Published on Oct 1, 1999
If it wasn’t for groups like Metallica, the Misfits might have
remained a cult band with a small, but rabid, audience. But
Metallica, thanks in no small part to the late Cliff Burton, helped
bring this group to the forefront of the music world (even after
the band had originally called it a day) thanks to their covers of
“Last Caress” and “Green Hell.”
But something strange happened in the time since Glenn Danzig
left the band and the group re-convened back in 1995. They grew up.
They learned to play their instruments, and not just go for a
cacophany of feedback and fury. They moved away from the
demon-drenched lyrics and became more of a mock horror band.
This is supposed to be a good thing? After listening to
Famous Monsters, the answer is: hell, no.
Vocalist Michale Graves (who looks like he just had a Halloween
costume slapped on him by Party City), simply put, is no Danzig. He
often doesn’t have the urgency in his voice to carry punk’s frantic
energy, and he sounds, well… he sounds too polished. For that
matter, the whole band, including founding member Jerry Only on
bass, sound like they got the studio wax coating – and it’s just
not the Misfits anymore.
I realize that music must change and evolve, but
Famous Monsters seems to spit in the face of the songs that
made them an underground favorite. Before, when you heard a song
like “Earth A.D.” or “Mommy, Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight,” you
couldn’t help but get wrapped up in the controlled panic that was
the band. Now, when I hear songs like “Lost In Space,” “Saturday
Night,” “Die Monster Die” and “Fiend Club,” it’s like I’m listening
to a band who have been working on their craft. Sorry, guys: punk
isn’t something that you work on, it just happens.
No matter how I looked at it,
Famous Monsters disappoints. Only near the end of the disc,
on cuts like “Hunting Humans” and “Helena,” do things seem to take
a minor upswing. But these tracks don’t hold a candle to earlier
work by the Misfits – or newer groups like Groovie Ghoulies, for
that matter.
What has happened, in effect, is that the Misfits have become a
parody of themselves – and that’s a sure sign that it’s time to
either re-evaluate what you’re doing or to throw in the towel and
let the past speak for itself.
Famous Monsters is not a Misfits album; I don’t give a damn
what the CD spine says. This is an album from a metal band that
wants desparately to capture the angst, darkness and power of the
Misfits, and they fail.