During this 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.

[citation needed] Following the Static Age sessions, the Misfits began a shift in songwriting and appearance, with Danzig writing more songs inspired by B horror and science fiction films.

They released the Horror Business single in June 1979, the cover of which featured a skeletal figure inspired by a poster for the 1946 film serial The Crimson Ghost.

During this time Only's younger brother Paul Caiafa, a longtime fan of the band who went by the nickname Doyle, began learning to play guitar with help from Danzig and Only.

Steele went on to form The Undead, while Doyle made his debut with the Misfits at their annual Halloween performance at Irving Plaza in New York City.

They offered the vacant drummer position to their friend Eerie Von, who had served as their occasional roadie and photographer, but he had already committed to drumming for Rosemary's Babies.

Doyle graduated from high school and he and Only began working full-time at their father's machine shop, earning money to purchase new instruments, fund the band's tours, and press records, while Danzig ran the Fiend Club and continued writing new songs.

Following the tour they released seven songs from the November 1981 performance in San Francisco in limited numbers only to members of the Fiend Club as the Evilive EP.

[citation needed] By this time Danzig was growing increasingly dissatisfied with the Misfits and had begun writings songs for a new band project.

[citation needed] Following the breakup of the Misfits, Danzig launched his new band Samhain, moving away from punk rock, and toward more experimental heavy metal with a grim atmosphere.

[citation needed] Only contacted Danzig about receiving a portion of the royalties from these albums' sales, beginning a legal battle that lasted several years and involved other past members of the band.

Eventually Only ceased his pursuit of songwriting credits and sought the rights to use the Misfits name and imagery, including the now-famous "Crimson Ghost" skull face logo.

[citation needed] In 1995, the parties reached an out-of-court settlement that allowed Only and Doyle to record and perform as the Misfits, sharing merchandising rights with Danzig.

[citation needed] Only and Doyle immediately set about reforming the Misfits, bringing in drummer David Calabrese, also known as Dr. Chud, who had worked with them in Kryst the Conqueror.

The band toured Europe and North America in support of the album and appeared as characters in World Championship Wrestling as tag team for wrestler Ian "Vampiro" Hodgkinson.

After Graves' return the band signed to Roadrunner Records, releasing Famous Monsters in October 1999 and filming a music video for the single Scream!

They made additional film appearances in Big Money Hustlas (2000), Bruiser (2000), and Campfire Stories (2001) and continued to tour, but tensions between the band members began to grow.

Doyle later indicated that plans had been in place for the Misfits to reunite with Glenn Danzig beginning in 2002, but that Jerry Only and his manager had "put a fuckin' monkey wrench in it.

[17] The Only/Cadena/Arce lineup released a new album, The Devil's Rain, recorded with producer Ed Stasium and titled after the 1975 film starring William Shatner.

In October, they released a 12" single fronted by a new recording of "Descending Angel", backed by a cover of "Science Fiction/Double Feature", a song they previously only played live.

[27] In June of that year, the Misfits released the Friday the 13th EP featuring material written by Only with his son Jerry Other on guitar and Chupacabra on drums.

[28] In September the Misfits lineup of Danzig, Only and Doyle, along with guitarist Acey Slade and drummer Dave Lombardo, headlined their two reunion shows, performing 25-song sets at the Riot Fest in Chicago and Denver.

"[29] In December 2017, the reunited lineup performed two concerts at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and The Forum in Inglewood, California.

"[34] Despite Danzig's pessimism, it was announced that same month that the Original Misfits would be replacing Megadeth at the Psycho Las Vegas event in August due to Dave Mustaine's throat cancer diagnosis.

[35] In August 2022, they announced an Original Misfits lineup would perform its second headlining show of 2022 on Halloween weekend in Dallas, at Dos Equis Pavilion on October 29, with special guests Alice Cooper and FEAR.

[38] 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.

When Glenn started the Misfits, he mutated the punk sound and image into something darker and more sinister, a punk-metal hybrid that later found bloom in the quiet, boring suburbs of Oslo and the boggy backwaters surrounding Tampa.

[43] Andy Weller of the Necros recalls the band's transition from traditional punk rock in the late 1970s to hardcore in the early 1980s: "(You) could hear it on the records.

"[47] Greg Prato, reviewing the 2001 album Cuts from the Crypt, noted that "the latter-day Misfits are much more heavy metal based than in their earlier work – as their punk roots have all but been erased.

A style similar to the Devilock was sported earlier - for instance the elephant trunk hairstyle of the 1950s, the Surfari's cover picture of 'Gum-dipped Slicks' (1964) shows a member of the band with a devilock-like quiff,[54] as did the guitarist from the contemporaneous Tornadoes of Bustin' Surfboards fame.