the fuck out of me when i know he is in the band Danzig, and that he isnt where he should be....I dont know what to say about American Psycho...it just doesnt top the old fits and just cant be as good...and the best songs of the old fits were mommy can i got out and kill tonight?, violent world, blood feast,skulls,london dungeon, halloween(both), where eagles dare,demonomania,death comes ripping, she,angelfuck,attitude...the list goes on..man it just hurts me glenn isnt the fucking same anymore...he used to be for the fiends but now hes for the money or something but he just isnt the same and i hate that fact...i fucking hate it...and i want him back in the misfits....and doyle and jerry i still like em...doyle didnt do anything...i didnt like jerry was a football player and was popular like a prep but i guess he changed .. whatever...there is no more misfits..damn everything to hell

lechman@mac.com (Mark Lechman)
I bought this record (American Psycho) for two reasons, curiosity and the Graves tune, "Dig Up Her Bones." I fully expected it to be shit, but I didn't care. When I put it on, I really dug it. Ok, now you can get pissed off at me for saying that. I'm old, and I've seen reunions come and go - and they are always inferior to the originals (except for maybe 7 Seconds - Good To Go album). But ultimately, what Jerry and Doyle are giving fans is what they've always wanted, just very slickly packaged. Yes they're cashing in on the Misfits reputation. And no, they weren't as critical to the Misfits as Glenn was. But they worked their asses off to make the band as great as it could be, and I'm sure they feel that they are as much Misfits as anyone else in the band was - certainly more than any of us uppity net-nerds. They've more or less upheld the spirit of the band - i.e. dressing up like monsters and singing about B-movies in a spooky way so that everyone has some fucking fun. I mean, really - can you take Danzig any more seriously than Jerry or Doyle? No, Glenn is a little comic-book geek (like many of us) who rebelled against the norm in an incredibly theatrical and quite comical way. I think the new Misfits still carry that feeling with them.

But here's my problem with the band. First off, Graves is fine, although his voice isn't NEARLY as powerful or commanding as Glenn's. Chud is fine too, but then I wonder whey they didn't just get Robo or somebody else to round out the rhythm section? Well guess what? It's 2002 and Robo HAS been playing with the Misfits since Chud left with Graves to form GRAVES, a new band with younger people in it (and they're actually pretty good). So Robo's back on drums (and sometimes Marky Ramone), and Jerry's singing. Great! Not so fast, at recent shows, Doyle has been replaced by...(drum roll) DEZ CADENA of BLACK FLAG! Whoa! Straight out of left field, that one. In fact Dez, Marky and Jerry appear as the Misfits on their new split single with Balzac! So I've lost a little faith in Jerry since the even "new" Misfits can't seem to stay together.

Secondly, according to a friend of mine, the Misfits didn't write the majority of the music on their first reunion record. As the story goes, my friend was hanging out at some 40 year-old guy's house who used to run with the old-schoolers. Suddenly, the phone rings and this dude walks off to answer it. Sometime later he returns and says to my friend, "That's weird. Jerry Only just called me up to ask if I could write a couple of songs that sound like the Misfits for a reunion album." Apparently, they got other folks to pen the tunes and bought the rights so that they could say "all songs by the Misfits." This could be total bullshit, but I trust my friend and I think he's telling the truth. If so - holy shit - the Misfits have now become a puppet-show. Get some songs, get a guy who looks and sounds like Glenn, take a few publicity pictures and BANG! Here come the Misfits. So of course, I've lost even more faith in whatever the Misfits have become.

As for the songs, they are well-performed and feel like they should - an updated version of the old-old Misfits (not the later stuff like Earth A.D.). They sound more focused, tighter and deliver a set of decent punk songs that are fun to listen to. No it's not DK or Black Flag, but were they ever? I've seen old pictures of Rollins hanging out with the Misfits and even HE has a look on his face like he's thinking "what's up with the rubber skeleton gloves and the devilock hair-do?"

Well at least they're still punk. I don't know what the hell Danzig's doing anymore.

P.S. Samhain wasn't that great.

P.P.S. Punk rock has become a fucking toy.

kcbj@gallatinriver.net (Kimberly Palmer)
anyone who says graves is the right person for the band is a fucking idiot and to u doyle44223 or whatever ur adress is graves didnt write the lyrics jerry did. graves wouldnt know misfits lyrics if they bit him in the ass. he didnt even know who the misfits were until he auditioned for the bad as a last ditch effort for stardom. hes a fucking sellout poser that should have never been. the songs on american psycho are lame (chrimson ghost, mars attacks, speak of the devil) need i say more and to u who said ii got my head up danzigs ass the misfits wouldnt be if it werent for danzig and should have never even rejoinedlike now there working on a fucking new cd and the band is jerry only on bass and vocals, dez cadina on guitar and marky ramone on drums and there a 50's cover band traveling as the misfits cause they cant make a name for themselves very lame. danzig is the true misfit and the band is nothing without him

antnego@earthlink.net (Anthony Negron)
Hey, a new Misfits album? But wait!! Where’s the main vehicle and founder of the band, Glenn Danzig, who wrote all of the songs?! Sure, it sounds good in a typical punk-by-the-numbers sort of way, but can you say “sell out?” “Loss of credibility?” “Pathetic attempt to cash in on renewed interest?”

And of course, there’s the little poseur “I like anything that sounds hard” punk in the corner whining “But it sounds better than the old Misfits and it kicks ass!” Listen up: it was the sloppiness of the band’s chops and the bad recording quality that gave the whole damn thing its appeal. And Glenn Danzig can come up better stuff on a whim than what Jerry and Doyle could pull out of their ass in a lifetime. That’s why he wrote all the songs.

So the new “Misfits” may gain some attention and a wider fan base. But this isn’t the Misfits, it’s just two aging egotists ripping off a name of greatness, trying to capture a glory long gone. I’ve downloaded a few tracks off of “American Psycho” and they sound all right enough. But I won’t spend the money the album. It’s just not the same.

HeadBanger4444@aol.com
Let me just start off by syaing this album was alright. I sad "alright" as far as music and the songwriting goes. But for the most part this compared to "famous monsters" was a hell of alot more heavy. The lyrics may not mean much but riffs are are so punk that you may even here some of the old misifts in the songs. As afr as this new singer goes, he has a great voice, agreat voice for punk i meant. In my own opinion graves is a much better singer than dnazig. But that is just my opinion.

OanFiend@aol.com
I think that most of you people are dickheads. Please understand that Graves isnt Glenn and seconed of all this is the misfits. Then some of you asses saying that Doyle and the legend jerry only are fags is way out of line if tey were fags they would be getting done in the ass by dudes. This album is far better than the Danzig era it has faster riffs and you can understand what hes saying. Im not bashing Glenn im just saying graves is a better vocalist. Its true no one will live up to Glenn but graves was legendary if you want to complain complain abot the new line up the old people group wich are still good after all this is my point of view the view of Aren Anarch of Vector Sigma

eric.neuser@umusic.com
I find it strange that so many folks would spend their time writing about something they don't like. Perhaps it's a creative outlet. Go find a new band to listen to....one without costumes perhaps.

KURRUPTION1977@cs.com
you guys suck you dont care that the misfits are back of coures not the same not with Glen they even offeverd him to come back when they werernt to sure to mike being the singer Jerry and Doyle waited out side his hotel when the misfits and Danzing where playing thoghther 15mins later security escorted Jerry and Doyle out of the hotel so they took that as a no so stop bitching about how they should int call themselves the misfits this is a new decade so go fuck your selfs ass holes.

mkerouac@sport.rr.com
Is this the best Misfits record? No. Can the Misfits be the Misfits without Glenn Danzig? I guess you have to decide that for yourself. I had my doubts, too, until I saw them live in 2000 and I can tell you in my opinion that they are still Misfits. If this record had another name on it then no one would be complaining. The record itself stands up okay, not to held in the same regard as Walk Amoung Us, but it doesn't exactly suck the root. Danzig lost the lawsuit and Jerry Only picked up the football. Accept that fact and then either buy this record or don't.

Add your thoughts?

Psycho In The Wax Museum 7" - Misfits 2006
Rating = 1


This was a two-sided instrumental single of American Psycho vocal-less outtakes that you could get just by sending in four proofs-of-purchase from Misfits Wind Resistant Lighters, three tags from Misfits Fiend Club Baseball t-shirts, seven peel-offs from the back of Misfits Belt Buckles, four Misfits Skull Clear Vinyl Skulls, a cassette tape verifying that you purchased a Misfits Skull Costume Ski Mask, three soiled Misfits Graveyard Beanie Knit Hats, fifty-two Misfits Grenade GBS Snowboard Gloves, the special number from the back of a Misfits Punk Rock Band Bloody Skull Tote Bag, the hoodie from a Misfits Fiend Club Zip Hoodie, a photo of a woman wearing a Misfits Crimson Skull Ladies Corset, three tie-dyed Misfits "Red Crimson Ghost" Fingerless Gloves, seven dollars from a Misfits Mummy Leather Wallet With Chain, two scraps removed from a Misfits Messenger Bag Style Back Pack, a Misfits Embroidered Patch, a jar of radiation from a Misfits Glow In The Dark Beanie, a skull fragment from a skull that has been encased in a Misfits Skull Fitted Cap, a baby delivered from under a Misfits Logo Ladies Tank Top, a blood-soaked Misfits Large White Crimson Ghost On Face Bandana, four proofs-of-purchase from Misfits Wristbands, the area code from a Misfits Fiend Black Snap Belt, forty-five Misfits Crimson Ghost Skull Logo Metal Keychains, a Misfits Money Clip, a defaced Misfits Holding Eyeball Drawing, three Twinkie-filled Misfits Lunch Boxes, three hundred Misfits coffee Mugs, a tear-covered Misfits Pillowcase, three batteries removed from a Misfits Diecut Skull Clock, a lovelorn Misfits Brutality Postcard, an upside-down Misfits Silhouette Logo Magnet, a baggie of stench from a Misfits Skulls Incense Burner, three price tags from Misfits Air Fresheners, a crumpled-up Misfits/Megadeth Handbill Poster and a Doyle Urine Sample. It stinks.

One side is generic 50s shit and the other side is generic punk-metal. Neither side is good and the Misfits are a worthless piece of merchandishit without the songwriting talent of Mr. Glenn Allen Anzalone (age 54).

Add your thoughts?

Evillive II - Caroline 1998
Rating = 4


Compiled from seven awful concerts held between Halloween 1997 and March 10, 1998, this shitty live CD finds the terrible Michale Graves line-up stinking their way through 13 vomitous American Psycho tracks and six from the Danzig Golden Wonder Years. The rough, raw sound is a nice alternative to the slick studio mix of American Psycho, but the songs remain humiliating attempts to recapture the old Misfits sound while eschewing such extraneous ingredients as 'talent' and 'decent material.'

Not that Glenn Danzig was the most tuneful live performer either, but it's interesting to note that Michale Graves sounds more like Oderus Urungus on these songs than the original Misfits vocalist he was hired to impersonate. The band's infamously threatening stage presence is also nowhere to be found, replaced by friendly jib-jab like "You gotta make more noise than that," "Is everybody having a good time? Good, because that's what it's all about" and the truly embarrassing "Hey, we just got a Murdergram! From William C. and signed in blood for all to see!" Where's a good "ONE MORE TIME YOU ASSHOLE YOU DIE!" when you desire one?

Bright spots in the din include long-time goodies "American Nightmare," "Vampira" and "Bullet" and surprisingly ass-smashing new tracks "American Psycho" and "Hate The Living, Love The Dead." The rest is a leaky colostamy bag of bad new material and bad renditions of good old material. How do you ruin "Where Eagles Dare"? Sing it as off-key as Graves does.

Fuck the Misfits, the Misfits suck. Fuck those Danzigless pricks over there in Misfits.

Here's a funny anecdote: I'm tired.

Add your thoughts?

Famous Monsters - Roadrunner 1999
Rating = 2


FUCK YOU!!! THIS ABLUM KICKS ASS AND IF YOU DONT KNOW GOOD PUKMN RROCKK WHEN YOU HERE IT. MICHLALEL GREAGVES HAS DEVELOPED HIS OWN SINGING SYTYLE 0- HE SOUNDS MOER LIKE THE DAMNE'S DAVE VANIAN NOW THAN DANZIG!!! FUCK YOU!!!! THE GUITARS ARE HEAVEAY ASAS FUKK! AND THE MUSIC SOUNDS LIKE AL KINDAS OF PNK ROCK - NOT JUST LIKE THE MISFTIS - YOU CAN HEAR THE RAMONES AND AGENT ORANGJE WITH THOSE AWESOME VOCAL HARFMONIES ANDA A LOT OF THE SONGS ARE CATCHY AS HLELL. JHUST BECASUE DANZIG LEFT DOESN'T MENAT THEY SUCK NOW - YOU'RE SUCK AHF FUCKING SELLOUT ASSHOLE WBY DONYT YOU GO LISTTEN TO ALTERNATIVE MUSIC LIKE MATCHBOX 20 SINCE YOU DON'T KNOW REAL ROCKA ND ROLL WHEN YOU HEAR IT. YEAH, MAYBE TEY GO "WHOA WHOA WHOA" TOO MUCH IN SOME SONG, BUT THOSE VOCAL HARMOENIES ARE AWEOMSE AND SOEMA OF THE SONGS DVEEEVEN SOUND LIKER NIRVARNA!

IF I EVER EMET YIOU, I WOULD KILL YIOU.

Reader Comments

elizacus@insightbb.com
#1 You are a weakling little pissant or you wouldn't talk so tough.#2 Don't threaten me, I am a 3 time penetentery biddin, fuckin nut that WILL kick your little ass if you were to try to "Kill Me" American psycho is a pretty decent album.It has good , strong cuts and a new cleaner, much more talented sound.(although a lil bit overproduced)But....It IS NOT THE MISFITS! Glenn wrote EVERY SINGLE SONG AND LYRIC TO ALL THERE MATERIAL! The two brothers were and are NOTHING without there little TRADEMARK name. Look at Kryst AHHHHHHHHHHH Glenn was doing samhain,danzig 1, Bobby was putting out undead stuff left and right and they did KRYST........THE CONQUEREOR With an album cover that could have been a box for a fucking He-man doll lol However, If you like a bunch of phony, jock meathead geeks that hired some little boy that NEVER even heard them, Hey cool, I even like a few songs of am psycho, cuts from the crypt but I always tell myself it is not the Misfits because it is a FACT! It is not......Famous Monters is a Joke! They have REALLY lost it now. I listened to it cause I am a HUGE fan of THE actual real (Seen em w/necro's 1982 kalamazoo mich MISFITS so it was worth my time and it was intolerable.I laughed and had to take it out. Plus those faces insideHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

I am Done I will give American Psycho a 5 and Famous Monsters a 1 1/2(the half just to be a smart ass, the one for "forbidden zone"..........my 4 yr. old nephew likes it) Misfits born 1977 died(for real) 1983 rest in peace.

MariaChavez1@email.msn.com
The Misfits are my foremost favorite band. Only if they would have never broken up. I Collect their vynl records, the only one i need to complete the collection is their cough/cool album. I got doubles of all their albums so if any one wants to trade or sell ill be willing. Just e mail me back.

die_enemy_@hotmail.com
this is a great fucking cd ....mike is not better than glenn but he sing quite good

so think about green day, blink 182 now this is punk...

so i think famous monsters is a great cd even if STATIC AGE and the other glenn album were UNFORGETTABLE

ross.golowicz@oberlin.edu
that is the best review i've ever seen.

ddhicks@csonline.net (Dan Hicks)
graves is a bitch danzig was the best fucking singer of all time. old misfits rule

When I sin I sin real gooooood!!!!!!!

devilswhore house

Mockery_of_Humanity@hotmail.com (Jacob Griffin)
THIS ALBUM DESERVES MORE THAN A SEVEN!!!

I must admit that the first time i heard Graves I fuckin' hated it but each time i hear him i respect him more

if you are a true FIEND there's no way in hell you can listen to this album and not think of it as MISFITS

Misfitsdeath138@aol.com
EVAN KNOW I EAT SLEEP AND DRINK OLD MISFITS I STILL POP IN FAMOUS MONSTERS EVERY ONCE AND A WHILE

TaintdHeavens@aol.com
I myself like both the misfits...old and new....does it matter that Glenn left? Does it matter that Michael left? In both cases it does, because they have their own style of music...that is just music......no one is going to sound the same...some people need to stop whineing (( me )) and just listen.....it is as easy as that...... (( oh yeah....Chud and Michael left the band on November 6 ,2000 )) Anyway......i think this album and american psycho needs more nums...because Famous monsters rules and American Psycho rules...but that is my own thoughts

ROBERTADELMEDICO@email.msn.com
This cd is an abomination. NOwhere are the songwriting skills of Danzig present here at all and the songs all drag for way too long with not even a hint of the fun and energy of the past. People will claim they're "evolving", I tend to say they're regressing and starting to follow trends.

The fact that they keep wanting to get fans to forget Danzig's role in the band is quite laughable too.

ASTROZOMBIE7783@aol.com
the REAL misfits are the greatest band ever. these new fags are fucking homos, especaly graves, he's a little bitch. jerry wasen't even in the origonal line up like most people think. i dont even know how these ass-rammers can even call themselves the misfits. glen danzig alone was the misfits. without him they're a pile of dusty cowshit. doyle and jerry are are little fucking school girls. they named their guitars "the devastator" and "the annihilator" woah im frightened.

Myk7772306@aol.com
I HATE THIS CD I HATE THE NEW MISFITS AND I HATE ANYONE THAT LIKE THEM. GLENN DANZIG IS THE FUCKING MAN. THE NEW MISFITS WAS STEALING THE SEED AND REBIRTHING THE MISFITS AND NOW THEY ARE DEAD

beersuckeryeager@netzero.net
the truth of the matter is---THIS IS NOT (THE)MISFITS!!!!!! this is SOME misguided misfits who THINK that they are adding to the seed that was planted years ago, and already saw its fruition. these misfits are concieved of a weak sperm (probably their dads were jerkin' and their moms sat on it at the last second!), and have only succeed in tarnishing the good name of (perhaps) the american punk scene's most enduring phenomenon. after all, i'm a generation removed from the original 'fits, and possibly more than half of you reading this are at least a generation removed from me!!!! not to say i got there first, but to indicate the lasting importance of these influential 'loons. the first real tattoo i ever got was the crimson ghost, and its the only one i've gotten since. so, yes, mr. reviewer---you're really too kind!!! i'll give them a complimentary negative 200 stars (simply because i feel sorry for the ironically comic bookish jerry only--who went from classic charachter to classless caricature)!!!!

-p.s.-
glenn needs to swallow his pride and do a one-off reunion show with the boys. it worked for bauhaus, and resulted in a boxed set truly worthy of it's ridiculous price. (i've actually told glenn this, way back in '93, and received a bloody nose for my trouble!!!!)

Myk7772306@aol.com
danzig will never go back to the mishits again fuck jerry!!!!!!!!!!! and his bitch brother!!!!!!!!!!!!! michale and c h u d used their brains and left them

mjfio@msa.attmil.ne.jp (Mike and Jackie)
I'm going to clear this up right about now. I am 30 years old, and have been a misfits fan since I was 13 or so. I wish that I could say that I was able to see them w/ Glenn, but unfortunately I never had the chance. I've seen Danzig(w/Biscuits, Eerie, and Christ), numerous times. I even saw the "new" misfits,(and I use that term loosely), in '96, with Cannibal Corpse, and Anthrax. (If not for Anthrax,the show would have blown nads.) Anyway,I try not to compare the 2 bands, because glenn was definitely the driving force behind the Misfits(and Samhain,Danzig, etc). Comparing jerry Only and Doyle to glenn musically is impossible. Even though J.O. and Doyle played bass and guitar, Glenn usually had to play their parts whenever they recorded. Basically,Glenn is multi-dimensional music-wise, and not just a singer/songwriter. He was definitely the creative genius behind the Misfits' music, image, etc. Like I said before, I try not to compare the two bands, but I really think that the new band is trying to cash in on Glenn's whole legacy. If not for Glenn Danzig, there would have been no Misfits. For the hell of it, I bought American Psycho when it first came out, listened to it, and gave it away after one listen. I thought it was a waste of my hard earned rupees.

steven.margetts@ntlworld.com
if you all love danzig so fuckin much why are you on this site and not the "i decided to leave a great punk band and form a shit industrial experimental self indulgent noise unit" site. just wondered.

dmayle1@neo.rr.com (Doris Mayle)
Glenn Is Rippin'. But He Is an asshole, everyones like glenn,glenn,glenn.....Bullshit! Jerry and Doyle are the misfits, they kick just as much ass without Glenn>

grateful@alltel.net (Amber Phillips)
hey man the old shit rocked there was nothing like it you all are forgeting robo .ROBO rocked man well everybody did who played 4 the MISFITS.Iheard some of there new stuff but its not the same if you want to here it the way it was you would have to getb everybody back 2gether.But it does sound fucked up without Glenn but hey there time came 2 an end.AND DOYLE, JERRY should just back off andn relize that they just cant do it without glen the origanals are still the best..... HEY JUST HAD TO THROW MY THOUGHTS UP LATER...................................

nichols@innernet.net
It's time you rethink about Glenn. The rumor is that he is selling his stuff to make cash. The other rumor is that he is comming back to the Misfits. I'm tired of people putting down Graves. Of course Glenn's vocals are better, but guess what? You dont need to worry about it any more. Graves is gone. Jerry does all he can to keep us happy by doing vocals when there is no singer. When i heard Zoli from Ignite doing the Vocals for the 'Fits not long ago i was smiling from ear to ear. Zoli as most of us know has to strong of ties with Ignite to leave them for the Misfits. But he has a quality like any other singer out there today. As for this record... Be blessed as I am with having a voice close to identical to Glenns, I have sang all the tunes on Famous Monsters and decided that Graves does his shit, Danzig does his own shit. I also have memorized most of the Misfits lyrics. My band does a few covers (mostly new songs) as well as our own horror punk. This record may never be as good as Walk Among Us, but its beter then Earth A.D. in my opinion. I say fuck Danzig for going metal. The Misfits are horror punk, not metal for you die-hard Danzig fans. Danzig is not the Misfits. He is just a fucking lazy bastard for not getting up off his ass to do anything. I admire Jerry for the effort he puts into his work. And as for him finding religion, well didnt Glenn do the same thing by becoming satanic? Another rumor is that there is a new album to come out ( in fact, Jerry talked about it in misfits.com). So I'm out and i say fuck your one track minds.

UltraVegetaxXxXx@aol.com
The new Misfits are just a terrible rip-off. They really suck, and that new pansy's voice sounds worse than a scraped chalk board. I have never heard anything more irritating in my life. I don't care if he isn't Danzig, he just doesn't have any talent. These new "Misfits" have just raped the name to give themselves a fan base so that they don't have to start over, and to make money faster.

lurch1111@ameritech.net
Well, there's nothing I can say to change the minds of so many who have their lips firmly super-glued to Glenn's asshole (or to the asshole that is Glenn, take your pick), so I won't even try. Glenn was a *great* singer/songwriter with the 'fits, but ONLY with the 'fits, and he let his legendary ego get in the way of the continued success of the band as a whole (sometimes I think he really wanted the band to be called Glenn Danzig and the Insignificant Others, and after reading some of the posts here I think many of you would've approved). Samhain was cheesy & contrived by comparison IMO, and his solo work is even worse. He's become a cartoonish caricature of his former self and he knows it -- that's why he's selling Misfits gear at his shows now, because a) he knows he fucked up by leaving and he needs the cash, and b) he knows that no matter what else he does solo, the Misfits (with or without him) will always be a much more high-profile & marketable act. Are Jerry & Doyle sellouts for continuing without Glenn? No; Jerry & Doyle are doing what they've always done, namely play kickass music in the most kickass horror-punk band ever. Personally, I applaud them for having the stones to gut it out, fight Glenn for ownership of the name he wanted nothing to do with anymore anyway, and continue on despite all the Glenn-cultists howling for their blood. Meanwhile, Glenn continues to milk his "ooh-scary-Satanic-guy" image for the kiddies with a sound that just gets weaker & weaker. Graves & Chud were good in the new lineup, despite the naysayers who prefer to live in the past, but as it turns out they apparently weren't good *for* the band (although Graves is currently doing guest vocals on the 25th anniversary tour, at least through May). How the lineup will shake out after the current tour is anybody's guess -- they can probably get Robo back on drums if they want him & he wants them, & I hear Jerry's doing alright on vocals for now, but the smartest thing Danzig can do right now is take a pin to that overinflated ego of his and rejoin the band that made him who he is (or was). Whether that's still best for the Misfits is another story...

Mojoboy85@aol.com
im so split descisioned, the old misfits will forever kick ass but i must say , the new misfits have hit it right with a few songs like lost in space, shining, black light and american psycho, hate the livng love the dead has retarded lyrics but the riffs are crazy, im glad jerry and doyle began the new misfits, they are bringing back a part of punk history, and now the next step to making the misfits truely whole is for Glenn danzig to swallow his pride , deinflate his ego, get out of this occult heavy death gothic metal shit, and get back to his classic punk roots and rejoin the misfits as the lead singer, cuz michale graves and myke hideous are good at vocals but i must say nothing compares to a haunting wailing of whhhhhhhhhoooooooooaaaaaa oooooohhhhhhhhhhh i also really hope that robo comes back, and then if they just had danzig, u would have original bandmembers of the old misfits

meowmp3@hotmail.com (Melsky)
The Misfits Reviews - markprindle/misfitsa 2000.
8/10

Definitely not the spiritual follow-up to The Minor Threat Reviews, this is a scrapy, ugly and abrasive mess that would have seemed much more appropriate coming after that Bad Posture deal. These reviews kick ass, see. Lots of speed and pounding fury, but with little of the oral clarity that made his paean to The Why Tail Bum such a monumental blast. Still good, though, even though it's clear that Mark is trying far harder to annoy the reader than to write the best possible expository narrative (see "Walk Among Us Review," for a particularly yucky example). Definitely the hardest-rockin' of the Mark's Record Reviews, these also may very well be the least accessible. They are just so punky, angry, and trebly! Still, "Al's Bar '82 Review" is a supercool Burroughs-gone-bitter boogie-woogie, and none of the others do a thing to spoil your opinion of this talented rock reviewer.

I'll be honest with you and admit that these are my least favorite Mark Prindle reviews to mazt'rb8 to, but that doesn't mean it's not a really good set of commentaries; it is. It's just also really grating if you're not in a headbanging mood. If you are, however, read the mind-blowing, in-the-style-of-a-reader-response review of Fey Mass On Steers and throw the girlfriend's Rancid records out the window!!! These reviews kick arse!!!!!

nereid-26@home.com
Oh, my! Played with the misfits in kalamazoo in 1983. It was so loud that one could not even distinguish one chord from another without watching the guitarists' hand move, and it moved to about three different chords, which was impressive when you take into account how incredibly idiotic these fellows looked! I'll tell you, I had not laughed so loud except for when I saw minor threat, and then that guy from black flag, what's his name? I'll tell you, when word got out that anyone could form a band, I mean anyone did, no matter how little talent they had. but hey, 12 year old kids have to have someone to look up to. I'll put this band on a par with the back street boys. It's no wonder they got popular.

nichols@innernet.net
this was what jerry had been wanting to do for 15 years i think. it was well written and even exceptable for the kiddies!!!!!

susanne-magelund@mail.tele.dk
Hey, id like to say one thing:........... Glenn didt not write all the F.....G songs! and by the way the new Misfits are as cool as the old........... Graves rooles! Well..... i gotta give it to Mojoboy, he´s rigth, misfits where kickin in the old days, and they still kick a..

Nereid-26........ GO HOME, you dont belong here!

rousseaugm28@msn.com (Melissa Rousseau)
well I've read these reviews and I just have to say that it doesn't matter whether it's the old misfits or the supposed NEW misfits. If your a real true hardcore misfits fan it shouldn't matter . I can pop in Walk among us or Famous monsters or whatever other misfits album and fucking jam no matter what. I think Michale or Glenn are both good singers regardless. You are not a real, true Misfits fan if you aren't fucking ecstatic about the misfits reforming. All these other bastards with their closed minded one track minded comments must not know good motherfucking music when they hear it . They probably think bands like Korn are talented. Screw all you wannabe "true" Misfits fans.

useless_creep@hotmail.com (Steve)
"True Fiends" will unconditionally listen to anything that gets slapped with a Misfits logo? What bullshit. These twerps calling themselves the Misfits is comparable to Nick Cave leaving the Bad Seeds, then subsequently being replaced by Marilyn Manson. As far as I'm concerned, the Misfits never recorded a bad song. Unfortunately, now whenever I wear a Misfits shirt I'm automatically associated with this godawful music. Not to mention professional wrestling. Thanks a lot, fuckers.

pubare1@webtv.net
ive been listening 2 the misfits since 88 and will always listen 2 them.i just saw them live again it was nostalgic,espeacially w/marky ramone...,and also robo n dez from black flag filling in,im sure it cant compare to the danzig days,but its better than nothin!!long live the creepy kingz of punk and death upon raprock oh yeah strong marcos thinks there"badass"

MPJINX@msn.com
I think the misfits, today, are a pretty good band. The last album was very entertaining and worth picking up. It like the previous album presents a style of it's own while still presenting a certain sould that is a trademark sound and style of the Misfits. It was also interesting that videos were produced with some songs with these last two albums with one of being done with George Romero. They have come along way even without Glenn Danzig, on his own front continues to push the envelope in music and comics. E.N.D.

mszabo@Mines.EDU (Mike Szabo)
First, the Misfits reincarnated are fucking kings, and I am pissed that Chud and Graves left, but Only does a good job singing. The key is, singers are not all that matter. The musicianship of the old Misfits was such crap. They could barely play. Doesn't mean they were bad. I love the old Misfits, but these days they can play music with a decent amount of skill. That's more important than who sang better, Danzig or Graves. But on that topic, Danzig couldn't sing. He could scream and bellow like a champ, but not sing. Graves, however, can scream (though not bellow, perhaps) and can sing like a motherfucker. The point is, the Misfits will always be kings as long as the evil is still there, and the evil is still there.

steveo182@webtv.net
WHOATHIS GUY LOOKS LIKE HE WROTE THE REVIEW W/ HIS ASS LEARN TO TYPE FAGMO GLENN & OLD MISFITS MURDER & RAPE NEW MISFITS STRAT UP THE ASSHOLE

"HEY HO LETS GO,HEY HO LETS GO.HEY HO LETS GO ,HEY HO LETS GO!!!!"

fiendmisfits@hotmail.com
I just wanted to let you know your review on the misfits was probably the funniest thing I've ever read in my entire life. Just wanted to let you know that.

kbrown5555@brightok.net (Kristi Brown)
First of graves cant sing for shit and is a joke compared to danzig.They should quit know and not run the misfits into the ground any farther.

wildeyauto@hotmail.com (Chris Williams)
Dude I have been a fiend for hell i don't know how long too damn long Misfits sound damn good right now ,wish Graves would come back Danzig would be nice, but the whole look at me I'm a wanna be satanic is laughable. Danzig right now is a little cocksucker yeah I do like danzig don't get me wrong, him completely dyning his involvement with the misfits, yet he still markets 85% of the merchandise and sells have of the old albums isn't that a little hippocrtical of Danzig aw well he's made fun of by the actual satanic music community oh yeah Samhain farthest thing from punk I've ever heard it sucked major cock i bought the box set don't even touch the shit it's horrible

J.Trussell@prodigy.net (Jessie Trussell)
people who like shitty music should kill them selfs. my name is scotty carroll and i would love to kill any pozer mother fucker who likes the new wanna be fits.Old misfits are the only misfits and thats it. oh yeah graves can eat my fuck. green day blink 182 sum 41 and all christian pozer punk bands are the shitiest of all time. fucking cock flowers. i will rape your mothers and kill your babies. so fuck

lechman@mac.com (Mark Lechman)
I hate this CD! I hate everyone who likes it! Grrr! I'm tough and I'll kick your ass! Grrr! Glenn Danzig's dick tastes like candy! Arrgh! I can't spell or even put together a readable sentence, nor can I articulate why I feel the way I do but my friends tell me what and how to think, so there! Grrr! I don't know where you live or who you are but I'll kick your ass! Arrgh! I'm an uneducated moron and my personality is as shallow as a puddle on a beach ball! But luckily, my parents bought me this computer so I can anonymously bash everything and everyone without putting myself into any actual risk! Arrgh!

You kids need to quit skipping your classes to go smoke weed and then, perhaps, you'll have something of value to say. Until then, people will continue to treat you like the children you are.

Arrgh! TEEN ANGST!

Signed,
come and get me, junior

ultra_leprechaun@yahoo.com (Matt Storm)
to me it's starting to sound like the misfits have completely lost focus on real music, Michale Graves couldn't sing his way out of a volkswagon beetle and "Dr." Chud couldn't play a good beat if he was payed for it... oh wait! he does get payed for it..... the new line-ups are ridiculous and honestly, they're flat out pathetic. poor Jerry Only is trying to relive the days when he had talent and a following. Michale Graves, the boy wonder of shitty music has recently formed a new band and so has Chud, one of these bands is called "Dr.Chud's X-Ward" and the other is Called "Gotham Road", it appears that Jerry isn't the only one trying to relive misfits glory. All of the sudden Michale Graves sings for the misfits (a hack band to begin with) and he thinks that people will actually like the crap that he releases.... same with Chud..... they're all thoroughly pathetic and need to get real lives.... just a quick reminder to all of those who think Michale Graves is the coolest guy in the world, he lives with his parents and doesn't even support his own child..... just a reminder...

p.s. the misfits are nothing without Glenn Danzig

necromancer@commorragh.org (Tom Scott)
Glenn Danzig had so much more songwriting skills then Michale Graves...I still like Graves' voice and all, but I'm a classic Misfits kind-of guy, so I'm into the old shit more then the new. Though I *do* like Famous Monsters a lot..'specially Saturday Night.

Question: How the fuck did Jerry get the rights to "The Misfits" when Glenn started the band? Jerry wasn't even in the god damn thing 'til '77 (I think they started in '75)

DTgringo@aol.com
OK, that American Psycho thing is pretty bad, but damn if this record isn't a good pop-punk record. That guy that "replaced" Danzig actaully sings well. And This record is catchy as hell. I give them much credit for making a decent worthy of hearing record when the whole concept of the fake-misfits was a bad idea. So yea, every record they made should have sucked, but this one definatly doesn't.

KURRUPTION1977@cs.com
ScReAm! that all Ive got to write

Add your thoughts?

Shocking Return - Bootleg.
Rating = 7

I used to give a crap about band integrity, but not anymore (as of 2002). At this point, I've finally grown to really enjoy the thought of the least talented member of the band inheriting the name and defiling it. I always loved the idea of The Sex Pistols reunion, but see they were all actually THERE. That kind of "sellout" isn't nearly as hilarious as stuff like the Dead Kennedys touring with Brandon Cruz singing, Genesis recording a new album without Phil Collins, Journey carrying on (my wayward son!!!! HAHAHH2H1!! no wait that was Kansas) with some sort of Steve Augari on vocals, drummer Bev Bevan creating some sort of "Electric Light Orchestra Part II" and this, The Misfits playing Glenn Danzig's back catalog live in concert but without the benefit of having Mr. Glenn Danzig's likeable personality in the building.

It's funny! Who is "Michale Graves"? Well, as of 2002, he's already quit the band! But for this tight hot minute in history (mid-90s), he had the lack of integrity and strong sense of self-loathing to accept one of the most unfillable roles in punk rock (it would essentially be like if a no-name singer from a Judas Priest tribute band took the place of Rob Halford up some guy's ass). But I'm not going to joke with you here - he does a good job! They're great songs and he sings them well. Got that same overdone Elvis Danzig delivery, and hits at least MOST of the notes. Plus, exacerbating the ludicrousness of these 45-year-olds wearing "devilocks," the band has replaced their original angry violence with a fun goodtime vibe (replacing "One more time, you asshole, you DIE!" with "Hey! Stop grabbing my balls! That's not cool!" and "Fuck the English! The English suck!" with "Gawd, it's fuckin hot as SHIT in here! Ha ha! Open a goddamn window!"

Then the EVIL spirits of hellfire swooped down and smashed the window open in response to the dark spell cast by high priest "Jerry Only."

The sound is fine, except in the first track -- the guitar cuts out sometimes but that's probably just because of all the goodtime ghosts that were tapdancing around during the EVIL set. Plus, only one song from Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood! And man, that's a bunch of BULL(durham)SHIT! In short form, The New Misfits were a good thing. A good kick in the tooth. Their first studio album sucked certainly, but live and on that second album, they really cooked up the milk! That's no reason for them to have released a "demos and oddities" collection from this period though - did you know they did that? Oh, they did. With any luck, I'll find a copy for $1 some day so I can review it.

Reader Comments

lesterceline@hotmail.com (Celine Lester)
its all amazing . misfits (old and new) kick big, fat, cellulite-covered ass. yippy!

breeda21@msn.com (Bridget Andersen)
fuck all of you suburban angrey little shit lickers who like the new misfuks and fuck henrey rollins and jonny rotten and mtv you sell out corporate cock suckers im a 32 year old gutter punk who wants you all to suck my ass till your cheeks BURST with shit

netty@kiski.net (Antoinette McGough)
Two words, .....glen danzig.mike graves is a pussy bitch,and if graves singing wasnt bad enough,the newest misfits with marky ramone on drums and dez playing guitar,thats not the misfits,theres only one misfit.give the name up and write your own songs, dont play all of danzigs genius songs,one last thing graves should have never sung danzigs songs and should never have realeased his two dumbass albums.danzig for life.

drum_master109@hotmail.com (Justin Jackman)
i was reading your site today and i gotta say y the hell are u sayin all this shit about the new misfits! u said that mike graves was a empty throated boy next door what the fuk do u mean by that! u wouldnt be sayin this about them if they were kicking the shit out of u in an alley somewhere.i love the new misfits and i always will, so u ethier listen to them and respect them or shut the fuk up and keep your shitty thoughts to yourself!

0499.44576@telia.com (Anette Berg)
MISFITS IS BETTER THAN EVER WITH MICHAL GRAVES... YOU ACTUALLY CAN HEAR WHAT THEY ARE SINGING NOW... AND MICHAL HAS TALENT...FOR ALL THE ANTI GRAVES! I LIKE DANZIG TO BUT GRAVES...IS JUST AS GOOD..AS DANZIG.. WHEN GLENN SANG IN MISFITS IT WAS REALLY BAD QUALITY ON THE TRACKS..BUT IF IT WAS BETTER SOUND...DANZIG WOULD BEAT GRAVES!! ABD WHY IS EVERYBODY SAYING...DANZIG WROTE ALL THE SONGS BLABLA HE WROTE MANY SONGS BUT NOT...ALL!!

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Project 1950 - Misfits Records 2003
Rating = 2

2011 UPDATE: I HAD RECENTLY INTERVIEWED MR. JERRY ONLY WHEN THIS CD CAME OUT, SO HAD PRECONDITIONED MYSELF TO ENJOY IT. EIGHT YEARS LATER, IT SOUNDS LIKE A POINTLESS COLLECTION of '50S COVERS, WHICH IS EXACTLY HOW IT SOUNDED TO EVERYBODY ELSE AT THE TIME. HERE THEN IS MY RIDICULOUSLY OVERPRAISING ORIGINAL REVIEW:

The Nu Misfits ran into some internal difficulties following Famous Monsters, and singer Michael Graves and drummer Chud took a hike! During their hike, they decided to leave the band. Then guitarist Doyle said "Howdy-do! I have real-life issues to deal with, Jerry! I'll be back at your ass for the nine-four!" Jerry responded by putting together an All-Star Punk Rock Extravaganza featuring guitarist Dez Cadena from DC3 and drummer Marky Ramone from Marky Ramone and the Intruders and Marky Ramone and the Speedkings. Neither artist has ever appeared on stage or record with any other band.

Having secured himself an at least semi-stable line-up, Jerry Caifa, the Only member of the Misfits that was still in the band (hence the name he gave himself 26 years earlier, "Jerry Only") decided to pay tribute to the music he loved while growing up. Though not born until 1960 (I think), he grew up listening to his mother's '50s 45s(much like I wasn't born until 1973, yet I grew up listening to my father's '60s 45s!). Thus, this 24-minute CD consists of 10 songs from really early on in rock and roll history (much like my next homemade CDR will consist of 35 songs from really early on in - oh but we're not here to talk about me, Mark Prindle).

The influence of oldies music on the sound of the Misfits was evident early on in such totally basic r'n'r tracks as "Astro Zombies" and "Angelfuck," but at the time it may have been mistaken by many as simple Ramones influence. Not any more! It's impossible to listen to the nu-nu Misfits' punk rockin' covers of stuff like Gene Vincent's "You Belong To Me," Richie Valens' "Donna" and Bobby Pickett's "Monster Mash" and not hear the sounds that sowed the seeds of love's early Misfits. Of course it's also impossible to listen to by-the-numbers (but louder) covers of stuff like Bobby Darin's "Dream Lover," Frankie Lymon's "Diana" and Jerry Lee Lewis's "Great Balls Of Fire," and not wonder, "What the fuck is the point of this shit?"

Well, I'll tell you the point. And this was a point that was told to me by a friend of mine who thinks quicker than I do. I won't give his name, because then I'll have to pay him royalties on every sale of this review, which has already gone double platinum even before hitting the shelves. But suffice it to say that this fellow (or was it a woman? I guess neither you nor I will ever know! (unless I turn it upside down!) says to me, he says, "See, that's the thing - you look at the Rolling Stones up there playing Chuck Berry songs, or The Who up there doing "Shakin' All Over" and you have to realize that, to them, these are the greatest songs of all time. They get REALLY excited playing these songs that they grew up with and love to death. And the rest of us just go, 'NOOO! Play your OWN songs, not this generic rock and roll crap!'" And yes, I'm paraphrasing, but sometimes we have to take liberties in our writing. My friend continued, "As head of the Bilderberg Group, I sit in a room and control the world with an elite team of international bankers and powerful CEOs."

The point is that this music means a heck of a lot to Jerry Only, and perhaps to this supergroup power trio as well. But that doesn't mean it's going to have any sentimental or musical value to anybody ELSE who hears it. It certainly doesn't hold any memories for me, and hell, I went back in time to 1955 and had to somehow find 1.21 jigowatts of plutonium! My message is clear: This comes with a free DVD, and some of the songs are really good. Others are too simplistic to mean much to a generation weaned on the intricate polyrhythms of The Offspring. But it was Jerry Only's dream, and he did a fine job putting it together. He even has a great booming '50s teen idol voice! And Ronnie Spector's on it! Just like Eddie Money say Ronnie say, "Be my little baby!"

Reader Comments

michael@ctu.edu.vn
I Liked Jerry Lee Lewis' version of Teen Angelfuck more.

supaflybigmama@sbcglobal.net (Stephani M)
Y WAIST YOUR FUCKING TYME ON THE INTERNET DISSING THE MISFITS AND OTHER BANDS THAT YOU HATE. I THINK THAT IF YOU GO ONTO YOUR COMPUTER, LOOK FOR SITES THAT HAVE MESSAGE BOARDS SO THAT YOU CAN DISS PPL, THAN YOUR JUST TRYING TO SOUND KOOL N GET ATTENTION. LETS GET ONE THING STRAIGHT. THE MISFITS ARE THE BEST FUCKING BAND EVER!! EVER. EVER. REGARDLESS OF DANZIG GONE OR NOT. I LIKE BOTH SIDES. BUT I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT DANZIG WAS A LITTLE SQUIRRELLY WITH THE VOCALS, BUT NOW IN THE BAND DANZIG, HIS VOCALS ARE MUCH BETTER. ITS EITHER THAT OR THEY TOOK A WAY LONGER TYME IN THE STUDIO EDITING THINGZ. IM NOT TRYING TO DISS GLENN OR N E THING. I LOVE HIZ VOCALS. AND FOR ALL THE OTHER PPL THAT DONT LIKE THE NEW MISFITS ONLY BECAUSE GLENN AINT IN IT NO MORE. GET OVER IT. THINK ABOUT IT, IF THE NEW MISFITS CHANGED THEIR NAME, WOULD YOU LIKE THEM? I THINK ALL OF YOU DOUBTERS WOULD. O YEAH, JERRY ONLY AND DOYLE AINT GAY, THERE FUCKING AWESOME. AND! YOUR NOT. SO WHY DONT ALL YOU HATERS GO INTO YOUR DRAWERS, PULL OUT RAZORS, GO INTO YOUR BATHROOMS, AND PUT THEM TO USE. CUZ IT SEEMS LIKE IF YOUR ON HERE DISSING PPL. YOUVE GOT NOTHIN BETTER TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE.

PEACE OUT!!! YO BYTCH WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

eric.neuser@umusic.com
So I just read a lot of this stuff and am very pleased to have made the discovery that, yes, Misfits fans are even dumber than AC/DC fans. Maybe 'cos Americans got no culture like those Aussie jailbird limey ex-pats. Or perhaps it's just that everyone who posts on here is from Lodi. The important thing is that Marky Ramone was, before marrying into that notable Forest Hills family and dropping his surname like any self-respecting bride, Mark Bell from Richard Hell and The Voidoids. You wanna talk about culture? Go back to Africa!

devilsreject138@yahoo.com
I love the Misfits. I love Michael's time in the misfits as well as Glen's time in the misfits, tho I love Danzig more than michael I still like them both. When Mike and Chud split and Jerry reformed is when I hate it. The Misfits aren't a great band anymore but a big coporate company. Jerry has turned the name Misfits from a New Jersey horror punk band which got their name from Marilyn Monroe's movie intitled "The Misfits" to basically a house hold name. The thing that angers me now a days is not exactly what Jerry has done to the name, don't get me wrong that pisses me off more than anything, but is that kids who listen to the misfits do not give credit where credit is due. I see numerous of kids where I live with misfits merchandise on. Again don't get me wrong because have some misifts shirts and a beenie but what angers me about these kids is that when I ask them about the band to make conversation to another fiend they will tell me their favorite song is some! thing of Graves or more recently something of Jerry's. Thats not band, every one likes different things but when asked about Danzig and robo, about the music then before Samhain they either don't know what the hell I'm talking about or they start saying how that period of the misfits sucks or blows or is shitty or crappy. That is what pisses me off is that when they talk band about it. I own the latest cd, Project 1950, I didn't it was too great but I'm not disrespecting it. The reason why Glen left was because of Jerry. They band didn't practice for like 10 or so years. Glen left cause he had Samhain which would later form into Danzig. Jerry then realized oh shit and started it up again with Chud and Graves. Graves left for the same reason chud. I talked to Chud about this when he came to new orleans this halloween and he said that Jerry wasn't in it for the music anymore but more for the profit. That what pisses me off. People buy shit to be "cool" and know nothing about it.

karla.dragicevic@vz.htnet.hr
jebo vam pas milu mater,graves je zakon... ko pa je kriv danzigu kaj je otišel,misfits se zakon snašel i bez njega....svi oni koji vredate gravesa,i bracu only ste budale i nemate pojma,pizda vam materina americka,umjesto da vredate,rade si državu dopelajte v red!!!!! tolko od mene........svaka cast onima koji imaju bar malo pameti f tim sjebanim americkim glavama!!! panks njet mrtaf!!!!!

ntaylorhorn@hotmail.com
Well Ok Heres My Thoughts Danzing! is the Fuking Man and Graves Is awsome too i dont know why everyone has a proplem with the new! Misfits thier really kol and so are the old ones Glenn and Micheal if you ever see this please know that you guys are the gods!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kidswillhavetheirsay@ntlworld.com
If I talk to one more stupid skater kid that’s wearing a Misfits shirt and says “who’s Danzig?” I’m gonna take his fuckin’ board and ram it down his poxy throat!!!

Glenn Danzig was The Misfits! He wrote the fucking songs (many of them before the band ever existed!!!), he had the Marilyn Monroe obsession (the band were named after her last movie for Christ’s sake!) he was the one with the knowledge of 50’s horror cinema and is the only member of the band who has recorded anything worth hearing since 1983!!!

I am not a member of the “We Love Danzig” club, in fact I think his ego has fucking destroyed him and Danzig’s last good record was How The God’s Kill but The Misfits don’t exist without Danzig!

Not only is the music shit on the new albums, what the hell is with all the fucking stupid merchandise?!?!?! Air fresheners and incense burners and little Misfits dollies! How punk rock is that?!?!?! Not to mention the wrestling! I think I just about pissed my pants laughing when I heard about that!!!

So to all of the morons who have bought the Shitfits or Dead Kennedys re-issues FUCK YOU ALL!!!

Sadistikal@shaw.ca (From Vancouver B.C.)
Danzig was , is , and always will be "the Misfits" no-matter what anybody/Jerry does after it's demise in '83 . Some people talk as of Glenn Danzig left the band , Glenn leaves , and the band is deceased . Jerry Only wrestled certain legal rites to continue as "the Misfits" from Glenn Danzig in court . The music afterwards wasn't bad it just would have made a lot more sense to continue under another name especially because the man who created the moods , the horror , the legacy stopped it all , and made a new beginning ( Samhain ). Anything after '83 is just a bunch of dudes trying to play a game that they themselves are not a part of , only riding momentum off of someone else .

OSLANE@student.gvsu.edu
I'm glad you mentioned that this music is their favorite and certainly not anyone else's. I'm surprised you gave this album a 7. I think it's a garbage novelty album. And why only 10 songs? They couldn't have thrown on an Eddie Cochran, Chuck Berry or Big Bopper cover as well? A few years ago I was at a particularly sloppy performance of the M25 lineup and went in the back to take a break from all the thrashing and bashing and what do I hear but some old guy crooning, "This magic moment, so different and so new..." yechh.

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Land Of The Dead 12" - Misfits 2009
Rating = 1


Two new originals by a Jerry Only/Dez Cadena/Robo line-up, and both are awful. Not shockingly at all, one side is terrible punk-metal and the other side is cliched 50's B.O. Everyone involved should be ashamed of themselves. Even the guy at iTunes who typed it into the system.

Oh how I pity the young person who is introduced to the Misfits catalog through the post-Danzig material. I mean, sure it'd suck to be an Iraqi child who has lost both parents and all four limbs to a poorly-aimed missile. But have you heard the song "Crimson Ghost"!? Talk about a coffin fairy!

Okay, I made up the term 'coffin fairy.'

"Whoa-ohhh-ohhh! The Coffin Faiiiiraaaayyyyyy!"

Hey! Who let Jerry Only in here?

Heh heh, little 'lousy songwriter' joke for all the lousy songwriter fans out there.

Reader Comments

jjdiazsanchez@hotmail.com
Hi, it's me again, heh.

I really didn't find this to be "terrible", I enjoyed the A side, but still:

- Generic. One would expect more from 3 guys that have been in the scene for 30 years.

- Jerry, get a god-damn real singer. On the second song I have trouble guessing the melody he was trying to sing.

- And as repeated as it is: if this was called The Jerry Only Experience or whatever, one would be more open to enjoy it. It looks to me like they've been taking advantage of people who want to make themselves look "old school" by listening to "classic" bands but don't really get what "the Misfits" means and thus they believe what they are listening to is actually the Misfits. Even worse, sometimes I hear kids saying "yeah, this is not the Misfits, they should get GRAVES back" (!). And the discussions all over the Internet like "do you prefer the Danzig or the Graves era?"...guys, there was only one Misfits era for fuck's sake, which ended in 1983 when the band broke up and they have yet to reunite. For whatever reason some band in the '90s was allowed to use the same name, but it's just that: another band that was allowed to use the same name, it doesn't matter if you like the songs or think Graves is a good singer or if they played better live.

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The Devil's Rain - Misfits Records 2011
Rating = 2

I saw The Cure live last weekend! They played for nearly three and a half hours and didn't perform a single post-The Head on the Door track. It was SOOOO GOOOOOOOD.

Here's what they played from each record:

Three Imaginary Boys Don't Cry - ALL (including "World War" and "The Weedy Burton"!)
Seventeen Seconds - ALL
Faith - ALL
Pornography - "The Hanging Garden"
The Top - "The Caterpillar"
Japanese Whispers - "Let's Go to Bed," "The Walk," "The Lovecats"
The Head on the Door - "In Between Days"
Join the Dots - "Do the Hansa," "I'm Cold," "Another Journey By Train," "Descent," "Splintered in Her Head"
Other - "Charlotte Sometimes"

They even played the early material as a TRIO! And the second album stuff as a QUARTET! And the rest as a QUINTET! Okay I'm wasting exclamation marks.

Now then. The Misfits. Look, I admit that I was fooled for a while too. After the atrocious sounds-like-The-Misfits-but-sucks-complete-dicks-out-of-a-dick-factory album American Psycho, I think I was so surprised by the band's willingness to imitate the work of other, non-Misfits, punk bands that I convinced myself Famous Monsters wasn't a space suit full of live alien feces. Then I made the fatal error of interviewing Jerry Only just seconds before Project 1950 came out, subsequently forcing myself to like it even though it was literally recorded onto a garbage can lid because they knew it was going to end up there anyway.

The question is not whether The Misfits are really "The Misfits" without Glenn Danzig; the question is whether any of the remaining or replacement members have had any songwriting talent at all. And the answer is Hell Fucking No. Glenn Danzig may be an irrelevant primadonna asshole in 2011, but his songwriting was untouchable between 1977 and 1994. Jerry Only, on the other hand, is just some guy. Anybody could write the garbage he writes; he has no artistic talent or creative vision at all. All he has ever been capable of writing are bad metal licks,'50s cliches and shitty imitations of the classic Misfits sound. And it certainly didn't help matters that the no-talent he hired to lead the band sounded like he'd spent his entire youth masturbating all over photos of Glenn Danzig.

The bottom line is this: if the only reason your band is good is because one guy writes all your songs, there is a 99.999% chance that your band is going to turn into a piece of dung if he is suddenly no longer in the band. I can think of only a single example of a band surviving such an upheaval -- and believe me, Jerry Only is no Roger Waters.

Performed by bassist/vocalist Only, guitarist (and former Black Flagsmith) Dez Cadena and drummer Eric Arce, The Devil's Rain is a boring, parent-friendly collection of '50s rehashes, generic Ramones-influenced pop-punk and ugly metal. Worse still, it's all performed at such a slow tempo that you'd swear it was a Green Day album, except with a few good songs. The only positive things I can say about it are that (a) Jerry is no longer trying to imitate Danzig, instead going right to the source and imitating Danzig's influences, and (b) Dez Cadena writes and sings two songs, which (no surprise) are by far the fastest and most exciting songs on the record.

The vocals are weak from beginning to end though, with the tone-deaf Dez sounding even worse than Jerry, whose vocal approach can best be compared to that of Blaze Bayley, Bruce Dickinson's short-lived replacement in Iron Maiden. Blaze sang like a giant-chested Viking crooner, making Maiden sound like even more of a self-parody than it had for the previous decade. Jerry is the same. Where Danzig sounded like a mean-spirited cross between Elvis and Jim Morrison, and Michale Graves sounded like some goth loser trying to sound like Glenn Danzig, Jerry sounds like Bobby Darin or Dion Di Muci or something -- a big old friendly man singing harmless songs with no curse words for all the children and housewives of the world.

Remember that old Dead Kennedys song where Jello Biafra sings "Imagine Sid Vicious at 35"? Think of how much more pathetic and depressing that verse would've been with the lyric "Imagine Jerry Only at 52." Then buy The Devil's Rain and hear that image come to humiliating, devilocked life.

Reader Comments

Mark Lechman
Funny review. I like the album, actually. It’s interesting to hear what Jerry is capable of when it’s just him leading the pack. No, it’s not Danzig, it’s Jerry and Jerry was always less comfortable with the “I want to kill your baby” and “let’s rape preteen girls” lyrics that Glenn so enjoyed shocking everyone with. But Jerry’s not 15 anymore, he’s 52, he has children and a mortgage and so he’s morphed the Misfits from the dangerous underground punk outfit it was when he was a teenager into a Halloween party theme-band suitable for just about anybody, partly because it suits his tastes better and partly because singing about the crap Danzig did when he was in high school is kind of dumb. I love the song Bullet, who doesn’t, but when I’m singing along in the car and I get to “masturbate me” and “slurp it up from your palm” I’m like WTF? This is the shit kids write on the covers of their notebooks during history class to piss off their teachers! I’m fucking 40, I can’t even remotely relate to that anymore. On the other hand, I still love sci-fi and horror movies with a passion and I truly relish lyrics like Jerry’s “all the room in Hell is taken, the armies of the dead awaken.” Mindless? Sure. But fun. Don’t get me wrong, I agree with the fact that Glenn had a knack for taking fantasy and reality and relating them to each other, and his musical output was often excellent (until Danzig 5), but sometimes I just want to have a good time and not just be angry at nothing in particular.

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* The Misfits Songbook


Return to Mark Prindle's Record Reviews for a Dandy Interview With Mr. Jerry Only!