Mourning Noise

The New Jersey borough of Lodi produced a pair of horror punk pioneers, with the Misfits serving as the style’s foundational act while Mourning Noise earned wider recognition only after the group’s mid-1980s dissolution, by which time several of its core participants had already contributed to additional bands in the same vein.

Steve Zing conceived Mourning Noise after drawing influence from nearby peers who had joined the Misfits, notably bassist Jerry Only and guitarist Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein. Drummer Zing, vocalist Mike Mansfield, guitarist Tommy Koprowski, and bassist Chris Morance first appeared as Mourning Noise in 1981, adopting the name from a college radio show hosted by Morance. In 1982 the quartet captured brisk, tuneful songs for the 7-inch “Dawn of the Dead,” issued the following year; by then Koprowski had moved to the local hardcore outfit Bedlam, so Zing’s cousin Jon Carcich stepped in on guitar.

Regular performances ceased in 1984 amid further personnel adjustments: Mansfield yielded briefly to Joe Olivetti, Carcich shifted to bass, and Pete “Damian” Marshall assumed the vacant guitar position. Once Mourning Noise ended, Zing and Marshall both entered Samhain, the more aggressive project Glenn Danzig launched after the Misfits concluded. Danzig and Zing maintained a longstanding association—the Misfits singer supplied the artwork for Mourning Noise’s “Dawn of the Dead,” and Zing has handled bass duties in Danzig’s self-titled band since 2006.

Greater visibility arrived with the 1998 compilation Death Trip Delivery 1981-1985, which gathered the 7-inch, demos, live recordings, and tracks slated for an unfinished album; the original members regrouped to promote the set. A self-titled reissue appeared in 2021, its limited Bandcamp editions quickly selling out and featuring liner notes from Danzig. The band reconvened again, adding rhythm guitarist Johnny Noize and vocalist Robby Bloodshed in place of Mansfield. This configuration extended Mourning Noise’s horror punk lineage through fresh recordings: the 2021 EP At the Seville and the 2024 full-length Screams/Dreams.