ROCKET #256, June 25-July 9, 1997
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MISFITS
AMERICAN PSYCHO
(Geffen CD)

Boo! As scary as it may seem, the Misfits have crawled back from the dead
to release a new album. No, it's not the real 'Fits, but after Danzig's
Reznorized last album, anything would be an improvement. Some may question
the band's motivation to reform, but what my inquiring mind wants to know
is, what did Jerry Only's hair look like for the ten-plus years between
gigs?
 
The quality of these new tunes is surprisingly good-a mix of pop, punk,
thrash and metal that spans all of the Misfits' previous styles. New singer
Michale Graves does a solid, if not stunning, job, though he's not quite
the punk rock fireplug that Danzig was. Maybe I am losing my youthful
righteousness, but when the supernatural sing-alongs crank in, I find
myself liking this piece of crassly nostalgic commercialism.
Fortunately, I am still cynical enough to see American Psycho's faults.
Beyond the cheesy acrylic paint cover, the photos of credibility
cornerstones Doyle and Jerry Only are reprints of older shots. I know they 
don't look so healthy and virile now (and aging isn't punk, right?) The
production is so slick, you'd think they personally sprayed every album
with WD-40. The thought of hearing the Misfits on KNDD or KNRK gives me the
real fear: the 'Fits sandwiched between Bush and Hanson? Then again, the
song "Dig Up Her Bones" does sound like a Toto song being covered by the
Offspring. Boo Hoo!

John Graham