Misfits Albums are All About Punk Horror

You can’t imagine horror punk rock without the complete collection of Misfits albums. This particular genre may seem unusual to you and this may partly be because it isn’t a very widespread sub genre. The Misfits are regarded as the pioneers in it and hardly any other group excels in what they do.

Glenn Danzig is generally credited for coming up with the initial band idea. The name is a reference to Marilyn Monroe’s final film. Joining Danzig in 1977 were Diane DiPiazza, Jimmy Battle and Manny Martinez. Battle and DiPiazza didn’t stay very long with the group and Jerry Caiafa or Jerry Only came into the group after the two original members left. Danzig and Only are the two musicians who have stayed longest with the group. Except for them, membership in the band has been erratic, with a total of 17 people coming and going.

The band immediately started work on its first album Static Age on the same year of their founding. There were no record labels though willing to support the project. The band ended up releasing singles. It took two decades before Static Age could be released in full.

By 1978, the band began to move in a direction that would firmly establish their horror punk reputation. At first Danzig merely added the horror themes in songs. Eventually though, the appearance of band members transitioned to the horror genre as well. Danzig in particular took to wearing goth clothing with skeleton prints while Only was the first to adopt the devilock hairstyle. Other members soon began sporting it too. It was then that Misfits albums became strongly linked to horror.

The group continued performing from 1978 to the early 80s. By 1982, they finally managed to crank out Walk Among Us. Although this was not their first original piece of work, it was officially their first full album release. Sadly, one year later, the group fell apart. Danzig lost interest and transferred his attention to his new band, Samhain. At this point, conflict also began to creep into the group and Danzig was said to be so pissed at one point that he announced that the band was disbanding. With the founder gone, Only set up his own heavy metal band, Kryst the Conqueror. Only underwent a spiritual transformation of sorts and began making Christian music.

The Misfits were far from really over though. Fresh support and comments were coming out that other rising acts liked their music. This gave Only the idea of resurrecting the band. This led to a sticky legal battle that pitted him and Doyle, another former band member, against Danzig. It was eventually agreed upon outside of court that Only and Doyle could perform as the Misfits and use its logo. All Misfits merch rights however are to be shared with Danzig. The original founder showed no desire to continue performing with his former band mates.

The band was officially reborn under the leadership of Only but it went through more line up issues. By 2001, Only was the only member left with no prospect for a new Misfit album. Presently however, the official line up listed for the band also includes Dez Cadena and Julio “Robo” Valencia. Their most recent work together is the single Land of the Dead released in 2009.