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.
Danzig is an American heavy metal band led by former Samhain and Misfits singer Glenn Danzig. Formed in 1987 in Lodi, New Jersey, the group early on became a unique voice in the rock scene, playing a bluesy, doom-laden metal with Glenn Danzig crooning in the style of Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley. Danzig's openly satanic lyrics and image stirred controversy. After a major hit with a live version of its 1988 song "Mother", the band experimented with industrial music but later returned to heavy metal. As of 2023, Danzig has released 12 studio albums, two EPs, one live album, and one compilation album.
Glenn Allen Anzalone, better known by his stage name Glenn Danzig, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is the founder of the rock bands Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig. He owns the Evilive record label as well as Verotik, an adult-oriented comic book publishing company.
Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies. The genre was pioneered by the Misfits in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Subsequent bands formed in the Misfits' wake like Mourning Noise, the Undead and Samhain, solidifying horror punk's first wave. In the late 1990s and early 2000s the genre gained attention through the reunion of the Misfits and success of groups like AFI, Son of Sam and the Murderdolls. This popularity continued to the modern day with Blitzkid, Calabrese and Creeper.
Samhain was an American rock band formed by singer Glenn Danzig in 1983, immediately following his departure from The Misfits. Glenn Danzig originally planned Samhain as a side project with Eerie Von. After the Misfits' contentious 1983 dissolution, Samhain became Danzig's full-time band.
Initium is the 1984 debut album by American deathrock band Samhain, released on lead singer Glenn Danzig's independent record label Plan 9. In various interviews, Danzig stated that the album's title, which translates from Latin to English as "beginning", represents his new start after disbanding his prior band, Misfits, in 1983. Most of the final track, "Archangel", was actually recorded in March 1981 with Jerry Only, and was originally meant to either be a Misfits song featuring Dave Vanian or a track for the band the Damned. The track "Horror Biz" likewise dates to Danzig's Misfits era, as it is a new version of "Horror Business" with different musical arrangements. The album was recorded at Reel Platinum studio in Lodi, New Jersey, excluding the introduction which was recorded at Eerie Von's home on a four track cassette.
Unholy Passion is the first EP and second overall release by American deathrock band Samhain, Glenn Danzig's band after the disbanding of the Misfits. According to bassist Eerie Von in his photographic book Misery Obscura, the album was "a departure from our first release: more underground, more tribal. A step back further into the darkness". The song "All Hell" is a re-recorded version of the Misfits' "All Hell Breaks Loose".
Final Descent is the third and final studio album by American deathrock band Samhain, first released in 1990, more than three years after lead singer Glenn Danzig and bassist Eerie Von had recruited guitarist John Christ and drummer Chuck Biscuits to form Danzig.
The self-titled box set of American deathrock band Samhain was released in 2000, more than 13 years after the band effectively ceased recording and performing. The set's five CDs and one VHS tape compile nearly all of the band's original catalog, newly remastered from the original master tapes, as well as previously unreleased material, the latter of which includes a live CD and a VHS video cassette of live footage.
"Who Killed Marilyn?" is a 1981 song by Glenn Danzig, about questions surrounding the death of actress Marilyn Monroe, with the titular question suggesting she was murdered. Though Danzig's first solo single, other recordings of the song have since been included on various collections by Danzig's group The Misfits.
Eerie Von is an American musician and photographer best known as the original bassist for the heavy metal band Danzig. His preferred bass is the Fender Jazz Bass.
Mourning Noise is an American horror- and hardcore punk band from Lodi, New Jersey, notable for drummer Steve Zing. Active around the time of the Misfits, Mourning Noise were strongly influenced by the Misfits as drummer Steve Zing lived very close to Jerry Only and Doyle's house and Steve went to high school with Doyle. Their music was typically fast and melodic. Mourning Noise released only a small amount of material, typically as 7-inch singles, apart from the 1998 collection album Death Trip Delivery. Steve later went on to play for Samhain, Son of Sam, The Undead, Chyna, Doomtree, and later, Danzig.
The Undead is an American horror punk band formed in 1980 in New York City's East Village by Bobby Steele, Chris "Jack" Natz (bass) and Patrick Blanck (drums). They were one of the pioneers in the New York hardcore scene.
Todd Schofield, known as Todd Youth, was an American guitarist, best known for his work with Warzone, Murphy's Law and Danzig.
Son of Sam is an American horror punk band that is a side project created by Todd Youth in 2000, during his tenure as the guitarist for Danzig. The band's initial line up featured members of Samhain, Danzig, and AFI. Much like its members' other work, Son of Sam plays in the horror punk style, and also infuses metal and deathrock elements into their music. The name of the band was inspired by the iconic serial killer David Berkowitz, known as the notorious "Son of Sam". This also draws reference to the band Samhain.
Jim Catania, commonly known as Mr. Jim, is an American musician, who replaced drummer Manny Martínez in The Misfits in the fall of 1977 and remained in the band until November 1978. Catania had been in an earlier band called Koodot And Boojang with Glenn Danzig. Mr. Jim is featured on the same songs as Franché Coma. Jim left the band soon after Franché did and returned to his other band Continental Crawler. He later played for The Adults and Aces and Eights. Both Jim and Manny were from Lodi, New Jersey and graduated from Lodi High School in 1971. After leaving Lodi, Jim moved to Hawthorne, New Jersey with his wife. Mr. Jim and his wife later moved to Hoboken, New Jersey. He opened his own music and DVD store called Mr. Jim's House of Video in Belleville, New Jersey in December 2008.
Lodi High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Lodi, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Lodi Public Schools. The school is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.
Bobby Strete, a.k.a. Werner or R.A. Werner, is an American musician who is best known as the bass player in New Jersey pop-punk/garage band Mod Fun and, later, with the industrial combo Crocodile Shop.
