The Next Generation (Famous Monsters - Misfits)

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	Famous Monsters - Misfits
Date:	03/04/04 (108 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Varied tracks to suit all occasions, Excellent value for money, A successful attempt to be different

Disadvantages: Won't appeal to everyone, Sadly has the original line-up to contend with in many peoples' eyes

Famous Monsters is a collection of seventeen fast-paced modern punk rock songs, all loosely based on famous monsters from the big screen. As a fan of some contemporary punk rock, as well as heavy metal which has clearly influenced this album's sound, this is one of my favourite albums, but it unfortunately has the Misfits legacy to live up to for the rest of the world's population.

The mid-1990s saw the return of one of the most influential and famous punk rock bands, namely the 'horror-rock' band the Misfits. Original guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, possibly not his real name (everyone knows it's spelt Frankingstein), and bass player Jerry Only, which may indeed be his name, recruited vocalist Michael Graves and drummer Dr. Chud and released their 1997 album "American Psycho" to mixed reactions. Their sound had changed considerably from the gungy, rock-n-roll style of their famous "Legacy of Brutality," "Earth A.D." and "Static Age" albums from the late seventies and early eighties to a much more modern and clean-sounding punk. As someone raised on this kind of music, I prefer its sound to the 'Evil Elvis' era of the original vocalist Glenn Danzig however the sheer popularity of the band's old line-up ensured that this album was not as successful as expected. Following in a similar style, 1999's "Famous Monsters" features slightly longer and more complex songs influenced by heavy metal bands such as Metallica, and manages to both uplift and engage the listener.


THE TRACKS


The album opens with "Kong at the Gates," an obvious reference to the scene from 1933's King Kong in which the overgrown gorilla barricades a villa
ge. A short and slow instrumental, this leads excellently into the album before the first proper song, "The Forbidden Zone."

A reference to the 1968 classic Planet of the Apes, this second track is one of my very favourites on the album due to its speed, the energy behind the instruments and vocals, and basically just because it sounds great. The fast-paced structure continues through "Lost in Space" and "Dust to Dust," the latter of which has some fantastic vocals in its sing-a-long chorus.

Track five, "Crawling Eye," is the heaviest and most metal-inspired song on the album and as such will appeal to fans of that genre. It also illustrates how much the band have distanced themselves from the original laid-back crooning style that made them so famous, but in my opinion they're all the better for it. The next track, "Witch Hunt," is basic short filler material but still manages to be a good song in its own right.

On to the most recognised track on the album, "Scream!" is a slower but powerful song with the best vocal performance from Graves on the album and was released with a typically 'gory in an enjoyable way' video. "Saturday Night" shows the band's variety and is a very slow number that reflects 50s songs; this is perhaps my least favourite song but is very catchy.

"Pumpkin Head" and "Scarecrow Man" are both progressive and heavy songs with some excellent guitar solo work in the latter, before the album returns to simpler catchy hooks with the impossibly catchy "Die Monster Die" and the low-key "Living Hell."

My other favourite track on the album, and one that will appeal to fans of slow punk rock, is "Descending Angel." Haunting voc
als and the atmosphere created by the instruments makes this a contender for one of my favourite songs of all time.

After the excellent thirteenth track the album takes a turn for the unimpressive with "Them," "Fiend Club" and "Hunting Humans" not leaving much of a lasting impression, however the penultimate track "Helena" is another gem. Starting very slow and quiet with some excellent vocals in true Misfits style ("If I cut off your arms and cut off your legs, would you still love me?") the song breaks into a fats and hard rock song that leads into the epilogue, a reprise of the opening track entitled "Kong Unleashed."


STYLE


Fans of the original Misfits' music will not aurtomatically love or hate this new style, which is so far detached that it's almost always described unofficially as 'New Misfits.' The lyrics are sublimely horrific while at the same time being humorous and strangely uplifting, while the musical style seems to be a blend of modern punk bands such as the Offspring and AFI, and 80s metal bands such as Metallica.

This album is truly one to suit all moods, assuming you like the music, and this sheer replay value makes it one of my top albums. The Old Misfits are gone, and these New Misfits have effectively ceased to exist in the last couple of years, but this album lives on as a testament to adapting to suit a different environment, while not having to write sensible lyrics.

"Giant spiders prepare... to take over!"

Summary: