He once wore skull face paint and fronted one of punk rock's most infamous bands. Now, Michale Graves says his music comes from an entirely different place.
The former Misfits frontman, who sang lead on the band's American Psycho and Famous Monsters albums in the late '90s, has signed with Epochal Artists Records, a Christian music imprint distributed by Virgin Music Group. He's also launching the "God Bless America Tour 2026," which he describes as "an intimate, story-driven live experience that blends acoustic music, testimony, and storytelling."
In a wide-ranging CCM Magazine Spotlight interview, Graves opened up about a faith journey that started long before his music career. Raised Catholic, he says he always believed in God but drifted away from his faith as a teenager. The years that followed - including his rise with the Misfits - brought a level of chaos he wasn't prepared for. "This world that I was propelled into was insane," he said. "Sex and drugs and just insanity."
The turning point, he says, came after years of pain and addiction reached a breaking point. "I found myself in a hotel room on my knees, just calling out to Jesus," Graves said. "I surrendered my life to Jesus and became born again."
What makes his story unusual isn't just the conversion - it's what he's chosen to do with it. Rather than leaving his old audience behind, Graves says he's bringing his faith directly into the world that shaped him. "I get pushback from some Christian crowds about the music and some of the things that I'm doing," he admitted. "But Jesus said we have to be fishers of men. What's the point in me playing to just a room full of believers? They're already part of the flock." He says he's especially drawn to reaching young people who've experienced "church hurt" - those who tense up the moment they hear the name "Jesus" from someone who looks the part of a churchgoer, but who might listen to the same message from someone who's lived through real darkness.
Even his old Misfits material, he says, is taking on new meaning. CCM Magazine premiered an acoustic performance of the Misfits classic "Dig Up Her Bones" as part of the interview - a song Graves says still carries an unexpected sense of hope for the people who connect with it decades later.
One new song, "Faithless," came out of personal tragedy after friends of his were murdered. "Without faith, I don't think that you can get through those dark times," Graves said. "I know that you can't get through those dark times without clinging to God."
Graves says the past year in particular has brought a deeper transformation. "I've experienced a surrendering in my life in the past year especially that is incredibly profound," he said - a shift he describes as moving past the instinct to fight every accusation and instead choosing peace.
For an artist once known for scream-singing horror-punk anthems, it's a quieter, more reflective chapter - but one Graves says has been part of his story from the very beginning. "The first dream in my heart as a young man was to be a musician and a preacher," he said. "That calling has always been part of everything I've done along the way to where I find myself today."
