WEST CHESTER DAILY LOCAL, 9/2/96
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  (this also ran in West_Chester_Quad and The_Noizy_Zine)

"Shocking Return to Say the Least"
  by Jamie Bintliff (drslfin@aol.com)

It has been billed as the "Shocking Return of the Misfits".  In the year 
of shocking returns from old school punk groups from the Sex Pistols to 
The Descendants, the return of the Misfits was one of the most shocking.  
Why would this be such a surprise?  Mostly because the highly influential 
but short lived Horror-core band known as the Misfits had seemed to fall 
into that area known as legend.  They broke up in the early eighties 
before they gained any critical or fan support and saw their album sales 
rise in the nineties with the resurgence of punk and the fans it brought.  
Current popular musicians from Metallica to Rollins band have cited the 
original Misfits as an influence.  

While former frontman and founder Glenn Danzig has tried to completely 
alienate himself from the  group both in it's original form as well as 
the newest incarnation, fellow founder Jerry Only has revived the memory 
that was the Misfits and brought it back from hell with a vengeance.

So why has the new group of Only, Doyle, CHUD and Michale Graves crawled 
from the grave?  It's for the fans and the music says Only.  With the 
increased interest in the past works of the group and increased fan 
pressure Only decided to reform with a new singer, (Graves) and a new 
tour.  Even though they have only been playing small clubs they have 
consistently drawn sell out crowds and sent them hope with a smile.  

Now they have arrived at the end of the current tour which finds them 
in Vernon, NJ.  Home of Action Park where the New Misfits were primed 
and ready to bring the waiting crowd their special brand of horror.  
While weathering the inevitable comparisons to the original frontman 
Glenn Danzig, new recruit Graves has held his own and become more of 
a performer in his own right.  Graves brings a similar baritone voice 
and swagger to the stage but has the energy of a tornado.  His roaming 
from corner to corner of every stage he stalks has become as well known 
as his crowd surfing. 

And so we come to Vernon.  After opening bands warmed up the Misfit 
supporting crowd the band came to the stage.  Graves dressed in a top 
hat and Crimson Ghost face paint came out and immediately brought the 
crowd to a frenzy.  Meanwhile Only, and Doyle arrived with their slick 
black devilocks and muscles bulging.  Chud all the while hidden behind 
his spiked drum set took out his energy on the sticks and skins that are 
his instrument.  

After running through numerous crowd favorites such as Skulls, and Green 
Hell the group surprised everyone in attendance by bringing out former 
guitarist Bobby Steele to sing back-up on two songs at the end of the 
set.  For those who recognized Steele with his teased hair and trademark 
limp this was a pleasant surprise.  It seems that these former enemies 
have kissed and made up.  That coupled with a great performance made 
the night one to remember.  

And so it ended, the lights were turned up and the crowd began to 
dissipate, but as they walked from the venue you could still feel 
the buzz from everyone who was talking about the show.  For a band 
that hasn't officially existed for over 12 years this one sure seemed 
to act as if they never left.  And as for the "Shocking Return"?  Let's 
hope it's the last "Return", because it would be a shame to see them 
leave again.