Misfits was founded in 1977 by singer and songwriter Glenn Danzig and the band disbanded in 1983 when Danzig went on to form Samhain and then Danzig. During this period, bassist Jerry Only was the only consistent members along Danzing, they released several EPs and singles and the albums “Walk Among Us” (1982) and “Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood” (1983), both considered touchstones of the early 1980s hardcore punk movement.
The success of Danzig’s post-Misfits’ work led to interest in his past work, and several high-profile rock bands professed fondness for the Misfits. Most notably, Metallica covered the Misfits songs “Last Caress” and “Green Hell” on “The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited” in 1987, and Guns N’ Roses covered “Attitude” on “The Spaghetti Incident?” in 1993. Several albums of reissued and previously unreleased Misfits material were issued between 1985 and 1987, the first being the compilation album “Legacy of Brutality” in 1985 which included many of the songs from the unreleased “Static Age” album. Danzig overdubbed many of the album’s instrument tracks in order to avoid having to pay royalties to the other former band members.
After a series of legal battles with Danzig, Only and Doyle (born Paul Caiafa) – the younger brother of the Misfits bassist who featured as guitarist of the band since 1980 – in 1995 the parties reached an out-of-court settlement that allowed Only and Doyle to record and perform as the Misfits, sharing merchandising rights with Danzig.
They formed a new version of the band in 1995 with singer Michale Graves and drummer Dr. Chud while Glenn Danzig rejected their offer to return as the band’s lead singer. This incarnation of the Misfits had a sound much more rooted in heavy metal, and released the albums “American Psycho” (1997) and “Famous Monsters” (1999) before dissolving in 2000.
In 2001 as the sole remaining member of the Misfits, Jerry Only took over lead vocal duties in addition to playing bass guitar and recruited veteran musicians Dez Cadena, former guitarist of Black Flag, and Marky Ramone, former drummer of the Ramones, for a Misfits 25th Anniversary Tour which lasted intermittently for nearly three years. Later former Black Flag and Misfits drummer Robo filled in temporarily for Ramone.
Only and longtime collaborator John Cafiero launched their own label, Misfits Records, and released a split single featuring the Misfits and Japanese horror punk band Balzac. The Only/Cadena/Ramone lineup of the Misfits released the covers album “Project 1950” in 2003, performing renditions of classic rock and roll songs from the 1950s and 1960s.
Doyle had reunited with Glenn Danzig, joining Danzig onstage during performances in December 2004 to play guitar for 30-minute sets of old Misfits songs midway through the band’s setlist and it was the first time the two had performed together in over twenty years. Danzig called the performances “the closest thing to a Misfits reunion anyone is ever going to see”.
In 2009 and 2010 the Misfits performed an extended 30th anniversary world tour. A new single, “Land of the Dead” was released October 27, 2009, marking the band’s first release of new studio material in six years. This lineup included Only, Cadena, and Robo. Robo was dismissed from the band in 2010 and replaced by Eric “Goat” Arce of Murphy’s Law.
Scheduled for release on October 4th, 2011, “The Devil’s Rain” was recorded with producer Ed Stasium who has worked on albums by The Ramones, Talking Heads, The Smithereens and Living Colour, and titled after the 1975 film starring William Shatner. The album feature a cover by Arthur Suydam.
Tracklist:
01 – The Devil’s Rain
02 – Vivid Red
03 – Land of the Dead
04 – The Black Hole
05 – Twilight of the Dead
06 – Curse of the Mummy’s Hand
07 – Cold in Hell
08 – Unexplained
09 – Dark Shadows
10 – Father
11 – Jack the Ripper
12 – Monkey’s Paw
13 – Where Do They Go
14 – Sleepwalkin’
15 – Ghost of Frankenstein
16 – Death Ray
16 songs, and definitively a trip back to the beginning of the 80s. Most of the songs are classic rock and roll taste-like punk rock anthems and the sound produced by Ed Stasium is quite dusty and raw, more sounds like something recovered from the good old days rather than something recorded nowadays. And I guess this is the charm of this material without being too nostalgic or something. This kind of punk rock feels alright sounding like this. Of course there are few exceptions: “Jack the Ripper” for instance sounds just like the Judas Priest in – obviously – 1980, reminding us the sound and direction of the band from the 90s.
No use to talk about it too much: it’s only rock and roll, but I like it!
