DOYLE - Swing From The Gallows

September 6, 2013, 10 years ago

Aaron Small

doyle feature

"Get ready for the pure hellish darkness that is Abominator, the new solo album from the Monsterman himself, DOYLE WOLFGANG VON FRANKENSTEIN. Blow up the system with something real for your ears instead of that bullshit music the industry machine is trying to force-feed you,” proclaims GLENN DANZIG.

Abominator is comprised of 11 hellacious songs, including ‘Dreaming Dead Girls’ and ‘Cemetery Sexxx’, courtesy of guitarist Doyle and his former MISFITS cohort, drummer Dr. Chud. Rounding out the nefarious troupe is vocalist Alex Story from CANCERSLUG, and bassist Left Hand Graham Reaper of FAST TIMES. “It was actually GORGEOUS FRANKENSTEIN,” explains Doyle as he sat backstage at Sound Academy in Toronto, ON with BraveWords.com scribe Aaron Small.

“Alex called me and said, ‘I’ve got an idea. We need to change the name of the band.’ Alright, go on. What do you want to change it to? ‘DOYLE. Let’s start a whole new thing.’ Ok, cause with Gorgeous Frankenstein, nobody came to the shows. It was making people think, know what I mean? I didn’t have the money to promote it to make it known that was my band… it’s a no-brainer.”

Initially, Abominator was supposed to be a much larger monster. “We wrote 40 songs, maybe 38; it was a high number. We actually had 18 songs on this album, and it was 69 minutes long. We were driving to the studio to mix it and Dr. Chud looks at me and says, ‘You know we’re giving away half an album for free.’ He was right,” admits Doyle. “Then he says, ‘Let’s do six more and split it up.’ So we lined ‘em all up, and we have three more songs to record for the next one.” As for when the follow-up to Abominator might surface, Doyle offers a simplistic but stern “I don’t know.”

The one song on Abominator that really sticks out is ‘Land Of The Dead’. Reason being, on the last Misfits album, Devil’s Rain (released in 2011), there’s an entirely different song with the same title, ‘Land Of The Dead’. “Ours was written first, believe it or not. I saw (former Misfits drummer) Robo and he asked if I wanted to hear their new record? So he gives it to me and I said; I’ve got a song called ‘Land Of The Dead’. He played it… and mine’s a lot better,” laughs Doyle. “So I played him mine and he was like, ‘Oh!’ in his Colombian accent.”

Doyle’s brother Jerry Only is singing and playing bass on the Misfits’ ‘Land Of The Dead’. When asked if they’ll ever work together again, Doyle replies, “Not if he’s singing.”

Doyle is currently on the road with Danzig’s 25th Anniversary Tour. Midway through the show, he joins Glenn for an absolutely amazing set of classic Misfits songs. But the question commonly asked is, why isn’t Doyle’s solo band opening the show? “Cause Glenn doesn’t want to take away from me playing with him. If it was just a Danzig show, we would do it. But this is a Danzig and Doyle show.”

Is this the closest thing we’re going to get to a Misfits reunion? “I hope not.” While Danzig continues to prepare his forthcoming covers album, Doyle bumps into the other Misfits vocalist, MICHALE GRAVES occasionally. “I see him at conventions, I talk to him.” After the second incarnation of the Misfits disbanded, Michale enlisted drummer Dr. Chud to play in GRAVES. Now Doyle has Chud behind the kit, highlighting what appears to be sort of a strange, incestuous carousel with people getting on and off all the time. “Chud lives close to my house, that’s why I play with him. He wants to be a musician and that’s what I want. Everybody that I work with, down to the management, they want to do this! I don’t want somebody who wants a pay cheque. You’re going to get a pay cheque, but I don’t want someone who’s just there to get a pay cheque. Everybody’s excited, so it’s good.”

Fans around the world continue to be excited about the Misfits, Doyle shares his thoughts. “Am I surprised by it? I don’t know; it’s just normal.” There’s a plethora of Misfits merchandise on the market, both officially licensed and bootleg, but the one thing missing is a book. However, don’t expect Doyle to author his autobiography any time soon. “I can barely write my name.” There’s always the option of getting someone else to write it for you. “Then I’ve got to speak.”

In 2009, Doyle issued his own Made In Hell hot sauce. Before heading off to sound check, one last secret is revealed. “We’re going to make an Abominator sauce ‘cause everybody’s complaining it’s not hot enough.”

Catch Doyle live, performing a special Misfits set, as part of the Danzig 25th Anniversary Tour:

August

28 – Seattle, WA – Sodo
30 – Los Angeles, CA – Gibson Amphitheater
31 – Phoenix, AZ – Marquee Theater

September

13 – Chicago, IL - Riotfest

October

8 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Revolution
9 - Tampa, FL - The Cuban Club
11 - Nashville, TN - Marathon Music Works
12 - Atlanta, GA - Center Stage
13 - Charlotte, NC - The Fillmore Charlotte
15 - Norfolk, VA - Norva Theater
17 - Niagara Falls, NY - Rapids Theatre
18 - New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom
19 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
21 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
23 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Orbit Room
24 - Louisville, KY - Expo Five
26 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
27 - Oklahoma City, OK - Diamond Ballroom
29 - El Paso, TX - Tricky Falls
31 - San Francisco, CA - The Warfield

For all things Doyle, visit OfficialDoyle.com.



Featured Video

KELEVRA - "The Distance"

KELEVRA - "The Distance"

Latest Reviews