Reception
The Devil's Rain sold 6,000 copies in its first week of release and debuted at number 70 on the Billboard 200, making it the band's highest-charting album. [14] It received a mixed critical response: at Metacritic, the album has an average score of 46 out of 100 based on 11 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [6] Keith Carman of Alternative Press commented that "The sinewy guitar progressions and coupling of cryptic lyrics with floating melodies is admirable and occasionally infectious" and remarked that the production values mimicked those of the band's 1990s albums American Psycho and Famous Monsters , giving the tracks "brightness and color". [8] Nevertheless, he called the album "far from a classic release", complaining that "an overabundance of half-time pacing has all but eliminated the hard, aggressive edge the Misfits were once revered for" and concluding that "The Devil's Rain yields little more than incredible frustration, a mixed bag with some great tunes worthy of inclusion in the Misfits' second generation yet sorely lacking in primeval vitality." [8] David Buchanan of Consequence of Sound described it as "less than amicable and lacking a certain sense of evil pre-Michale Graves, though The Devil's Rain is definitely still in a campy, late-Misfits state of mind." [10] He remarked that "shorter moments in 'The Black Hole' and the screamingly fast beginning pace of 'Jack the Ripper' remind listeners who exactly the Misfits used to be", but noted that as the album plays on, "semblances of the Buddy Holly-era musical muses and B movie inspirations that mutated into early Misfits material fall completely off the radar", saying that some of the album's updated elements might confuse the band's longtime fans. [10] He concluded that "The Devil's Rain feels like a 50/50 shot-in-the-dark project, starting in a place unsure of its own existence and finishing strong with the uncompromising 'Death Ray'". [10]
Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine was critical of the album's musical direction: "As was the case when Jerry Only resurrected the band in the 1990s, the Misfits have incorporated a dose of not-especially-heavy metal into their sound; on a scale of Winger to Slayer, this rocks at about Scorpions." [12] He also criticized the lyrical content: "The lyrics are as absurd as ever: Think of something that scared the crap out of you when you were seven, and it's probably mentioned in 'Ghost of Frankenstein', 'Curse of the Mummy's Hand', or 'Cold in Hell' ... The Devil's Rain is the work of a band that aspires to give the genre little more than its answer to the 'Monster Mash'." [12] Joe Hemmerling of Tiny Mix Tapes also remarked on the musical direction of the album, saying that it "continues to straddle the line between punk and metal, combining muscular, thrashy riffs with punk punchiness and the Misfits' own idiosyncratic penchant for melody. The best songs on the album still tend to be the ones that shoehorn in those famous 'whoa-oh-ohs' wherever they can, with the under-two-minute 'Black Hole' being an obvious standout. For the most part, though, those big, sloppy harmonies seem less prominent, often relegated to the background." [13] He singled out "Death Ray", "Sleepwalkin'", and "Where Do They Go?" as standout tracks, calling the latter "the undisputed masterpiece of this album ... The song reframes a story of real-life violence, the las meurtas de Juarez , as a 50s sock-hop torch song, complete with handclaps and female backup singers. It's a spot-on appropriation of golden age rock 'n' roll songwriting conventions on a topic that's in such deliciously poor taste that it recalls similar forays such as Famous Monsters' 'Saturday Night', or the classic lineup's 'American Nightmare'." [13] He concluded that "it's not that The Devil's Rain is a bad album, but it's by far the weakest link in the band's catalog, and coming at a time when faith in the group is at an all-time low." [13]
Jerry Only's vocals received specific comments from several reviewers. Hemmerling remarked "The vocals on the album are a weak point in general. Michale Graves caught a lot of shit for not being Glenn Danzig, but spinning this record helps you appreciate just how significant his contribution was to the group. Only's cartoony, stentorian bark that felt so at home on the excellent Project 1950 falls flat here and lacks the dynamism to invest the listener in the emotional core of these kitschy, monster-movie melodramas." [13] Allmusic's Jason Lymangrover agreed, saying "even the fans who embraced Michale Graves as a replacement vocalist might have a hard time with the bassist's deadpan, articulate crooning. He may be a devil-locked punk icon, but he sounds an awful lot like Pat Boone, and his presence behind the microphone is just as intimidating." [7] Carman was more blunt: "Point blank: Only is a crooner; a throaty singer worthy of Rat Pack or Damned tribute albums. He's nowhere near maintaining the dark grit, ferocious gusto or guttural severity Misfits songs require." [8] John Gentile of Punknews.org was more praising of Only's vocal development from previous releases: "Only has clearly taken time to improve his voice. Where he simply used to shout, his voice has become cleaner and more smooth, at times almost resembling '50s crooners like Dion and Del Shannon, who blended the dying doo-wop with the infant rock and roll." [11] He was more critical of Cadena's singing on "Jack the Ripper" and "Death Ray": "Although it's exciting to hear Cadena take vocals on two tracks, he opts to use his deeper, space roc- influenced howl heard on his DC3 albums in lieu of his skull-cracking bark from [ Black Flag's ] 'Louie Louie' single." [11]
In a review for The Boston Phoenix , Michael Christopher speculated that the album would be received poorly by those who refuse to recognize the Misfits as legitimate without Glenn Danzig. [9] "The problem is, and has always been, that it just isn't the Misfits without Glenn Danzig at the helm", he elaborated in the Delaware County Daily Times , "[Only] retains the name in rights only, because there is no true legitimacy left within the group, which has featured a revolving door of backup players." [14] "That's a shame, because The Devil's Rain is chock full of good, campy horror business." [9] He gave the album a mixed review in both publications, praising some tracks while criticizing others: "'Unexplained', 'Vivid Red', and 'Sleepwalkin' ' are fun and frightfully ferocious. Other points are stumbles: 'Monkey's Paw' has Only trying pitifully hard to ape the Misfits' 'Last Caress', and tracks like 'Curse of the Mummy's Hand' and 'Ghost of Frankenstein' are too predictable to be more than schlock, though it would be funny—in a good, goofy, send-up sort of way—if it was done under another moniker ... These guys just need another alias." [9] [14] Gentile expressed similar sentiments, complementing Only's bass and Cadena's guitar playing but saying that the group's choice to continue under the Misfits name seemed to limit their choice of subject matter: "while the band has technical chops, it almost seems like they are singing about the occult and undead merely because that's what the Misfits are supposed to do. When original vocalist Glenn Danzig detailed 'the insemination of little girls in the middle of wet dreams', it seemed like that was something he was actually into. Even when second Misfits vocalist, Michael Graves, wailed that he was 'crying on a Saturday night', it seemed he was pulling from true early 20s dejection. But, when Only sings about mummies, or Frankenstein, or even hell, it doesn't seem like that's what he feels is important, but what he is limited to in subject matter, leaving the tunes without any sense of conviction." [11] He did note that "when the band does become most alive is when they play the style of music that excites them", citing Only's doo-wop style in "The Black Hole" as an example. [11] "The Devil's Rain certainly isn't a disgrace", he concluded, "and long-running fans will find at least a few things to enjoy about the album. It's just frustrating that when the band snaps together and plays what they truly want to play, they aren't so much 'the Misfits' as a band containing a hefty amount of punk talent and experience. Instead of leaving the past behind, they seem to cling to it, forever condemning themselves to comparisons of previous incarnations." [11] Lymangrover opined similarly, saying the album "suffers from the fact that the group never tries to expand on the vocabulary established 30 years ago. If Famous Monsters was a step back for the Misfits legacy, this is a bigger step in the wrong direction." [7]
