Most of the Misfits albums  are now categorized under horror punk rock. If this is a bit foreign to you, it may be because it is a sub genre of sorts of which this band is widely considered a pioneer of. The group’s transition to its current enduring image however, was not a smooth or easy one.

Glenn Danzig is generally credited for coming up with the initial band idea. The name is a reference to Marilyn Monroe’s final film. Joining Danzig in 1977 were Diane DiPiazza, Jimmy Battle and Manny Martinez. Battle and DiPiazza didn’t stay very long with the group and Jerry Caiafa or Jerry Only came into the group after the two original members left. Danzig and Only are the two musicians who have stayed longest with the group. Except for them, membership in the band has been
erratic, with a total of 17 people coming and going.

After its formation, band members immediately started work on Static Age. This was supposed to have been their first album but no label wanted it. This prompted the group to settle for just releasing singles. It would be a good two decades more before Static Age could be released.

The year following their founding, the band started to move into a dramatic shift that would eventually become definitive. Danzig started to compose pieces that increasingly featured horror themes. The members of the band also eventually transformed on stage as audiences saw more of them in goth clothing printed with skeletons and with devilock hairdos. This was when every single Misfits album from then on was labelled horror punk.

For four years, the band saw more recording and performance action. But it was only really in 1982, five years after they started as a group, that Walk Among Us came out. This was to be their first real full album release since Static Age did not materialize yet at this time. A year after this development though, things started to take an ugly turn. Danzig, who, up to this point was the prime mover, no longer wanted to continue. He went off tangent and founded Samhain. Band member Only
eventually also founded his own group, Kryst the Conqueror.

The Misfits were far from really over though. Fresh support and comments were coming out that other rising acts liked their music. This gave Only the idea of resurrecting the band. This led to a sticky legal battle that pitted him and Doyle, another former band member, against Danzig. It was eventually agreed upon outside of court that Only and Doyle could perform as the Misfits and use its logo. Misfits merch rights however are to be shared with Danzig. The original founder showed no desire to continue performing with his former band mates.

The band was officially reborn under the leadership of Only but it went through more line up issues. By 2001, Only was the only member left with no prospect for a new Misfit album. Presently however, the official line up listed for the band also includes Dez Cadena and Julio “Robo” Valencia. Their most recent work together is the single Land of the Dead released in 2009.