‘New’ Misfits Still Have It

For almost two decades, the Misfits have been one of rock’s great oddities. Their mutant music combined early punk and rudimentary metal with a dramatic horror/sci-fi obsession that surpassed even the creepiest Goths--a potent blend that continued to influence young bands from Metallica to Korn after the group broke up in the early ‘80s.

As timely as the current Misfits reunion tour might be, the prospects seemed dubious with only half the original lineup (bassist Jerry Only and guitarist Doyle). Yet Saturday night at the Palace, the group dispelled any such misgivings. Decked out in ghoulish gladiator-wear, the band put on a bracing display of controlled chaos, hammering out some 35 songs in an hour. Michale Graves proved an able replacement (if not exactly a substitute) for original frontman Glenn Danzig, bounding around and spewing song lyrics along with much of the capacity crowd, a mixture of old-school punks and thrashing rockers. In the rock world, attitude counts, and the Misfits have attitude in spades.

Sharing the bill were Life of Agony (whose music is lighter than its name suggests), Cannibal Corpse (whose music is dark) and thrash metal veterans Anthrax.