Well, I turned into a martian, whoa oh oh...

Man. As Halloween approaches, I find that my mind wanders to the Misfits more often than it usually does, and brother, is that often. I believe that I can claim without exaggeration that the Misfits were one of the greatest groups ever to grace this planet (in Earth A.D. no less). They epitomized a pure punk rock ethos in the creation, promotion and distribution of their music years before Ian MacKaye was doing the same with his own Discord label in Washington D.C. Their sound is instantly recognizable, in the collision of adrenalized punk rock and and 50's-style rock and roll, both in the music itself and in Glenn Danzig's characteristic vocals. Not content to hoarsely shout like so many other punk frontmen, Glenn sounds like the progeny of Jim Morrison and Elvis Presley weened on horror movies, The Ramones, The Clash, The Damned, and of course, Marilyn Monroe. Glenn could croon about the most vile things in the world, but you would be convinced he was singing a heartfelt sockhop love song, especially on tracks like "Horror Business" and "Astro Zombies." And their kitsch value! No one could top the at once morbid and hilarious image that the Misfits presented. Misfits lyrics so very, very often dealt with how tough it is to be a teenager and turn into a Martian, or worse yet, be a teenager and witness the armies of the living dead erupt from their graves. All told, Glenn led the Misfits through six years of great music, finding their path after strange, albeit interesting early material such as "Cough/Cool." The line-up basically always had Glenn (who, at the beginning, played his keyboard through a fuzz pedal in lieu of hiring a guitarist) and and his buddy Jerry Only on bass (he's the one shouting, "1 2 3 4!" kinda like Dee Dee Ramone), but solidified for a while around 1980 with Glenn, Jerry, his teenaged brother Doyle von Frankenstein, and drummer Googy (known affectionately to fans as "the Goog"). They cut their debut LP Walk Among Us after years of EPs and singles and found underground success. This led to them discovering hardcore punk (i.e. Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, 7 Seconds, Circle Jerks, S.O.A., etc.) and their album Earth A.D. It's viewed as the thrash metal bible (which I'm somewhat dubious of) and finds them more ferocious and faster than ever. Much of the humor of past years is gone as they go straight for the jugular (see "We Bite" ) and destroy all in their path. Sadly, this was their last LP, but they issued one farewell single, the classic "Die, Die My Darling" in 1983. Then, the Misfits were no more, and Danzig moved on to Samhain, devilock in tow.
Unfortunately, in recent years, Jerry Only revived the Misfits with his brother Doyle, a new singer named Michale Graves, and a drummer named Dr. Chud. As much as I would want to like them, they don't hold a candle to their former selves. You see, Glenn wrote all of the songs in the 1977 to 1983 era (with input from the others, of course), and furthermore, Glenn was not amused when Jerry wanted to revive the band that he had started. A legal battle ensued that Jerry won, and he was permitted to use the name, but couldn't play any of the classic songs. It's a shame, really. Jerry could've done whatever he wanted, but instead he had to capitalize on the name and produce music (I'm being nice here) that simply does not do justice to the good name of the Misfits. Doyle bailed a while ago, I guess, and has since reconciled with Glenn, and is appearing on Glenn's new solo tour. You can bet that that is going to dominate.
In short, I don't want to go so far as to blast Jerry Only; he was a pivotal member of one of my favorite bands. However, the new Misfits pale in comparison to their first incarnation, and I can't take seriously anyone who claims to dig them. They simply do not hold up as a good group, and it's all the more sad that the name of the Misfits is tarnished by their existence.
You should all check out:
The Static Age
Walk Among Us
Earth A.D.
Legacy of Brutality
Collection I (a.k.a. The Misfits)
Collection II

Rest assured, your socks will be rocked the freak off. Watch out for yetis.