The Spotlight
Danzig. The name might not roll right off the tongue, but it’s a name almost synonymous with the metal scene. Fronted by scene-mainstay Glenn Danzig, the band has been cranking out albums for the better part of 17 years.
Glenn Danzig kicked off his career over 25 years ago fronting the legendary punk band The Misfits (from 1977 to 1983), then moved onto the more metal-influenced (and short-lived) Samhain which eventually morphed into Danzig.
After 17 years and with eight albums under its belt, there’s now talk that the end is near for Danzig (with the tour in support of the band’s latest release, “Circle of Snakes,” being its last).
But even if the end is nigh, there’s no way you can take away the impact Danzig had on the metal scene.
The History
While fronting The Misfits, it was clear the Glenn Danzig had a taste for the horrific as he spewed forth lyrics dealing with monsters, death and doom. But, by the end of the band’s run, it was clear Glenn was outgrowing the parameters and boundaries set by fronting a punk band. As an outlet for his angst, he formed the short-lived metal band Samhain, continuing the dark-theme of his work but taking it to the extreme.
With his eponymous band Danzig, the front-man seemed to find a more happy medium. With fellow Samhain member John Christ on guitar, bassist Eerie Von and Chuck Biscuits (formerly of Black Flag) on drums, Danzig created a band that fed off all of his inspirations: doom, punk, Satanic metal and elements of the gothic new wave movement.
With the aid of producer Rick Rubin, Danzig released its self-titled debut in 1988. “Danzig,” and its follow-up in 1990 (“Danzig 2: Lucifuge”) really laid the foundation for Glenn’s trademark sound: gloomy, sludgy metal, sometimes frantic, sometimes extremely slow and foreboding, with Glenn’s heavy and instantly recognizable vocals leading the charge. But it was clear the band was expanding its sound.
On 1992’s “Danzig 3: How The Gods Kill,” the band crafted a Black Sabbath-esque metal masterpiece, an album that not only aggressively pounded away at your ears, but ate away at your psyche with the overall mood of the music. The album yielded the band’s first two “hits,” the foreboding “Dirty Black Summer” and “How the Gods Kill.”
Though Glenn took a brief step away from Danzig following the release of “How the Gods Kill” (to release his solo, quasi-operatic “Black Aria”), the band was about to experience its biggest hit, from a rather unlikely place.
“Mother,” a song off Danzig’s self-titled debut, exploded into the mainstream in 1993 when a live version of the track (off the band’s EP “Thrall – Demonsweatlive”) became a staple on commercial rock radio and the accompanying video was a smash on MTV, eventually propelling the EP to platinum status.
The band took a turn the following year with the release of the more experimental “Danzig 4.” In stark opposition to the band’s anthemic hit of the previous summer, “Danzig 4” was far more atmospheric: moody, subtle and quiet. Tracks like “Cantspeak” saw Glenn abandoning his aggressive vocal charge for a more hushed tone. This release not only saw the band start to edge towards a more industrial-tinged sound, but marked the end of the group’s original line-up.
During the tour in support of “Danzig 4,” Biscuits left the band and was replaced by Joey Castillo (who more recently was part of the successful Queens of the Stone Age). Following the tour, Glenn broke up the band all together in favor of an all new lineup: Castillo on drums, Josh Lazie on bass and Tommy Victor (of Prong fame) on guitar. The band also left the label it had always called home, Def American.
On Halloween in 1996, Danzig unleashed “Danzig 5: Blackacidevil” through E-Magine Records. The album, similar in vein to Ministry or Nine Inch Nails, and which also featured collaborations with Alice in Chains’ Jerry Cantrell on a handful of tracks, flew under the radar for critics and fans alike, falling out of the charts after three weeks.
Victor left the band, replaced by guitarist Jeff Chambers, and the band released “Danzig 6:66 Satan’s Child” in 1999. This release saw Danzig begin to move back towards the sound that made it famous, dirge-like riffs, power-chords and plenty of bluesy, Sabbath-esque metal. But the record also had a slight hint of the industrial and techno influences that permeated the preceding two albums (due in part to the band’s collaboration with Orgy’s J. Gordon and Amir Derakh who mixed seven of the album’s 12 tracks).
The band followed-up with a double live album in 2001 (“Live on the Black Hand Side”), and the stripped down “777: I Luciferi” (2002) and “Circle of Snakes” (2004).
On “I Luciferi,” (Spitfire Records) Glenn also handled guitar-work and keyboards, bringing in Joey C on drums, Todd Youth on lead guitar and Howie Pyro on bass. For “Circle of Snakes” (Evillive Records) Tommy Victor returned to the fold on lead guitar, while Bevan Davies and Jerry Montano handled drums and bass respectively. In both cases, Danzig showed a solid return-to-form offering up material similar to its self-titled release offered up 17 years prior summed up in two words: simplistic brutality.
The Legacy
Danzig [1988]
The album that launched Glenn Danzig’s career as a solo artist, this mix of hard rock and metal was not a big hit right out of the gate, despite featuring such legendary tunes as “Twist of Cain” and Danzig’s most well-known song “Mother” (which did not become a hit until a few years later). Raw and
under-produced in areas, this was still a great album to kick off a “new” career with.
Danzig 2: Lucifuge [1990]
With a solid album under it’s belt, Danzig continued to forge ahead with its unique sound, perfecting the doom-y, melodic, sinister sound the band was fast becoming known for. “Lucifuge” was darker, more catchy and heavier than its predecessor and yielded classics like “Long Way Back From Hell,” “Killer Wolf” and “Devil’s Plaything.”
Danzig 3: How The Gods Kill [1992]
Considered by some fans as Danzig’s finest hour, “How The Gods Kill” is an aggressive, blues-driven album from end to end. Songs like “Dirty Black Summer” and “Godless” became staples of the Danzig catalogue. This really was Danzig’s “breakthrough” album (the band even held a contest via MTV on the channel’s “Headbanger’s Ball” — the “Dirty Black Summer with Danzig contest”).
Thrall – Demonsweatlive [1993]
There’s one reason, and one reason alone to include this EP in the album listings for Danzig: “Mother (live).” As much as Danzig’s third album finally “broke” the band, it was the unbelievable success of the live version of “Mother” on here the sent Danzig skyrocketing. The seven-song mini-album also featured three new studio tracks.
Danzig 4 [1994]
This is the album that saw Danzig embrace a more industrial sound, experimenting with more distortion (before fully embracing the industrial sound on “Blackacidevil”), the biggest hit off this release was the low-key “Cantspeak,” a brooding, gloomy number that seemed to counteract the deluge of metal Danzig was offering up to this point. But as big (relatively speaking) as “Cantspeak” was, this album was fully of sleeper tracks like “Brand New God” and “Sadistikal.”
Danzig 5: Blackacidevil [1996]
After losing the core of the band, Danzig looked for a “fresh-start” of sorts with its fifth release. “Blackacidevil” saw Danzig garner much comparison to Nine Inch Nails and Ministry, but the solid industrial offering from the band still had the its own unique sound. Albums highlights include “7th House,” “Power of Darkness” and “Sacrifice.”
6:66 Satan’s Child [1999]
With a now cleansed palate (after the industrial experimentation), Danzig began to move back towards its heavier roots. The aggression of the band’s previous efforts was beginning to creep back into its sound. Through the glossy production there was a hint of raw energy once more (evident in tracks like “Unspeakable” and “Cult W/Out a Name”). Danzig also offers up its own take on “Thirteen,” originally written by Glenn Danzig for Johnny Cash. A limited-edition of “6:66 Satan’s Child” also features, in my opinion, one of the coolest CD covers of all time.
777: I Luciferi [2002]
By its seventh album, Danzig had definitely found its groove. Chock-full of gloomy, riff-heavy metal. “The Coldest Sun” is one of the album’s stronger tracks, very reminiscent of Type O Negative though Danzig carries his vocals much better than Peter Steele would on such a track.
Circle of Snakes [2004]
Danzig’s latest offering is once again, more of the same. Delving into the tried and true formula that has held up so well over the years, the band continues to create strong, gloomy metal with great riffs. “Skull Forrest” is more reminiscent to Glenn Danzig’s work in The Misfits than anything the band has put out in its 17 years. Other tracks like “Night, Be Sodom” and “Black Angel, White Angel” are worthy of any Danzig retrospective, though tracks like “Skincarver” do become a little too repetitive.
The Top 10
It’s impossible to fully encapsulate Danzig’s contribution to the metal scene with any one song or album, but here’s my attempt. (The closest thing the band has to a “greatest hits” package would have to be 2001’s double live album “Live on the Black Hand Side,” though there has been talk for some time of a greatest hits package and/or collection of b-sides to surface in the future.)
In order:
“Long Way Back From Hell”
– The opener off “Danzig 2: Lucifuge,” this song is the perfect mix of up-tempo Danzig sludge and Glenn’s faster, bluesy delivery (akin to Jim Morrison at times).
“Skull Forrest”
– The newest song on this list, “Skull Forrest” sounds more like Glenn’s work with The Misfits than anything the band has ever put out. Not an overly elaborate song, the gloomy, atmospheric rock is perfect and makes this one of my favorite Danzig songs of all time.
“Dirty Black Summer”
– When people ask about “the song that started it all,” its hard to not think of “Dirty Black Summer.” Chock-full of blistering guitar riffs, this song’s overall sound is the epitome of “heavy” in heavy metal.
“Mother (live)”
– And what better to follow up the band’s first big break than its biggest hit? This live version of “Mother” perfectly encapsulates the Danzig sound and energetic delivery. “Mother” is definitely one of the most noteworthy metal-anthems of the ’90s.
“Cantspeak”
– From the energy of “Mother” to the subtlety of “Cantspeak,” this track shows the best of the opposite end of the spectrum for Danzig. Gloomy, hypnotic music and Glenn’s hushed delivery.
“Satan’s Child”
– This hard-hitting steamroller-like track features the last hint of the industrial sound Danzig fooled around with on “4” and “5.” And never has Glenn’s delivery sounded more urgent.
“Twist of Cain”
– It was a toss up between this one and “Am I Demon” off the band’s debut. I chose “Twist” just because of the nice underlying hook during the verses, this tight guitar, catchy bass and the excellent chorus that is great to sing-a-long to.
“Deeper”
– Another toss-up here between this track and the pseudo-ballad “Ashes.” I like “Deeper” more for the buried guitar work by Jerry Cantrell and the solid- industrial overtones making this sound like Glenn fronting Ministry.
“Hunter”
– My more personal pick for the mix: it’s my hands-down favorite Danzig track ever. Off the band’s debut, this song showcases the Danzig sound to a “t” in unbelievable simplicity. A perfect little rock/metal song.
“Without Light, I Am”
– The closing track on “I Luciferi,” this is a nice ending to the collection, slowly playing-out like a haunting lullaby.
The Inside Pulse .::. Though he’s fronted punk legends The Misfits and underground sensation Samhain, it’s his work with Danzig that is most prolific — but this isn’t just about Glenn Danzig, this is about Danzig the band. Over 17 years, the group carved out a perfect niche for itself in the metal scene and one is hard-pressed to come up with any one band that even remotely comes close to matching Danzig’s offering of gloom-metal. Sure, Black Sabbath was there first, but Danzig is here now. The band’s instantly recognizable sound (especially the vocals of Glenn) will live on long after the band is gone.
