"Scream" is the ninth single by the

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 b ...

band 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 ...

, and the first single released from their 1999 album ''

Famous Monsters ''Famous Monsters'' is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band Misfits, released on October 5, 1999. It is the second in the post- Danzig era of the band, and the last album to feature Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, Michale Grave ...

''. The music video for the song was directed by

George A. Romero George Andrew Romero (; February 4, 1940 – July 16, 2017) was an American-Canadian filmmaker, writer, editor and actor. His ''Night of the Living Dead'' series of films about an imagined zombie apocalypse began with the 1968 film of the ...

, famous for his ''

Living Dead ''Living Dead'' is a blanket term for the loosely connected horror franchise that originated from the 1968 film ''Night of the Living Dead''. The film, written by George A. Romero and John A. Russo, primarily focuses on a group of people gath ...

'' series of

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...

films.

Background

"Scream" was written in a parking lot in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

while the Misfits were on tour. The band had learned that director

Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...

was interested in using Misfits songs for his film '' Wishmaster'', but instead they decided to submit a song for the upcoming ''

Scream 2 ''Scream 2'' is a 1997 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. It stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jamie Kennedy, Laurie Metcalf, Jerry O'Connell, Elise Neal, Tim ...

''. They recorded a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

version of the song at a studio in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. Singer

Michale Graves Michael Emanuel (born March 21, 1975), better known by his stage name Michale Graves, is an American singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist for the 1990s re-incarnation of the horror punk band Misfits from 1995 to 2000, leaving briefly ...

described this early version as having a Peter Murphy influence. The demo was submitted to Craven but was not used for the film. "Scream" was later re-recorded for the band's 1999 album ''

''. This version had a slightly different arrangement than the demo version. It was released as the album's only single at the choosing of

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. History The label was launched in 1980 in t ...

. The band later stated in the ''

Cuts from the Crypt ''Cuts From the Crypt'' is a collection of demos, formerly unreleased tracks and cover songs by the American horror punk band Misfits. All the album's tracks were recorded by the band in the years following their reformation without original sin ...

'' liner notes that they "never felt it was the strongest choice for either the single nor the corresponding music video that followed."

Music video

The music video was directed by

, famous for his ''

'' film series. Bassist

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 ...

has expressed admiration for Romero, calling ''

Night of the Living Dead ''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, with a screenplay by John Russo and Romero, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven peop ...

'' "still to this day one of the scariest movies ever made." At the time Romero was in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

filming '' Bruiser'' and needed a band to perform during the film's final murder scene. The Misfits agreed to perform in the film and to record two songs for the soundtrack in exchange for Romero directing their "Scream" video. According to Only, "It was an even trade, we shook hands and the deal was done. Business complications soon followed and I became very unhappy with my record label and my publishing company." No soundtrack was issued for ''Bruiser''. The Misfits' two songs, "Fiend Without a Face" and "Bruiser", along with the demo version of "Scream", were released in 2001 on the compilation album ''

''. The "Scream" music video consists of black-and-white footage of the band members as

s terrorizing a hospital along with a number of Misfits fans, interspersed with color footage of the band performing live. A promotional VHS version of the video was included for free with the purchase of a set of Misfits action figures from 21st Century toys in 1999 and 2000. The video was also included in an enhanced

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...

portion of ''Cuts from the Crypt'' in 2001.

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals *

– bass guitar * Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein – guitar *

Dr. Chud David Calabrese (born April 4, 1964), known professionally as Dr. Chud, is an American horror punk drummer best known for his work with the Misfits. Life and career Born in Lodi, New Jersey, Dr. Chud attended Lodi High School. His career beg ...

– drums

References

{{Misfits 1999 songs Misfits (band) songs Roadrunner Records singles

Background

Music video

Track listing

Personnel

See also

References