"Day the Earth Caught Fire" is a song by the Japanese

horror punk Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies. The genre was pioneered by ...

band Balzac from their 1995 album ''

The Last Men on Earth Balzac (typeset as BALZAC) is a Japanese punk rock band formed in 1992 in Kyoto. The band was founded by singer and songwriter Hirosuke Nishiyama, who has remained the only constant member of the band since its creation. Since the beginning, B ...

''. In 2002 it was covered by the

Misfits Misfits or The Misfits may refer to: Film and television * ''The Misfits'' (1961 film), a film starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, and Montgomery Clift * ''The Misfits'' (2011 film), a Mexican film * ''The Misfits'' (2021 film), an American ...

for a

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

single celebrating Balzac's signing to the newly formed

Misfits Records Misfits Records is an independent record label conceived of in 2002 by founders Jerry Only of the Misfits and John Cafiero of Osaka Popstar. Intended to release Misfits material after the band's contractual obligations to Roadrunner Records were ...

, with Balzac covering a medley of the Misfits songs "The Haunting" and "Don't Open 'Til Doomsday" from the 1997 album ''

American Psycho ''American Psycho'' is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by Patrick Bateman, a serial killer and Manhattan investment banker. Alison Kelly of ''The Observer'' notes that while "some countr ...

''. Balzac also filmed a music video for their version. The international version of the single was titled "Day the Earth Caught Fire" and had the Misfits as track 1 and Balzac as track 2, while the Japanese release was titled "Don't Open 'Til Doomsday" and had the tracks in reverse order. The DVD included with the Misfits' ''

Project 1950 ''Project 1950'' is the sixth studio album by the American horror punk band the Misfits, released in 2003. It consists of cover versions of rock and roll songs from the 1950s and 1960s and marks bassist Jerry Only's debut as the Misfits' lead si ...

'' album in 2003 included live videos of the Misfits performing "Day the Earth Caught Fire" in New York City with Balzac singer Hirosuke, Balzac performing "The Haunting/Don't Open 'Til Doomsday" in Tokyo with Misfits members

Jerry Only Gerald Caiafa Jr. (born April 21, 1959), better known by his stage name Jerry Only, is an American musician, best known as the bassist for the Misfits and later the vocalist as well. He is the only member to appear in every Misfits lineup. Biog ...

and

Dez Cadena Dez Cadena (born June 2, 1961) is an American punk rock singer and guitarist. He was the third vocalist and later rhythm guitarist for hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1980 to 1983. Cadena played guitar with Misfits from 2001 to 2015, initi ...

, and Balzac performing "Day the Earth Caught Fire" in Japan with Jerry Only. It also included Balzac's music videos for "The Haunting/Don't Open 'Til Doomsday" and their own song "Out of the Blue".

Track listing

Personnel

Misfits

- bass guitar, vocals *

- guitar *

Marky Ramone Marc Steven Bell (born July 15, 1952) is an American drummer. He began playing in hard rock bands in the New York City area, notably Dust and Estus. He was asked to drum for punk rock band Richard Hell and the Voidoids. He replaced drummer Tommy ...

- drums

Balzac

*Hirosuke - vocals *Atsushi - guitar *Akio - bass *Takayuki - drums

Additional performers

John Cafiero John Cafiero is an American punk rock musician and filmmaker. He is best known as the frontman for the punk supergroup Osaka Popstar, whose debut album was released the summer 2006. The full album lineup toured the UK in September 2006, followe ...

- backing vocals on "Day the Earth Caught Fire"

Production

*Alan Douches - Mixing and mastering of "Day the Earth Caught Fire" at West West Side Music *Jesse Cannon - Engineering of "Day the Earth Caught Fire" *Tetsuya Kotani - Engineering and mixing of "The Haunting / Don't Open 'Til Doomsday" at Omega Sound *Akihiko Takenaka - Mastering of "The Haunting / Don't Open 'Til Doomsday" at Heart Beat

References

* Balzac (band) songs Misfits (band) songs Horror punk songs Split singles {{2000s-rock-single-stub