Some people call him Papa M. Some people call him Ariel M. Others see the guy who was in groundbreaking Louisville rockers Slint; still others know him for a stint with Chicago experimenters Tortoise; and yet a whole other group know him from that band that Billy Corgan had for five minutes but no one cared about. Ultimately David Pajo’s greatest talent might be his malleability and—correspondingly—his skill at reshaping and rethinking the music he makes. He’s the kind of guy who’s not afraid of a left turn…like making an album of Misfits songs. Radically refiguring the Misfits is nothing new, as Lemonhead Evan Dando has been known to whip out a mean acoustic version of “Skulls,” and the horror punk they made famous has been fodder for everyone from hard rockers like Metallica and Guns ’N Roses to Buffalo’s late, lamented hardcore stalwarts Snapcase.

Satan has been embodied by many things in art—snakes, supermodels, Al Pacino, etc.—but Art Brut’s invocation of the Dark Lord with the record-buying public in Art Brut vs. Satan has to be a first. As pompous as the concept sounds coming from a bunch of British indie rockers, there is something strangely demonic in the rise of the Jonas Brothers or Katy Perry. And naming their third LP after an exaggerated battle between good and evil is fitting for a band aiming to prove they are more than just shtick, especially when the album is a brawler.