Original horrorpunks the Misfits bring the Halloween spirit to Aftershock Festival

(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.

⁦@themisfits⁩ #aftershock #2021 pic.twitter.com/hJrbkMihIqOctober 10, 2021

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.