5 Misfits songs that feed on the brains of horror culture, buffet style

Horror punk heavyweights The Misfits have been an outlet for pretty heated criticism ever since they lost original singer Glenn Danzig to a new project called Samhain. Last week the band—now a trio consisting of longtime member and bassist Jerry Only, Black Flag’s Dez Cadena on guitar, and drummer Eric “Goat” Arce of Murphy’s Law—dropped “The Devil’s Rain,” the group’s first release since it’s ‘50s cover album Project 1950 in 2003. The title also references a 1975 horror flick starring William Shatner. Whether or not you think the group is still as relevant in the punk scene, their dedication to horror culture remains undeniable.

This list teases out some of the references the band has made to horror culture over the years and illustrates just what kind of space the band occupies in the horror domain.

“American Psycho”

The title track of the 1997 album, the song makes obvious reference to the Bret Easton Ellis novel of the same name. After finally reaching a settlement with Danzig that allowed the band to continue using the same imagery and name, it seems the band wanted to prove their chops as horror enthusiasts 14 years after their previous release by aligning themselves here with a book instead of a movie. That said, the lyrics could have been derived just as easily from a plot summary of the book as they could have from a thorough close reading.

.

.

“Crimson Ghost”

The Crimson Ghost is a 1946 villain appearing throughout a serial of the same name that was produced by B-movie giant (is that an oxymoron?) Republic Pictures. The Misfits adapted the image of this fiend to the point that it’s more notorious as a symbol of their music than it is of the Republic film serial. The group also named the 11th track on American Psycho after the bony scoundrel.

.

.

“Kong at the Gates” and “Kong Unleashed”

Although King Kong might not qualify as a quintessential horror flick, the character is a lot like Frankenstein’s monster and it definitely could have qualified for The Misfits’ fiend club. The song was further linked to horror culture when a creepy corpse paint covered Canadian wrestler named Vampiro began using it for his entrance music. The kicker? Jerry Only briefly joined the wrestler as a tag-team partner.

.

.

“Mars Attacks”

Either because he loves horror so much or because he’s a marketing monster (search “Misfits merch” online and you’ll understand), when Jerry Only learned of Tim Burton’s decision to transfer a series of Topps trading cards called “Mars Attacks” into a film, he wrote a song called—in typical Misfits fashion—“Mars Attacks” and sent it to the director for consideration on the soundtrack, but it ultimately got to Burton too late to be included.

.

.

“Scream!”

Just as with “Mars Attacks” this song was written when the band caught wind of plans to make a sequel to the 1996 horror movie about horror movies and then submitted to be included in the film. It was also denied presence on any form of soundtrack for the movie.

.