The Misfits Will Reunite for Riot Fest After 30 Years of Scary Tension

Even horror punk bands can bury the hatchet. After about 30 years of estrangement, the classic-era members of the Misfits (singer Glenn Danzig, guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein and bassist Jerry Only) have announced they'll reunite to headline this year's Riot Fest.

The news comes as a surprise, since the members have been feuding for years about ownership of the band’s music and iconic imagery. Danzig sued Only in 2014, alleging that Only had registered all the band's trademarks under his own name behind his back to cut him out of future deals. The case was later dismissed.

Started by Danzig in 1977, the Misfits rose to prominence in the early ’80s punk scene and ultimately came to define horror punk, while simultaneously helping to lay the foundation for psychobilly. Their now-classic "Crimson Ghost" mascot and ghoulish visual aesthetic helped immortalize their two early records: Walk Among Us (1982) and Earth A.D./Wolf’s Blood (1983), the latter of which was released two months after the band had broken up, amid rising tensions. The band's true first LP, Static Age, was released for the first time in 1997, after being recorded in 1978 but failing to find an interested label to press it. Various incarnations of the band (without Danzig) have surfaced since their initial comeback in 1997, and the Misfits released the full-length The Devil's Rain in 2011.

Riot Fest Chicago goes down from September 16 to 18 at Douglas Park; Riot Fest Denver happens two weeks earlier, from September 2 to 4, at National Western Complex. Although the full lineups have yet to be revealed, pre-sale tickets are available for both Riot Fest Chicago and Riot Fest Denver.