The Misfits to rock the Underground

11/3/2005

Forget Halloween. The real creature feature in Toledo will be Sunday night when seminal punk rockers the Misfits visit the Underground with plenty of fiends in tow.

It s been 28 years since the band was formed in the swamps of New Jersey, rising up out of the punk underground thanks to plenty of props from mainstream rockers like Metallica and Guns N Roses.

Despite paltry record sales, the Misfits named after the Marilyn Monroe movie are a cultural phenomenon. Their highly stylized look featuring B-movie horror images, lots of leather, and ghoulish paraphernalia has been copied by everyone from Rob Zombie to the Ramones. Their fans are called fiends due to their intense devotion to everything Misfits.

The band was formed in 1977 by Glenn Danzig. its signature sound is based on three chords hammered out as fast as possible with an emphasis on melodic structures built on classic 50s rock and roll.

Danzig split in 1983 after just a couple of albums and the band did little for more than 10 years until it was resurrected by bassist Jerry Only, the sole original member in the current band. During its years in obscurity, Guns N Roses covered the band s Attitude and Metallica covered three Misfits songs and sang the band s praises.

The Misfits lineup now consists of longtime associate and former Black Flag member Robo on drums and Dez Cadena, another former member of Black Flag, on guitars and vocals.

In a statement on the band s Web site, Only offered up the Misfits credo:

We plan to continue as always, eclipse the past, block the sun and drag humanity by the throat into a world of darkness filled with ghouls, goblins and creatures of the night, where we are king.

The Misfits perform Sunday night in the Underground, which is in the basement of Club Bijou, 209 North Superior St. Tickets are $15. Doors open at 7.