The Misfits are an American punk rock band often recognized as the progenit… Read Full Bio ↴The Misfits are an American punk rock band often recognized as the progenitors of the horror punk subgenre, blending punk and other musical influences with horror film themes and imagery. The group was founded in 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey, by vocalist, songwriter and keyboardist Glenn Danzig, and drummer Manny Martínez. Jerry Only joined on bass guitar shortly after. Over the next six years, membership would change frequently with Danzig and Only the only consistent members. During this time period, they released several EPs and singles, and with Only's brother Doyle as guitarist, the albums Walk Among Us (1982) and Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood (1983), both considered touchstones of the early-1980s hardcore punk movement. The band has gone through many lineup changes over the years, with bassist Jerry Only being the only constant member in the group.

The Misfits disbanded in 1983, and Glenn Danzig went on to form Samhain and then Danzig. Several albums of reissued and previously unreleased material were issued after the group's dissolution, and their music later became influential to punk rock, heavy metal, and alternative rock. After a series of legal battles with Danzig, Only and Doyle regained the rights to record and perform as the Misfits. They formed a new version of the band in 1995 with singer Michale Graves and drummer Dr. Chud. This incarnation of Misfits had more of a heavy metal sound, and released the albums American Psycho (1997) and Famous Monsters (1999) before dissolving in 2000. Jerry Only then took over lead vocals and recruited former Black Flag guitarist Dez Cadena and former Ramones drummer Marky Ramone for a Misfits 25th anniversary tour.

This lineup released an album of cover songs titled Project 1950 and toured for several years. In 2005, Marky was replaced by Robo, who had played with Black Flag in the early 1980s and had also previously been Misfits' drummer from 1982 to 1983. This lineup released a single titled "Land of the Dead" in 2009. The Misfits' lineup of Only, Cadena, and drummer Eric "Chupacabra" Arce released a new album titled The Devil's Rain in October 2011. In 2015, it was announced that Cadena would be taking a break from music after receiving a cancer diagnosis, and was replaced by Only's son Jerry Caiafa II, presented as Jerry Other. That same year Soulfly's Marc Rizzo joined the band, also playing guitar. He filled in for Cadena, before Caiafa would move on to become the sole guitarist for the band.

In September 2016, for the first time in 33 years, Danzig, Only, and Doyle reunited for two headlining shows as the Original Misfits at that year's edition of Riot Fest, along with drummer Dave Lombardo and second guitarist Acey Slade. The Original Misfits lineup continued performing sporadically through 2019.

Each incarnation of the Misfits has made use of horror film and science fiction film-inspired themes and imagery, with makeup, clothing, artwork, and lyrics drawn from B movies and television serials, many from the 1950s through 1970s. Musically the band are often recognized as progenitors of the horror punk and psychobilly subgenres and have drawn from punk rock, heavy metal, and 1950s rock and roll and rockabilly to inform their style. Rolling Stone describes them as "the archetypal horror-punk band of the late 1970s and early '80s", and they are considered icons in punk music and culture.

Ghouls Night Out
Misfits Lyrics

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This is the ghoul's night out
Suffer unto me
Devils born in angels' arms
Ghouls in heaven's fall

This is the ghoul's night out
All ghouls go to hell
Humans held on eating flesh

It's my destiny

Ghouls, ghouls, ghouls night out
Ghouls, ghouls, ghouls night out
Ghouls, ghouls, ghouls night out
Ghouls, ghouls, ghouls night out
Ghouls, ghouls
Ghouls, ghouls, destiny

Hell is where you want to be
I feel the hell on you and me
I feel it every day
Hell is where you want to be
I feel the hell on you and me
It never goes away

Ghouls, ghouls, ghouls night out
Ghouls, ghouls, ghouls night out
Ghouls, ghouls, ghouls night out
Ghouls, ghouls, ghouls night out
Ghouls, ghouls
Ghouls, ghouls, destiny

This is the ghouls night out
Suffer unto me
Devils born in angels arms
Ghouls in heaven fall

This is the ghouls night out
All ghouls go to hell
Humans held on eating flesh
It's my destiny

To eat meat, to eat flesh
It's my destiny
To eat meat, to eat flesh
It's my destiny
To eat meat, to eat flesh
It's my destiny

To eat meat, to eat flesh
It's my destiny

Overall Meaning

The Misfits' "Ghouls Night Out" starts with the declaration that it's the ghouls' time to party. The song then rapidly turns sinister as the focus shifts to the ghoul's horrid destiny - feeding on living flesh. We are reminded that it is the night when the undead come out to play, but the tone quickly shifts to a nightmarish landscape where devils are born in angelic arms, and ghouls fall from heaven onto a desolate earth. The verses alternate between two choruses, where the last two lines ominously state that eating flesh is the ghouls’ destiny.

Throughout the song, the lyrics underscore how death and life are interchangeable, as both humans and ghouls are presented as flesh eaters who are bound to suffer. The last verse reinforces our fate: to be consumed by the all-consuming force of hell. It's a bleak and mournful take on the cycle of life, death, and afterlife.

In summary, "Ghouls Night Out" by the Misfits depicts a world of darkness and despair where death, degradation, and suffering are the order of the night.

Line by Line Meaning

This is the ghoul's night out
The current event is a time for the undead to gather and have fun

Suffer unto me
Submit to the will of the undead leader

Devils born in angels' arms
Evil creatures created from good entities

Ghouls in heaven's fall
The undead will conquer heaven

All ghouls go to hell
The afterlife destination for all the undead

Humans held on eating flesh
Living creatures that are only good to satisfy the undead's hunger

It's my destiny
It is what I was meant to do

To eat meat, to eat flesh
The primary goal of the undead is to consume the living

Hell is where you want to be
The undead crave the demonic and evil underworld

I feel the hell on you and me
The desire for a destructive world is pervasive and everlasting

It never goes away
The desire for chaos and destruction is undying