Brief History
When he was 21 years old in 1977, Glenn Danzig (b.Glenn Anzalone) formed the influential American punk band, The Misfits. With Danzig as lead singer, they released a handful of singles, a few EPs and a couple of full length albums, including
Walk Among Us and
Earth A.D./Wolf's Blood. At the time, The Misfits did not have as much fame as they do today, but still had a cult following and were rising to popularity. But in 1983, The Misfits played there last show with Glenn as their lead vocalist and he later disbanded the group. He then formed his own project, titled Samhain. Glenn's new band focused more on the metal/goth/hard rock side of things rather than the punk rock that the Misfits played. The band also played a more complex musical style as oppose to the simplicity but effective music that of The Misfits. By 1987, after signing on to a major label and some band line up changes, Samhain dissolved and a new band was formed, entitled simply,
Danzig, with only one remaining member from Samhain, that being bassist Eerie Von. With his new band, Glenn still wrote the signature lyrics that he writes and is known for best; dark lyrics with subject matter ranging from horror stories, Halloween and demons ect. In 1988, Danzig release their debut self titled album on Rick Ruben's Def American.
Danzig-Danzig
The album had much better sound quality than the Misfits albums had which is very good because it showcases Glenn's vocal talent much more clearly. Glenn, who has an excellent, deep bluesy voice at which he demonstrated from the earliest point of his career, delivers a solid vocal performance here. His bluesy voice blends perfectly with the heavy guitar and drums. This debut album consists of ten solid hard rock tracks including his first hit with his new band,
Mother. Since the album only has ten tracks on it, I thought I would go through and summarize each one. The intriguing opening guitar riff leads us into the album opener
Twist of Cain. Though it is not as fast or hard as others on the album, it displays everything Danzig can do; a catchy beat, bluesy vocals, hard hitting guitar and strange, dark lyrics. The lyrics, by the way, tell a darker tale of biblical characters Cain and Abel. Twist of Cain is a great opening track and one of the best too.
Not of This World sounds very similar to Twist of Cain at first with the building opening guitar riff, but breaks down into a very different song in the verses. During the verses it is Glenn singing over some slow drumming and guitar and gradually gets faster. The song also features a well done guitar solo from John Christ as well as some solid drumming from Chuck Biscuits.
She Rides is a slower than the previous two with its burning guitar lines and Glenn's signature vocals slower than usual. A simple but effective drum beat opens up the song until the guitar and vocals kick in. The guitar is nothing too complex, but works well on this one. She Rides is one of the slowest on the album as the longest at over five minutes.
Soul On Fire is a very bluesy song that begins with Glenn singing Elvis style with no music until a basic guitar riff enters. With about thirty seconds left, the song gets very fast as the riff speeds up as John plays random guitar solos. Glenn delivers one of his best vocal performances on this track that makes this one of the best on the album.
One of the best songs ends the first half of the album.
Am I Demon has the chugging an extremely catchy guitar riff that remains noticeable throughout the entire song. The drumming is also catchy as ever. Glenn's vocals are at his best, like usual, but he explores different tones here that work very well. The song has some excellent classic Danzig-type lyrics that he does best. Danzig yells out in the chorus
Am I Demon! I need to know!" And in the verses he yells some graphic lyrics like
"Faces of a million hells; Rage inside these veins; Pounding out deserved pain; To anyone in need". An overall energetic and rocking song. This next song is one that many people are familiar with, regardless of whether they like Danzig or not.
Mother is Danzig's biggest hit to date and easy to see why. The song, however, did not get fully recognized until 1993, five years after it was released, until it received a steady play on MTV and radio air play. Mother is one of Danzig's best with the opening slow chords, and the verses slowly building up to the chorus, which is the best on the album in my opinion. The band gives a solid performance on the song, especially Chuck on drums. Definitely one of, if not the best on the album.
Possession has by far the strangest intro on the album as it opens with backwards playing and some voices talking. After a scream from Glenn the verse starts with a very heavy riff and some explicit lyrics as Glenn says
"I want to crawl inside your soul, Nestle in your brain, stand you on your head, crouch you on all fours". The song is very heavy and has some effective backing vocals in the chorus, but is not quite as good as compared to the two previous tracks.
End of Time is another one of the slower songs on the album. The song begins with soft guitar and Glenn whispering some words. The song remains mid-tempo built around a heavy guitar riff. Nothing instrumentally stands out too much here, but the vocals make up for it.
The Hunter brings back the hard rock. The song is very catchy and well done musically but the lyrics are not the best. I won't even bother writing in some samples from it. Besides the lyrics, this song is a solid track and one of the better one the album.
Evil Thing finishes the album in a good way. The song has one of the best guitar work on the album that continually changes tempos and riffs. There is really not much else to say except that the song is the shortest on the record clocking in at 3:15.
Overall, Danzig's debut is an impressive one and still remains as one of his best. There is not much diversity in the lyrics which some may not really like, but it's what Glenn writes about, and he writes them well. I would recommend the album to any fan of Glenn's previous bands, The Misfits and Samhain, and fans of hard rock/metal. A solid album and one worth checking out.
4/5
Danzig:
Glenn Danzig: Vocals
John Christ: Guitar
Eerie Von: Bass
Chuck Biscuits: Drums
Standout Tracks:
Mother
Am I Demon
Twist of Cain
Soul On Fire
