Famous Monsters | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by the Misfits | ||||
Released | October 5, 1999 | |||
Recorded | 1999 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 44:42 | |||
Label | Roadrunner | |||
Producer | Daniel Rey, Ed Stasium [1] | |||
Misfits chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Famous Monsters | ||||
|
Famous Monsters is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band Misfits, released on October 5, 1999. It is the second in the post-Danzig era of the band, and the last album to feature Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, Michale Graves, and Dr. Chud, who would all quit the band in 2000.
The album's title is an allusion to the horror/sci-fi magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland , from whom the Misfits borrow their classic logo font. The UK release also exclusively includes the song "1,000,000 Years BC", which was later re-released on Cuts from the Crypt in 2001.
The song "Scream!" was turned into a music video directed by George A. Romero. In addition, the band appeared in Romero's film Bruiser . "Kong at the Gates" was the theme music for WCW alumnus Vampiro.
The song "Descending Angel" was re-recorded and released as a single in 2013, with Jerry Only on lead vocals.
The song "Helena" is based on the film Boxing Helena .
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 7/10 [3] |
Kerrang! | [4] |
All tracks are written by the Misfits (Michale Graves, Jerry Only, Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, and Dr. Chud), except where noted [2] [5]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Kong at the Gates (Instrumental) (based on King Kong)" | 1:22 |
2. | "The Forbidden Zone (based on Planet of the Apes)" | 2:23 |
3. | "Lost in Space (based on Lost in Space)" | 2:27 |
4. | "Dust to Dust" (Misfits, Daniel Rey) | 2:43 |
5. | "Crawling Eye (based on The Trollenberg Terror)" | 2:22 |
6. | "Witch Hunt" | 1:31 |
7. | "Scream!" | 2:33 |
8. | "Saturday Night" | 3:28 |
9. | "Pumpkin Head (based on Pumpkinhead)" (Contains line of "Pumpkinhead", written by Ed Justin) | 2:16 |
10. | "Scarecrow Man" | 3:10 |
11. | "Die Monster Die" | 2:00 |
12. | "Living Hell" (Misfits, Rey) | 2:54 |
13. | "Descending Angel" (Misfits, Rey) | 3:46 |
14. | "Them (based on Them!)" | 2:43 |
15. | "Fiend Club" | 2:52 |
16. | "Hunting Humans" (Misfits, Rey) | 2:06 |
17. | "Helena (based on Boxing Helena)" | 3:20 |
18. | "Kong Unleashed (Instrumental) (based on King Kong)" | 0:46 |
Total length: | 44:42 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
19. | "Devil Doll" | Doyle, Graves | 3:12 |
20. | "1,000,000 Years B.C." | Only | 2:22 |
21. | "Helena 2" | Graves, Doyle | 3:21 |
Total length: | 53:37 |
Chart | Peak Position |
---|---|
Billboard 200 | 138 [7] |
The Misfits are an American punk rock band often recognized as the pioneers of the horror punk subgenre, blending punk and other musical influences with horror film themes and imagery. The group was founded in 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey, by vocalist, songwriter and keyboardist Glenn Danzig. Over the next six years, Danzig and bassist Jerry Only were the group's main members through numerous personnel changes. During this period, they released several EPs and singles, and with Only's brother Doyle as guitarist, the albums Walk Among Us (1982) and Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood (1983), both considered touchstones of the early-1980s hardcore punk movement. The band has gone through many lineup changes over the years, with bassist Jerry Only being the only constant member in the group.
Gerald Caiafa Jr., better known by his stage name Jerry Only, is an American musician, best known as the bassist for the Misfits and later the vocalist as well. He is the only member to appear in every Misfits lineup except the original.
"Dig Up Her Bones" is the seventh single by the punk rock band the Misfits. It was the first single released by the re-formed lineup of the band, after the original incarnation broke up in 1983. It was the only single released from their 1997 album American Psycho, and the accompanying music video was the first official Misfits music video ever released.
American Psycho is the fourth studio album by the American punk rock band Misfits. Released on May 13, 1997, it was the first to be recorded and released without the band's founder and former leader Glenn Danzig. Bassist Jerry Only, after years of litigation, reached a settlement with Danzig and was granted the rights to use the band's name and image to record and perform. The album also marked the addition of singer Michale Graves and Dr. Chud on drums.
Cuts From the Crypt is a collection of demos, formerly unreleased tracks and cover songs by the American horror punk band Misfits. All the album's tracks were recorded by the band in the years following their reformation without original singer Glenn Danzig. The enhanced version also contains the music video for the song "Scream!".
"Monster Mash" is a 1962 novelty song by Bobby "Boris" Pickett. The song was released as a single on Gary S. Paxton's Garpax Records label in August 1962 along with a full-length LP called The Original Monster Mash, which contained several other monster-themed tunes. The "Monster Mash" single was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on October 20–27 of that year, just before Halloween. It has been a perennial Halloween favorite ever since. In 2021, nearly 60 years after its release, "Monster Mash" re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 37.
Michael Emanuel, better known by his stage name Michale Graves, is an American singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist for the 1990s re-incarnation of the horror punk band Misfits from 1995 to 2000, leaving briefly in 1998. He has also released several albums as a solo artist.
Evilive II is a 1998 live album by the American punk rock band Misfits. Featuring the "resurrected" Misfits lineup of vocalist Michale Graves, bassist Jerry Only, guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, and drummer Dr. Chud, the album was recorded between October 1997 and March 1998 at a number of concerts in the United States. The album was released on CD by Caroline Records on August 14, 1998, and was made exclusively available through the official Misfits' fan club, known as "the Fiend Club", and was also sold on tour. The CD has since gone out-of-print.
Paul Caiafa, known professionally as Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, is an American guitarist best known for his material with the horror punk band the Misfits and his own band eponymously named Doyle.
David Calabrese, known professionally as Dr. Chud, is an American horror punk drummer best known for his work with the Misfits.
The Misfits is a boxed set of material by the horror punk band the Misfits, released in 1996 by Caroline Records. Packaged in a coffin-shaped, velvet-lined box, the set includes four compact discs covering most of the band's recorded material from the years when Glenn Danzig was their singer and songwriter. It also includes a "Fiend Club" pin and a booklet containing photographs, song lyrics, a discography, and a history of the band written by their photographer and associate Eerie Von. The exterior cover of the booklet was illustrated by artist Dave McKean.
Psycho in the Wax Museum is an EP by the American punk rock band Misfits. It features two songs that were previously unreleased and were recorded during the American Psycho sessions. The versions included are instrumental, as it has been reported that the vocals were never recorded. The single was only available via an offer from Misfits Records where proofs of purchase had to be sent in from Osaka Popstar's Osaka Popstar and the American Legends of Punk, Balzac's Beyond the Darkness and the Misfits' Project 1950.
"Scream" is the ninth single by the horror punk band the Misfits, and the first single released from their 1999 album Famous Monsters. The music video for the song was directed by George A. Romero, famous for his Living Dead series of zombie films.
"I Wanna Be a NY Ranger" is the eighth single by American horror punk band Misfits. It was written by John Cafiero and originally intended to be performed by the Ramones for a promotional campaign for the New York Rangers and Madison Square Garden. However, the Ramones retired in 1996 and Cafiero instead presented the song to the Misfits, who recorded it with Cafiero singing lead vocals. A condensed 30-second version with then-Misfits singer Michale Graves on vocals appeared later that year on the Short Music for Short People compilation.
Gorgeous Frankenstein was an American horror punk/heavy metal band formed in 2005 in New Jersey by Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein and his former wife and ex-professional wrestler Stephanie Bellars. The band's name is a combination of both Doyle and Bellars' stage names.
The discography of Misfits, a horror punk band formed in Lodi, New Jersey, in 1977, consists of seven studio albums, three live albums, four compilation albums, four EPs, nineteen singles, one video album, five music videos, one box set, one demo, and one cancelled album.
Doyle is an American horror punk band formed in 2012 by Misfits guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein and Cancerslug frontman Alex Story. Doyle has released two studio albums.
Argyle Goolsby is an American musician, best known for being the lead vocalist, bassist and co-founder of horror punk band Blitzkid (1997–2012).