Glenn Danzig

Glenn Danzig
Background information
Birth name	Glenn Allen Anzalone
Born	June 23, 1955 (1955-06-23) (age 54) Lodi, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres	Heavy metal, blues rock, punk rock, classical
Occupations	Musician, Singer-songwriter, Producer, Author
Instruments	Vocals, Bass, Guitar, Piano, Drums, Keyboards, Harmonica
Years active	1977–present
Labels	Plan 9 Evilive
Associated acts	Misfits Samhain Danzig
Website	http://www.danzig-verotik.com/

Glenn Danzig (born Glenn Allen Anzalone on June 23, 1955) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and entrepreneur, and a progenitor of the horror punk subgenre of music. He is the founder of bands the Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig. He also owns the Evilive record label and Verotik, an adult-oriented comic book publishing company.

Danzig's musical career, beginning in the mid-1970s, encompasses genres such as punk rock, heavy metal, industrial, blues, and classical. He has written songs for long-time idols Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison.

As a singer, he is noted for his vocal range and distinctive style, which has been compared to that of Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison and Howlin' Wolf.^[1][2][3] Danzig has also cited Bill Medley as a vocal influence.^[4] As an author, he is known for his fascination with horror, gore, occult, erotic and religious themes.

Early life

Danzig was born in 1955 to a New Jersey Protestant family of Italian, German, and Scottish-American heritage. He has two older brothers and one younger brother. Their father was a strict Marine Corps veteran of World War II and the Korean War who worked as a television repairman. One of Danzig's brothers introduced him to heavy metal at an early age by playing him music by Blue Cheer. Danzig has also described Black Sabbath and The Doors as being among his early musical influences.^[4]

Danzig became an avid collector of comic books (especially Golden Age comics), rare Japanese toys, occult books, horror related articles, b-movie posters, Japanese animation videos (especially Astro Boy, Black Jack, Captain Harlock and Devilman) and the skulls of deceased animals. He was an outsider in school.

Danzig is said to have worked in a comic book store in nearby New York City around the time he began writing music,[1] but he has vehemently denied this in an interview with the Stalker website, saying, "No... that is all bullshit. I never said such bullshit. That's just fucking rumors of people who were unable to get an interview with me - so they created some."[2] Danzig continued, stating that in his frustration with American comics, he began producing his own "crazy, violent, erotic comics."[3]

Glenn Danzig graduated from Lodi High School in 1973, aspiring to become a comic book writer and/or photographer. He attended art school and later photography school at the New York Institute of Photography.^[5] Danzig would eventually start an adult-oriented comic book company, Verotik, in the 1990s.

Musical career

Danzig started in the music business at the age of 11, first as a drum roadie and then as a bass player in local garage bands. He had never taken vocal lessons, but the first time he auditioned for the role of a vocalist, his vocal prowess gained him attention in the local scene. Throughout his teenage years he sang for several local bands, such as Talus and Whodat And Boojang, most of which played half original songs and half Black Sabbath songs.

In 1977, when he was 21, Danzig started The Misfits, releasing the bands records through his own label, Plan 9 (originally known as Blank).^[6] The band's name comes from Marilyn Monroe's last film. The Misfits combined Danzig's harmonic vocals with camp-horror imagery and lyrics. The Misfits sound was a faster, heavier derivation of Ramones style punk with rockabilly influences. In 1983, after releasing several singles and three albums, and gaining a small underground following, Danzig disbanded The Misfits due to increasing animosity among the band members and his dissatisfaction with their musical abilities. Glenn Danzig Misfit's songs dealt almost exclusively with themes derived from B-grade horror and science fiction movies as well as comic books (i.e."Wasp Women","I Turned Into A Martian"). Unlike the later incarnation of the Misfits, Danzig also dealt with Atomic Era scandals in songs like "Bullet" (about the Kennedy assassination), "Who Killed Marilyn" (which alluded to alternate theories about Marilyn Monroe's suicide), and Hollywood Babylon (inspired by the Kenneth Anger book on scandals associated with the early, formative years of Hollywood).

After The Misfits, he began work on a new band project: Samhain. Initially Samhain was conceived as a punk "super group" before work started in 1984 on the Samhain debut Initium. Extra guitar on the album is credited to Lyle Preslar.

Samhain eventually began to attract the interest of major labels including Epic and Elektra.^[7] Rick Rubin, music producer and head of the Def American label, would see the band perform at the New Music Seminar.^[7] In 1987, after two albums and an EP Samhain was signed to a major label by Rubin and the name of the band was changed to Danzig to avoid legal problems^{[citation needed]} and allow the band to retain its name in the event of line-up changes.^[5] The band consisted of guitarist John Christ, bassist Eerie Von, and former Circle Jerks–D.O.A.–Black Flag drummer Chuck Biscuits.

In 1987, Danzig, owing to his association with Rubin, was asked to write a song for Roy Orbison. The result was "Life Fades Away", featured in the 1987 movie Less than Zero. Danzig also contributed to the film's soundtrack with "You and Me (Less than Zero)". Danzig had originally been asked to write the song for a female vocalist, but when Rubin could not find a suitable singer Danzig recorded the vocals himself.^[8] Eerie Von has said that the song was a salute to the 1960s song "To Sir, with Love" by the Scottish singer Lulu, and the tracks have similar instrument changes. On the soundtrack's sleeve, the song is credited to "Glen [sic] Danzig and the Power and Fury Orchestra", which actually featured the same membership as the initial lineup of Danzig, the band, with the exception of Eerie Von. Since Von did not like the way producer Rubin wanted the bass played on the song, George Drakoulias played the bass instead. Had Von played the bass, this track would have marked the earliest official recording of the band Danzig, as the other three principal members, Danzig, Christ, and Biscuits, all took part.

In 1988, the newly formed band Danzig released their eponymous debut. Its sound showed a progression from the gothic–deathrock sound of Samhain, to a slower, heavier, more blues-based heavy metal sound. Stand-out tracks included "Twist of Cain", "Am I Demon", "Mother", and "She Rides". Songs such as "End of Time" and "Soul on Fire" displayed Danzig's prowess with softer, melodic vocalizations. Glenn Danzig's lyrics, which had already evolved from those of the Misfits to the more serious style of Samhain, progressed even further with the band Danzig to become "frighteningly intense images of doom" which "convey their bleak messages with an eerie grace and intelligence".^[4]

In 1990, their follow-up album Danzig II: Lucifuge marked an immediate change of musical direction. Featuring a strong blues influence, it has often been cited as the most popular Danzig album among fans. Stand-out tracks included the driving "Long Way Back From Hell", the bluegrass dobro of "777", the hard-rocking "Girl" and "Her Black Wings", as well as the lilting, Presley-inspired "I'm the One" and "Blood and Tears".

In 1990, Glenn released what was supposed to be Samhain's third album, Samhain Grim. Tracks 1–5 were previously unreleased songs, at least some of which had been intended for the Samhain Grim album before it was aborted. On the 2000 re-release tracks 6-9 were Samhain Grim Demos. This album was released as Final Descent.

Also in 1990, Danzig produced the debut album for the band Kinghorse.^[9]

On October 31, 1991 Danzig and his band performed an acoustic set at the Bordello club, owned by Riki Rachtman from Headbangers Ball. The band performed originals and covers of songs by blues artists including Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon.^[10]

In 1992, Danzig once again changed musical direction, releasing the fast, power-chord driven Danzig III: How the Gods Kill. Of the ten songs, only the sad and soft "Sistinas" diverges from the unrelenting, dominant guitar riffs and angry lyrical content of songs like "Left Hand Black", "Godless" and "Bodies".

Also in 1992 Glenn tried his hand at composing classical music with Black Aria.

In 1993–1994, Danzig broke into the mainstream when the live video of "Mother '93" became a hit on MTV, six years after the original song was recorded.

In 1994, the release of Danzig 4 saw a revisiting of the hard-blues sound and further development of his vocal range; most notable in songs like "Let It Be Captured" and the haunting "Cantspeak".

In 1996, the band underwent a complete overhaul. The original lineup had fallen apart, as had Glenn Danzig's relationship with their record label, American Recordings, with label owner Rick Rubin's involvement as producer diminishing with each album.^[5] Danzig went on to sign a deal with Hollywood Records, which led to several religious groups boycotting its parent company Disney for signing a controversial "satanic" band.^[11][12] Danzig enlisted new band mates and recorded Blackacidevil. Once again, he explored a new musical direction; this time infusing heavy metal with industrial rock.

In 1999, during the U.S. touring for the album 6:66 Satan's Child Danzig reunited Samhain along with drummers Steve Zing and London May. Danzig guitarist Todd Youth was invited by Glenn Danzig to fill in the guitar position for the Samhain reunion tour, replacing Samhain's original guitarist, Pete "Damien" Marshall, who had opted out in order to tour with Iggy Pop. Eerie Von was not invited to rejoin Samhain due to personal issues within the band. Both Zing and May handled bass duties, switching from drums to bass in between the "Blood Show".

Danzig's subsequent three albums, 6:66 Satan's Child (1999), I Luciferi (2002) and Circle of Snakes (2004), all musically and lyrically evolved to a more stripped down, heavier goth metal sound. The Danzig lineup continued to change with each album, while Danzig's voice started to show strain after years of touring.

Although Danzig's later releases never got the mainstream attention that the single "Mother" achieved, the band has maintained a worldwide following.

In 2003, Danzig founded the Blackest of the Black tour to provide a platform for dark and extreme bands of his choosing from around the world.^[13][14] Bands featured on the tour have included Dimmu Borgir, Superjoint Ritual, Nile, Opeth, Lacuna Coil, Behemoth, Mortiis and Marduk.

In 2005, Glenn Danzig's tours to support the Circle of Snakes album and the Blackest of the Black Tour were highlighted by the special guest appearance of Misfits guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein. Doyle joined Danzig on stage for a 20-minute set of classic Misfits songs. "To do this right, I invited Doyle to join Danzig on stage at 'Blackest Of The Black' for a special guest set. This is the first time we will be performing on stage together in 20 years. It's the closest thing to a Misfits reunion anyone is ever going to see", Danzig said in 2004 interview with KNAC.com. Despite this fact, Ram's Head Live of Baltimore, Maryland, advertised his 2007 tour show as "Playing classic Misfits and Danzig Songs", even though no Misfits songs were performed. Videos of outraged fans can be found on YouTube.

On October 17, 2006, he released his second solo album Black Aria II (the follow-up to his first classical album Black Aria).

In November 2006, Danzig toured the west coast with Samhain bassist Steve Zing. They played three Samhain songs including "All Murder All Guts All Fun". In Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Doyle joined the band onstage for the encore and played two Misfits songs, "Skulls" and "Astro Zombies".^[15]

In 2007 Danzig produced the debut album by ex-Misfits guitarist Doyle's metal-influenced band, Gorgeous Frankenstein.^[16]

In October and November 2007, Danzig toured the western United States, along with Gorgeous Frankenstein. Danzig was also joined by psychobilly group the Horrorpops and Brooklyn punk rock group Suicide City. This "3 Weeks of Halloween" tour was in support of his most recent album, The Lost Tracks of Danzig, as well as the newest graphic novel release from his comic book company Verotik, Drukija: Countessa of Blood. On October 23, 2007, Danzig was performing the song "How the Gods Kill" in Baltimore and fell off the stage about four minutes into the piece, injuring his left arm. He did not perform the Misfits set that night, angering local fans, but he continued the tour and played classic Misfits tunes with Doyle onstage as an encore with a sling on his left arm after the injury. Todd Youth (as heard on the I Luciferi album) was chosen to perform on the guitar. Steve Zing was on bass. Danzig hopes to continue working on film and comic book projects and has said he'd rather leave extensive and exhaustive touring to the fresh new crop of bands bearing his mark such as Hank III, The Ghostwitch Family Band and Calabrese.

TV and film

Danzig guest-appeared as himself in an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force entitled "Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future", where he purchased the house of the character Carl. Danzig also had a minor role as a fallen angel in the film The Prophecy II, starring Christopher Walken. One look-alike appeared in the series Metalocalypse in the end of season one, as tribute a big part of the chapter is set in the gulf of Danzig, Poland.

Personal life

In January 1992, Danzig became a student of Jerry Poteet, a world-renowned martial artist in Jeet Kune Do.^[8][17] Danzig has since earned a teaching degree in the discipline.^[8] Danzig has also studied Muay Thai.^[8] Danzig has several distinctive tattoos, all by tattoo artist Rick Spellman, which incorporate artwork based upon his music.^[18] These include a Danzig/Samhain skull symbol, a bat with a Misfits Crimson Ghost skull, and a wolf's head with the text "Wolfs Blood", the title of a Misfits song.^[18] Danzig owns a book collection on subjects including the occult, religious history and true murder cases.^[19][4] Danzig is a fan of horror movies and Japanese animation, and has expressed his appreciation for the works of filmmaker David Cronenberg, film score composer Jerry Goldsmith and manga artist Go Nagai.^[20][21] Although Danzig is frequently portrayed as a Satanist by the mainstream media, he has denied this in several interviews,^[22][5] elaborating "I embrace both my light and dark side".^[5] However, Danzig has voiced his approval of certain Satanic ideologies including its quests for knowledge and individual freedom.^[22][23]

Discography

The Misfits

• Walk Among Us (1982) - LP
• Earth A.D. (1983) - EP
• Legacy of Brutality (1985) - Compilation
• Misfits (1986) - Compilation
• Collection II (1995) - Compilation
• Misfits Box Set (1996) - Compilation
• Static Age (Recorded 1978. Released 1997) - LP
• 12 Hits From Hell (2001) - CD (deleted prior to official release)

Samhain

Studio albums

• Initium (1984) - LP
• Samhain III: November-Coming-Fire (1986) - LP

E.P.

• Unholy Passion (1985) - EP

Compilations

• Final Descent (1990) - LP
• Box Set (2000)

Live albums

• Samhain Live '85-'86 (2001) - LP

Official Videography

• Live 1984 at the Stardust Ballroom (2005) - DVD

Glenn Danzig & the Power and Fury Orchestra

Soundtracks

• "You and Me (Less Than Zero)" Less Than Zero Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1987)

Danzig

Studio albums and musical works

• Danzig (1988) - LP
• Danzig II: Lucifuge (1990) - LP
• Danzig III: How the Gods Kill (1992) - LP
• Danzig 4p (1994) - LP
• Danzig 5: Blackacidevil (1996) - LP
• Danzig 6:66: Satan's Child (1999) - LP
• Danzig 7:77: I Luciferi (2002) - LP
• Circle of Snakes (2004) - LP

E.P.

• Thrall/Demonsweatlive (1993) - EP
• Sacrifice (1997), (reissued 2000 with extra tracks) - EP

Singles

• "Mother" (1988) - promotional CD single (this song was also featured on RedOctane's "Guitar Hero 2", and the soundtrack to Rockstar's "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas", on the radio station "Radio X")
• "Her Black Wings" (1990) - promotional CD single
• "Killer Wolf" (1990) - promotional CD single
• "A Taste Of Danzig III" (1992) - promotional CD single
• "Dirty Black Summer" (1992) - CD single
• "How The Gods Kill" (1992) - promotional CD single
• "It's Coming Down" (1993) - promotional CD single
• "Mother '93" (1993) - promotional and wide-release CD singles
• "Until You Call On The Dark" - (1994) - promotional CD single
• "Brand New God" (1994) - promotional CD single
• "Cantspeak" (1994) - CD single
• "I Don't Mind The Pain" (1995) - CD single
• "7th House" (1996) - promotional CD single
• "Sacrifice" (1996) - CD single
• "Unspeakable" (1999) - promotional CD single
• "Wicked Pussycat" (2001) - promotional CD single

Compilations

• The Lost Tracks of Danzig (2007) - 2-CD collection of rare and unreleased songs

Soundtracks

• "Deep" Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by the X-Files (1996)
• "UnderBelly of the Beast" The Crow: Salvation Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2000)
• "Thirteen" The Hangover (2009)

Live albums

• Live on the Black Hand Side (2001) - double-LP

Official Videography

• Danzig (1990) - VHS ^[24]
• Lucifuge: The Video (1991) - VHS ^[24]
• Danzig III: How the Gods Kill: Special Limited Edition CD/VHS Box Set (1992)
• Archive de la Morte (2004) - DVD
• Il Demonio Nera (2005) - DVD

Solo

Studio albums

• Black Aria (1992) - LP
• Black Aria II (2006) - LP

Singles

• "Who Killed Marilyn?" (1981) - 7" single

Other

• Less Than Zero Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1987) (Danzig co-wrote the song "Life Fades Away," performed by Roy Orbison)
• Kinghorse (1990) (Eponymous debut album produced by Danzig)
• American Recordings by Johnny Cash (1994) (Danzig wrote the song "Thirteen")
• Songs from the Earth by Son of Sam (2001) (Extra guitar and keyboards on "Songs from the Earth", and extra guitar on "Stray")
• Gorgeous Frankenstein (2007) (Eponymous debut album produced by Danzig)

References

External links

• 7th House - Official Danzig Fansite
• Danzig Serbia - Serbian fan page
• Misfits Central
• Misfits – One Thirty Eight
• Glenn Danzig at the Internet Movie Database
• Glenn Danzig audio interview from Synthesis (Magazine)
• The Onion AV Club (A) [4]
• Angry fans after 2007 Baltimore show advertised as "Classic Songs By The Misfits"