Horror-punk progenitors The Misfits have been through their share of drummers. Nine to be exact (not including temporary fill-ins), like founding skin-pounder Manny Martínez, Marky Ramone of the Ramones, and a guy known as Dr. Chud (for “Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Drummer”). Actually, wait. Make that 10, because former Slayer member Dave Lombardo just added his name to the list. The 51-year-old Cuban-born drummer will be joining vocalist Glenn Danzig, bassist Jerry Only, and guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein for the band’s Riot Fest reunion shows in Denver and Chicago next month.
“I first met Dave back in 1988, when Danzig did four shows with Slayer in the U.S., before the first Danzig album was released,” Danzig explained to Rolling Stone after the news broke. “Dave is one of the best drummers around, and I can’t wait for everyone to see him pounding Misfits songs live for these special shows.” Lombardo also expressed his enthusiasm at joining the seminal group in something approximating a classic line-up. “The Misfits created the horror punk attitude and had a massive influence on modern rock, punk and metal,” he told Rolling Stone. “It was an easy decision for me to join them for these monumental shows. I was honored to be asked, and am very excited to be playing with the band.”
Whether these two performances will lead to a greater collaboration with the band is an extremely open question. For all anyone knows, this 30-years-in-the-making reunion will be the last time that Danzig, Only, and von Frankenstein appear onstage together. “It may have never happened, but it is going to happen for at least two shows. We’ll see how it goes. It may lead to some other work, but who knows how it’s going to turn out?” Danzig said to Rolling Stone back in May. “I mean, I don’t think it’s going to be a disaster. I think it’s going to be incredible.”