MISFITS: American Psycho (Geffen)
After 15 years of being out of the spotlight, and making many changes in their lineup, the Misfits have returned with a new album, American Psycho.
With only two of the original members remaining – Jerry Only on bass, and Doyle on Guitar – you might think that the Misfits would have lost that edge and look that made them so popular. However, they are sounding as good, or perhaps even better than they did when they first entered the punk scene in the ’70s.
American Psycho is jampacked with songs of horror. Each song tells a tale of terror. Even though the Misfits have lost Glen Danzig on vocals and Robo on drums, their original style of splicing fear with energetic pieces of music still exists on this new album; with Michale Graves replacing Danzig on vocals. An example of their recent music duplicating the old can be seen through American Psycho, the title track. It is filled with fast lyrics dictating what seems to be the plot of a B horror film.
Graves takes a break from some of the faster-paced songs to slow down on Dig Up Her Bones. You can really get a sense that, on this track, Graves has more talent than screaming over quickly paced music. His great sounding vocals make this frightening song not sound that frightening at all. Graves’ vocals are also transcending on This Island Earth, where he exposes his ability to use his voice in a multitude of ways.
A change of pace of ideas can be seen on Mars Attacks. Their gory lyrics don’t exist on this track. Instead, a story of aliens from Mars trying to conquer earth is depicted. So the Misfits haven’t limited themselves to just horrific images of demons; they now depict the world being overcome by Martians in their lyrics (almost sounding like Orson Welles’ 1938 broadcast about Mars attacking earth).
The Misfits’ new album, American Psycho, has gotten some mixed reviews among my friends. However, let me be the first to say that if you liked what you heard from them 15 years ago, then you will be fully satisfied with their latest album. Hopefully the Misfits won’t disappear into the depths of the “forgotten land” anytime soon.
