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Album Details

• Artist: Misfits
• Album: American Psycho
• Label: Geffen
• Year of Release: 1997
• ME Rating: Indie Classic
• Reviewed by: sinist3r-punk on 2011-02-10

Ask anyone between the ages of 17 and 45 if they have ever heard of the Misfits, and nine times out of ten, you'll get a positive response. The Misfits were the kings of horror punk, and their iconic logo and image has survived for decades, teaching new generations about an ancient mystical time of devil locks and beefy guitar players. But ask any of those same people what they think of the post-Danzig Misfits and you'll get a lot of strange looks shot your way. It seems that once Danzig split from the Misfits in a series of messy courtroom trials; that was the end of the band. I don't know if it's a loyalty to Glenn Danzig or fear of a new direction that has kept so many people from giving the Misfits a chance to prove they don't need Glenn to make great music.

American Psycho was the first album released in the post-Danzig era and was the debut of singer Michael Emanuel (aka Michale Graves). I'm not trying to compare the two singers in any way, and they are both a joy to listen to, but there's something about Michale Graves' singing that draws me closer than Glenn Danzig did. American Psycho is an intriguing album, partly because comparisons are going to be drawn, but it also gave Graves a chance to prove he can carry the Misfits onward. After giving this a proper listen, I can assure all those unwary fans that these Misfits are still the kings of horror punk.

The Misfits have stuck to horror themed music like it's a golden supermodel covered in chocolate. Everything from the track names to the cover art proves their undying commitment to keep fans happy, while blurring the line between punk and heavy metal. A noticeable difference is that American Psycho sounds extremely crisp. The drums are punchy at just the right times, and the chorus has a chilling echo that reverberates throughout your entire body. Michale Graves's voice has a silky flow to it that never kills the gloomy mood or overpowers the instruments, and I favor that to Danzig's staccato sound when he sang, but that doesn't make Michale a better singer than Glenn, I just prefer one sound to the other.

It's difficult to pinpoint my favorite thing about American Psycho and the resurrected Misfits in general. The music has new life being breathed into it by an amazing young talent; the band is expanding ever so slightly into new territory, allowing them more creativity while not forgetting what made them great in the beginning. If you prefer the old Misfits, I have no qualms whatsoever. But don't denounce a band that just wants to move on and make more amazing music. Everyone; fan or not, young or old, male, female, extra-terrestrial potato people, have to listen to American Psycho at least once. Buy it, borrow it from a friend, request it on the radio, do whatever you have to, because I won't be able to live with myself if I meet one person in the modernized world who hasn't given themselves an opportunity to be a little Misfit.

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