Location: Lodi, New Jersey
Active: 1977-1983, 1995-present
The Misfits formed in New Jersey, 1977 with core members Glenn Danzig (volcals) and Jerry Only (bass) and released their first single “Cough/Cool”, a jazzy keyboard anthem, and a similarly performed early version of “She”, with Glenn Danzig’s Elvis styled crooning being the only hint of what the band would sound like once they came into their own. This would be on their “Bullet” EP, and the “Night Of the Living Dead” single (the later featured Bobby Steele who would form The Undead after being ejected from the band after just a short time), dropping the piano and the more familiar guitar bass drums approach was adopted. These records also established their firm image and sound as a horror punk band, relying on shock-and-awe gore, violence, and odes to horror movies as their focus. Relying on singles and EPs, the Misfits first full length record ‘Walk Among Us’ (featuring Robo, formerly of Black Flag, on drums) only arrived in 1981, followed by 1983s ‘Earth AD’, coinciding with the bands breakup. Nevertheless, their distinct style, their self run fan-club aka ‘Fiend Club’ and work ethic around touring and self-produced merch, established the Misfits as a cult band and a cornerstone of early American hardcore and horror punk, not to mention deathrock.
Their cult following resulted in several posthumous releases, including Collections I & II, the Legacy of Brutality album consisting of early recordings never released, the ‘Evilive’ live album, and the comprehensive Box Set. The box set unearthed a plethora of previously unreleased recordings, despite many of them circulating on bootlegs records and tapes for years among avid collectors. Several major mainstream bands such as Metallica cited the Misfits as influences, adding to the bands following in the mid 80s/early 90s.
Immediately after the Misfits, Glenn Danzig formed Samhain, focusing on the more sinister and darker elements of horror, dumping the tongue-in-cheek affectation of the Misfits in a gory puddle on the floor. This began by releasing ‘Initium’, the ‘Unholy Passion’ EP, and ‘November Coming Fire’, while their last album, ‘Final Descent’, emerged after the transition from Samhain to Danzig, the singer and core member rebranding the band after his own name.
Following the culmination of a legal dispute between founding members Jerry Only and Glenn Danzig, in 1995, Only and his brother Doyle who played guitar for the later era Misfits reformed with a series of new singers, including incarnations with Jerry himself singing. This reunion Misfits rode a wave of success before eventually fading, struggling through incessant (and sometimes ludicrous) lineup changes. Also during this time Danzig began to include Misfits songs into his own sets, something Glenn Danzig was often loathe to do previously, presumably as a result of legal issues with Jerry, despite Glenn Danzig being the original writer of most of the Misfits’ material. In 2016, Glenn Danzig, Jerry Only and Doyle, the core original misfits lineup returned to the stage for reunion shows, continuing as recently as 2019.
Related: Samhain, Danzig, Black Flag
Links
Official: http://www.misfits.com/
Discogs.com: https://www.discogs.com/artist/252732-Misfits
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misfits_(band)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Misfits
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialmisfits/
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