The Misfits are one of the most influential punk rock bands in history. The musicians began their creative activity in the 1970s, releasing only 7 studio albums.
Despite the constant changes in the composition, the work of the Misfits group has always remained at a high level. And the impact that the Misfits musicians had on world rock music cannot be overestimated.
Early stage of the Misfits band
The history of the group dates back to 1977, when a 21-year-old young man Glenn Danzig decided to create his own musical group.
According to Danzig, the main source of inspiration for him was the work of the legendary metal band Black Sabbath, which was at the peak of its popularity.
By that time, Danzig already had experience playing musical instruments. And he immediately proceeded from words to action. The new team, which the young talent was going to lead, was called The Misfits.
The reason for the choice was the film of the same name with the participation of actress Marilyn Monroe, which became the last in her career. Soon the group included another man named Jerry, who was fond of American football.
Abundantly muscled but inexperienced with instruments, Jerry took over as bass player. Danzig taught the new member how to play the instrument.
Glenn Danzig became the group's main vocalist. Moreover, his vocal abilities were far from the rock music of his contemporaries. Glenn took as a basis the vocals of tenors of the distant past.
Another distinctive feature of the Misfits was rock and roll with a combination of garage and psychedelic rock. All this was very far from the music that the band played in the future.
The arrival of success
Soon the group was completed to the end. The musicians also decided on the genre and thematic focus of their team. They chose punk rock, the lyrics of which were dedicated to horror films.
Then this decision was bold. The sources of inspiration for the first songs were such hits of "low" genre cinema as "Plan 9 from Outer Space", "Night of the Living Dead" and others.
The group also created their stage image, which was based on the application of gloomy makeup. Another distinguishing feature of the musicians was the presence of a straight black bang in the middle of the forehead. It has become one of the main attributes of the new genre.
The genre was called horror punk and quickly became popular in the underground community. Combining elements of classic punk, rockabilly and horror themes, the musicians created a new genre, of which they are the fathers to this day.
A skull from the TV series The Crimson Ghost (1946) was chosen as the logo. At the moment, the band's logo is one of the most famous in the history of rock music.
First line-up changes for the Misfits
In the early 1980s, the Misfits became one of the most recognizable bands in the American punk rock and metal scene. Even then, the music of the band inspired many aspiring musicians, among whom was the founder of Metallica, James Hetfield.
A number of albums followed, such as Walk Among Us and Earth AD/Wolfs Blood. The band also had another recording, Static Age, created back in 1977. But this record appeared on the shelves only back in 1996.
But in the wake of success, creative differences began to occur. Constant line-up changes forced leader Glenn Danzig to disband the Misfits in 1983. The musician focused on solo work, in which over the years he has achieved no less success than within the Misfits team.
Arrival of Michael Graves
A new stage in the work of the Misfits group was not soon. For several years, Jerry Only sued the persistent Danzig in order to get the right to use the name and logo of The Misfits.
And only in the 1990s did the bass player become successful. Once the legal matters were settled, Jerry began looking for a new vocalist who could replace the former leader of the group.
He chose a young Michael Graves, whose arrival marked the new phase of the Misfits.
The guitarist of the updated line-up was brother Jerry, who performed under the creative pseudonym Doyle Wolfgang von Frankestein. Behind the drum set sat the mysterious Dr. Chud.
With this lineup, the band released their first American Psycho album in 15 years. Initially, the punk rock community did not understand how Only was going to revive the legendary Mifits without the thought leader Danzig. But after the release of the Ametican Psycho compilation, everything fell into place. This album became the most successful in the work of musicians. And such a hit as Dig Up Her Bones really liked the audience.
The team did not stop there. And on the wave of success, the second album Famous Monsters was released, created in the same style.
Heavy guitar riffs, drive and dark themes were successfully combined with Graves' melodic vocals. The Scream single also featured a music video directed by legendary director George A. Romero.
But this time too, the band couldn't avoid creative differences. The second stage of the creative activity of the Misfits group ended with another collapse.
Jerry Only headship
For many years, only Jerry Only was considered a member of the group. And already in the second half of the 2000s, the musician reassembled the line-up.
It included the legendary guitarist Dez Cadena, who stood at the origins of hardcore punk as part of the Black Flag group. The drum set was mastered by another newcomer - Eric Arche.
With this line-up, the group released the album The Devil's Rain, which appeared on the shelves in 2011. The disc was the first in 11 years of a creative break. However, the reviews of the "fans" were restrained.
Many refused to accept the new roster called the Misfits. According to a significant number of "fans" of the classical period, Jerry Only's current activities have nothing to do with the legendary band.
Reunion with Danzig and Doyle
In 2016, something that few people expected happened. The Misfits have reunited with their classic lineup. Only and Danzig, who had been in conflict for 30 years, agreed.
Guitarist Doyle also returned to the band. In honor of this, the musicians performed with a full-fledged concert tour, which gathered full houses around the world.
The Misfits group continues active creative activity to this day, without even thinking about retirement.
