Misfits Albums- Introducing Horror Punk Rock

Most of the Misfits albums are now categorized under horror punk rock. If this is a bit foreign to you, it may be because it is a sub genre of sorts of which this band is widely considered a pioneer of. The group’s transition to its current enduring image however, was not a smooth or easy one.

The story of the band is rooted in the life and work of Glenn Danzig. It was Danzig who gave the original inspiration both for the band identity and its musical style. The first line up in 1977 consisted of Manny Martinez, Jimmy Battle and Diane DiPiazza. This initial roster didn’t even last a year as Battle and DiPiazza took off only after a month. Jerry Caiafa, now known as Jerry Only, was recruited to fill in. Together with Danzig, Only became the member that stayed the longest in the band. Others have been joining and leaving at such short notice that the band now has a list of 17 members to date.

After its formation, band members immediately started work on Static Age. This was supposed to have been their first album but no label wanted it. This prompted the group to settle for just releasing singles. It would be a good two decades more before Static Age could be released.

The year following their founding, the band started to move into a dramatic shift that would eventually become definitive. Danzig started to compose pieces that increasingly featured horror themes. The members of the band also eventually transformed on stage as audiences saw more of them in goth clothing printed with skeletons and with devilock hairdos. This was when every single Misfits album from then on was labeled horror punk.

For four years, the band saw more recording and performance action. But it was only really in 1982, five years after they started as a group, that Walk Among Us came out. This was to be their first real full album release since Static Age did not materialize yet at this time. A year after this development though, things
started to take an ugly turn. Danzig, who, up to this point was the prime mover, no longer wanted to continue. He went off tangent and founded Samhain. Band member Only eventually also founded his own group, Kryst the Conqueror.

Strangely, even the group’s breakup didn’t put the final nail on the coffin. After members pursued their own projects, word got out that listeners and other bands appreciated the group’s music more than the members realized. Only decided then that perhaps a reunion was in order. This fueled a legal battle pitting him against Danzig. An out of court settlement was signed, allowing Only and another member to carry the Misfits name and use its logo. All rights to Misfits merch however were to be shared with its founder, Danzig even if he no longer wished to perform with the group.

Only became the new default band leader but problems with the line up ensued. The possibility of releasing a new Misfit album dimmed in 2001 when Only was the only member left in the group. He was however, eventually able to recruit Dez Cadena and Julio “Robo” Valencia to join him. They recorded Land of the Dead together.