Cuts from the Crypt Is for Misfits Cultists

I don't care what anyone says, I'm convinced the Misfits are running a cult. How else do you explain a band once badass enough to scare Mötley Crüe off the street, a band that issued the speed metal bible Earth A.D./Wolf's Blood, getting their fans (basically a bunch of tattooed crazies who like it loud) to gleefully purchase dolls, lunch boxes and any cough, hiccup or outtake the group has pressed to tape, no questions asked. They may look slightly cooler, but the Misfits followers (affectionately dubbed Fiends) aren't too far from the Moonies or Kiss Army in their extremist devotion.

The existence of a record like Cuts from the Crypt should be all the evidence you need. Cuts is neither a great record nor a terrible one. It's a record with an appeal dependent on the depth of one's love for the Misfits. Dressed up as a rare-finds extravaganza, it is actually a garage sale of work from the band's later incarnation (1996-2001). As with any good rummage sale, there's the occasional prize find. The group's cover of "Monster Mash" is as stellar and standard as any decent garage band's rendition of "Louie, Louie." Also included are the initial demos for the unreleased Mars Attacks EP; this notable recording was the debut of the new Misfits following a long-winded legal battle with former singer, main songwriter and generally dark and spooky one Glenn Danzig.

However, the record is chock-full of stuff only the most devoted or curious would find necessary. There's a lackluster version of "I Got A Right," which initially appeared on an Iggy Pop tribute album, as well as a gluttonous amount of outtakes, B-sides and novelty singles. Cuts from the Crypt is essentially a record for Misfits completists. Buyers learn, for example, that "Mars Attacks" was written by Jerry over a single cup of coffee after hearing that the Tim Burton film of the same name was in production and that "No More Moments" (a song you've never heard because it was never released) was written by Don Oriolo Jr., the son of the creator of Felix the Cat. Does anyone really need to know this? I doubt it. But the Misfits really like to share. That's just their way. They do it for themselves. They do it for the fans. Call them Teenagers from Mars, punks, whatever?the Misfits are really secret marketing geniuses. Gene Simmons had better hide his cookie jar.