Original horrorpunks the Misfits bring the Halloween spirit to Aftershock Festival

Features
By ( Metal Hammer ) published

Dave Lombardo joins the original Misfits as Glenn Danzig, Jerry Only and Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein reunite

Aftershock Festival 2021
(Image credit: Lexie Alley)

My Chemical Romance were the original headliners tonight but their cancellation in April opened the perfect gap for The Original Misfits to fill. For festival goers not clouded by the fury of losing MCR, spending the evening in the company of horror-punk heroes Glenn Danzig, Jerry Only, and Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein - as well as Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo and guitarist Acey Slade - proves quite an honour.

Even so, the line-up switch means the crowd is thinner than the Misfits merit and classics like Last Caress and Die, Die My Darling (both famously covered by Metallica on Garage Inc.) earn the biggest cheers. But these pros pack a hundred minutes with the dizzying breadth of their catalogue including gems like Where Eagles Dare, Earth AD, Some Kinda Hate, Astro Zombies, and Attitude and there is visible camaraderie between the previously feuding original members.

Lombardo adds a fresh layer of ferocity to every song and Danzig’s distinctive vocals, dark chuckles and emphatic gestures are persuasive, although his his banter about what track to play next tends to meander. The combination of the band’s energy, bright, bold screens, giant jack-o-lanterns, plethora of Crimson Ghosts, and Jerry’s unnerving habit of breaking bass guitars by the veritable truckload, all makes for an exhilarating party. 

The Original Misfits: Aftershock Festival Saturday setlist

Death Comes Ripping

I Turned Into A Martian

Vampira

Mommy, Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight?

Skulls

Some Kinda Hate

Where Eagles Dare

All Hell Breaks Loose

Hollywood Babylon

London Dungeon

Earth A.d.

Green Hell

Astro Zombies

Hybrid Moments

Who Killed Marilyn

Night Of The Living Dead

Horror Business

Halloween

Die, Die My Darling

Devilock

Violent World

Last Caress

ENCORE

20 Eyes

Teenagers From Mars

Children In Heat

Bullet

We Are 138

ENCORE 2

Come Back

Attitude