"American Psycho" is the title track from the Misfits' 1997 album, which marked the band's official return to recording after a long hiatus and featured a new lineup with vocalist Michale Graves. The song is a key track of the band's second era, which blended their traditional horror themes with a more modern, polished sound that incorporated elements of heavy metal and alternative rock. Musically, "American Psycho" is notably heavier and more structurally complex than the short, stripped-down tracks of the Danzig era. It features thick, groove-oriented guitar riffs from Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein and a strong, punchy rhythm section. Michale Graves' vocals are higher and cleaner than Glenn Danzig's, giving the song a distinct feel while maintaining the necessary punk energy and the Misfits' signature backing "whoa-ohs." Lyrically, the song takes its inspiration from the controversial 1991 novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. Rather than focusing on classic B-movies, the lyrics delve into the modern-day horror of an anonymous, corporate psychopath, featuring themes of obsessive violence, insanity, and societal alienation within a Wall Street setting. The song effectively updates the band's horror-punk concept for the late 1990s, using a contemporary source to explore macabre themes.