It's pretty common for fans of the Misfits to shit on anything the band did following the departure of Glenn Danzig. All things considered, the re-animated Misfits was a totally different Frankenstein's monster than the original lineup, but we here at County Grind are secure enough to admit that there really is no such thing as a "guilty pleasure," and as such we submit that the Misfits albums featuring Michale Graves' velveteen croon were really fun records! They've got chugging guitars, pounding drums, plenty of horror film references, and more "whoa-oh-ohs" than you can shake a clenched fist at.
And besides, there are plenty of legendary bands that continued to make records and tour with a fresh face on lead vox that sucked exponentially more relative to their previous lineups than the Graves era Misfits. Just to prove that point, here's a completely useless list to distract you from whatever constructive things you had planned to do on the internet today.
1. Van Halen
You've probably seen Airheads, and if not, you've definitely heard a Van Halen track featuring Sammy Hagar on lead vocals. Truth be told, I (sorry to break the fourth wall, but I cannot implicate others in my sins against good taste) enjoy the Van Hagar era of Van Halen. It's not really my fault, I was too young to know any better. However, even as a fan, I will admit that the original lineup was entirely superior to the Van Hagar lineup. Someone once said that the biggest problem with the change was that Van Hagar wrote love songs, while Roth wrote lust songs.
2. Lynyrd Skynyrd
Bands that replace their lead singers frequently do so under tragic circumstances, and Skynyrd's is certainly one of the most tragic tales in all of rock music. For the uninformed, a plane crash took the lives of most of this unit in 1977. They got back together ten years later, replacing late vocalist Ronnie Van Zant with kid brother (and carbon copy) Johnny Van Zant. The band's only current original member is Gary Rossington -- everyone else is dead or a registered sex offender.
3. Genesis
County Grind contributors have been known to get drunk and dance to "Sussudio," just like your parents, but it's a scientific fact that Genesis was a better band when they were weaving progressive rock masterworks with Peter Gabriel's gossamer croon, wild costumes, and flute solos leading the charge.
The pop music they made when Phil "the Shill" Collins came out from behind the skins simply pales in compare. There is a reason, after all, that no one has put together a touring tribute to the Collins-lead era of Genesis.
XXX
4. AC/DC
Yeah, Back in Black is the second best-selling record of all time. However, we think if Bon Scott had been alive to record the album, he had started writing with the band, it might be number one. We challenge you to listen to an entire Brian Johnson-era AC/DC record (that isn't Back in Black) the entire way through and not get just a little bummed that Bon Scott drank himself to death.
5. Van Halen (again)
While the Sammy Hagar version of Van Halen truly stunk compared to the golden-era-Diamond-Dave lineup, the record the band did with former Extreme vocalist, Gary Cherone, in the '90s made Van Hagar sound like Led Zeppelin. So bad was Van Halen a la Cherone, that the group earns the distinct honor of bookending our list. Also, just try to find a better music video.
The Misfits' Michael Graves, Nervous Attachments, Angry Pudding, Instant Whips. 8 p.m. Dec. 14, Propaganda, 6 South J Street, Lake Worth. Entrance is $7.
Follow @CountyGrind
