Poaching Danzig's Later Catalog

Glenn browsing Ebay

“I don’t know why Glenn is the way he is.”

-  Eerie Von (Samhain, Danzig)

It’s kind of a given that the stuff after Danzig’s 4p isn’t really that great. The song writing and production is uneven and his voice often sounds, well, tired. But really, I think it comes down to focus. The band started to have revolving members and there was very little consistency in direction and playing ability after 1995. Sure, you could argue that Joey C took over drums in late ‘94 (until 2002!) and is a great drummer, but he is the WRONG drummer for Danzig. It’s not a skill or talent question; it’s just a stylistic mismatch. Danzig requires a strong solid drummer who is cool to be in the background- Joey’s drumming becomes the brightest star on the records he recorded with Danzig and can detract from the songs themselves. Tommy Victor drops in and out, as does Josh Lazie and Todd Youth. Touring Lineups have (Mostly) stabilized over the past 10ish years, but FIVE different drummers (including Glenn Danzig himself) Played on Black Laden Crown, his last original studio album. FIVE. But we’ll kind of get to that. 

It’s not to say there’s not good stuff on the Danzig albums post ‘94- there is, it just requires cherry picking that didn’t need to be done on the original band’s records (OK, maybe skip Sadistikal). But fear not, I have put in the time, done the work and will show you how to successfully poach Danzig’s catalog over the past 30 years. I will advise you, weary traveler, on the songs in order of release- it is up to YOU to decide in which track order you will build your mix tape, or playlist, but as you will read – a streaming playlist will have complications.

 

1996- Deep- from the X-Files - Songs in The Key of X Soundtrack:

A song written for and appearing in a March 1996 episode of the X Files, the first hint that something was going to be VERY different with the impending Danzig 5. This slightly industrial plodder is still standard Danzig fare as far structure goes and the “8^th grader writes a Sabbath Riff” guitar is satisfying (it’s Glenn on guitar on this one). The production is stark and works well with the song. It’s not a song that’s going to get you on your feet, and the production makes it less sexy than if this song was on Lucifuge, but it’s enjoyable and despite David Duchovny working his magic and getting this song on the X Files soundtrack, looks like he has no pull with the gods of streaming or publishing, because, despite even appearing on the Lost tracks of Danzig compilation, Apple Music and Spotify are devoid of this track.

 

1996- Hint of Her Blood and Ashes-  5: Blackacidevil:

Blackacidevil is not good and the joys on it are few and far between. I still do not understand what the fuck is going on with this record, despite trying for 30 fucking years. Danzig, at times, uses the "Butthole Surfer’s guy" accent from Ministry’s Jesus Built my Hotrod. Glenn, we have heard your voice on countless records since 1977, this is not your voice- what are you doing? With its heavy NIN leanings, this is the first time that a record Danzig has performed on that sounds like it’s following, not leading. One could argue Sacrifice is a strong song on the record- Glenn’s voice is in fine form and the structure, despite the electronic industrial sounds and keyboards, is what we love Danzig for, but I don’t care for it. What I do care for though, is another one of the era’s plodders- Hint of Her Blood. I’m guessing it was written in the same mindset as Deep, as the two songs are pretty similar in feel. Again, points for the everyman Sabbath meat and potatoes riff but you cheese eaters can actually stream this one. I have to wonder if Danzig saw a bunch of hot women at an L.A. club in some latex tops and decided to write a whole ass record for them… but it’s his least evil sounding record and least sexy. It sounds forced and… Lame. Ashes closes out the record and it's NEARLY a perfect song, a nice (again plodding) quiet song with forced sound effects behind it, but the lack of guitar and the keyboards work here. It's also the strongest vocal performance on the entire record. Ashes is the only reason why I own this boat anchor of a record. 

 

 1999- Thirteen- 6:66 Satans Child:

I actually don’t hate Satans Child, there’s just some problems. Whereas I think this is the last time any money or true consideration was put into producing a Danzig album, it just SOUNDS BAD. There are these weird random sub bass drum hits and Glenns voice forever feels like he needs a little honey in his tea. Seriously, get him a fucking lozenge or something. But the album has a drive to it and a few stand out tracks, the top of which is Thirteen. Thirteen was written for Johnny Cash by Glenn Danzig and appeared on Cash’s 1994 album. This version was on the Hangover soundtrack a decade later and continues the plodding ways of a lot of the stronger later songs, this time without a Sabbathesque riff.

 

2002- Black Mass and Angel Blake- 777: I Luciferi:

Another record I don’t hate, 777: I Luciferi is uneven but not completely unlistenable. Seems like maybe Glenn had a couple sips of tea before stepping into the vocal booth and the performances are strong.  I think I saw Danzig the most during this era, with the BEST Danzig show I’ve ever seen being on this tour run in November 2003.  Black Mass has a great intro (albeit a little too drawn out) and gets you right on your feet. It’s a good rocker that deserves its place near the later era strong songs. Of course, on the album, all the good Black Mass did is immediately undone by the trash song Wicked Pussycat, where Danzig one again sound like a follower and not a leader. Other songs fall into this as well, kind of going where Marilyn Manson and Korn had been just a couple of years previous, with the saddest of these being The Coldest Sun, a song that has an Incredible chorus sandwiched between verses where you expect Glenn to start saying “the beautiful people, the beautiful people.” I know Danzig would never see it that way, but you know what they say about horses and water. Speaking of water, Angel Blake (lives by the lake) is a fucking banger of a track and one of the best 21^st century Danzig songs. It’s got kind of a Led Zeppelin feel during the chorus and sounds huge and I swear to god there’s a flute melody in there too. Angel Blake is also the song that does the most justice for the album’s production as the production does for it.

 

2004- Black Angel, White Angel- Circle of Snakes:

My god Circle of Snakes is a slog. I hate, I mean HATE how this record sounds and how it’s mixed. The choice to down tune to the key of x (see what I did there?) was a poor choice and the guitar sounds like mud. I like the drumming on the record, but there’s no warmth to be found in the production and Glenn’s powerful voice finds itself buried in amateurish riffs. As a matter of fact, “amateurish” is how I’d describe the production of all the 21^st century Danzig albums. There’s like three songs toward the end of the record that are nearly impossible to discern from each other and sound like they’re just a slightly different part of the same tune. But, there is redemption, all of these songs are just gate keepers and speed bumps to another contender for one of the best 21^st century Danzig songs- Black Angel, White Angel. This song should have been the main single on the album; Glenn and his label should have been all in on this track because it is stronger than any of the tracks released to that point since 4p. It’s a shame the rest of the album is practically unlistenable and Skincarver can get fucked. No one likes that song except Danzig himself. NO ONE GLENN.   

 

2007- The Lost Tracks of Danzig:

This one has so many great tracks I’m going to end up getting more into the weeds. It almost doesn’t seem fair that tracks from the original band go here, but as this stuff wasn’t released until 2007, here we go. Pain is Like an Animal, When Death Had No Name (alt take), Angel of the Seventh Dawn, Cold, Cold Rain and Satan's Crucifiction are all choice offerings from this compilation of outtakes and rarities from 1988-2004. Covers aside, there are a couple of clear stinkers that should have remained unreleased from their era but I’m not going to mention them here. The acoustic version of Come to Silver, a boat anchor on Danzig 5, is pretty strong in this loose jingly presentation and Warlock, which sounds like it was recorded with a 4 track and a drum machine in Glenn’s Livingroom (making full use of the Mother riff) brings something to the table that most Danzig material does not. Crawl Across Your Killing Floor Absolutely insane to me that this was left off of 6:66, as it’s a stronger track than anything that actually MADE THE ALBUM. This song has a classic Danzig feel through and through. Danzig was smart and made this the lead video “single” for Lost Tracks. Great track. Lastly, Bound by Blood, an outtake from 777, another song that should have absolutely made that album (instead of Wicked Pussycat perhaps?) Another great track. Perhaps Lost tracks should stand on its own, but then I wouldn’t have a theme here, would I? Maybe this collection should have been just one disc? I don’t know, we’re building a mix tape here. Why didn’t I say playlist? Oh- that’s because The Lost Tracks of Danzig isn’t streaming either.

 

2010- Deth Red Moon, Pyre of Souls: Seasons of Pain, Left Hand Rise Above- Deth Red Sabaoth:

Well, well, well. We’ve finally made it to the BEST of the later Danzig albums, Deth Red Sabaoth. Honestly, this record is the best record since 4p and highest charting (35^th) since (4p charted at 29) and there’s a reason for that- It actually SOUNDS like a Danzig record. Sure, it’s not perfect, it does contain JUJU Bone, but it’s the 5^th best Danzig record, and Johnny Kelly is the right guy on drums. Deth Red Moon should have been the lead single from this record, it’s the strongest song because, well, it sounds familiar. That’s the thing about most of DRS, it’s sound familiar, like Glenn is finally ready to embrace what made his namesake band so fucking popular in the first place. All three of the songs listed here are absolutely stunning, classic sounding Danzig tracks. Back again is some of the blues feel of earlier releases, a lot of it is because Johnny Kelly locks in the beat properly, which makes up for Tommy Victor’s mediocre lead work. Like Lost tracks, perhaps this record should just stand on it’s own and maybe without JUJU Bone and better cover art I would say that 100%, but again, that’s not the exercise for our mix tape. Danzig must hate stuff that’s really good because the Misfits Walk Among Us, all of the Samhain catalog and Lost Tracks and DRS are not streaming. (DRS is NOW streaming since as of September 2026)

 

2017- Last Ride, Pull the Sun- Black Laden Crown:

Any gains made with the Lost Tracks and Deth Red Sabaoth were almost completely undone with the covers album Skeletons and Black Laden Crown, an uneven dumpster fire of an album that offers up one good track and one great track surrounded by songs that are fucking cement shoes dragging this album into the murky depths to drown. I could seriously write all day about how I hate the slow boring pace of the record and the ONE TIME the pace pops up in the title track, I’m absolutely furious that Johnny Kelly did not do a fill leading into it, you and I know he’s better than that, his playing on Deth Red Sabaoth SHOWED that he’s better than that and makes me believe the part was tacked on. Anyway, Last Ride is a good song that suffers from a terrible video and that Glenn himself plays drums on it. But the structure is there the chorus is there… The song is there. Every single track on the album is two minutes too long. And that is a detractor for most of it, but it helps Pull the Sun, the only song on the record that it seems to help, lulling your senses into submission, almost forgetting how underdeveloped and BAD this album sounds. I feel like no care was put into its production, like Glenn wanted to do a record and just pulled in who he could (FIVE DRUMMERS) at any given time to record, without workshopping anything or giving anything a second thought. The mix is bad, the tones are bad and most of the songs are too. I think the miracle here is that there’s any passable songs at all but I think Glenn’s talent shows through with these two tracks.

 

And there you have it. 21 tracks poached from Danzig’s records post the classic era. If you want to get technical, yes, I guess it’s 16 tracks because 5 of the Lost Tracks songs are THE GUYS, but whatever, let’s not OVER think this whole Danzig thing.

 

 

My on again, off again with The Misfits Part 3

I never expected to write a part 3, but here we are... (part 1, part 2)

Maybe something bad, maybe something good

4 years ago this month, I ventured with some friends to the annual "This is Hardcore" fest in surly, yet wonderful Philadelphia, PA, I went for the camaraderie and not to really see a specific band per se. The Jerry Only fronted version of the "Misfits" were headlining Saturday night, which had the most bands playing that I was interested in (Killing Time, Cro-Mags, and after the fact, surprisingly, Biohazard were a highlight) so I was kinda looking forward to that, especially when I saw they were going to play Earth AD in it's entirety.  Alex, Milford and I had traveled to "Natefest" earlier in the year and it was a solid crew to be travelling with.

Alex, Milford and the Author.

The shows were what festivals always are: fun at times, but arduous at best. The Misfits came on late on Saturday and the Crowd was initially amped, but without a front man, the 39 song set just seemed to drag after like the 8th or 9th song. As the set steamed a long, Milford turned to me and said "I'd never thought I'd be so bored hearing these songs." I agreed. This line up was not BAD they played just fine and was certainly better than some of the late 90's and early 2000's shows I had seen, but it was unbelievably NOT captivating.  If you watch the video of the set, it seems like they lose the crowd pretty fast.

After that, I pretty much thought I was done seeing the Misfits (again), why would I want to watch songs I absolutely love be so absolutely mundane? Not to mention, but I had seen the whole "Danzig and Doyle" thing twice and they absolutely crushed the 8 or 9 Misfits songs they did for those shows, plus they were sandwiched in between absolute classic Danzig material. On that 2005 tour, Danzig had his best post-John Christ era guitarist, Joe Fraulob, on guitar. Sad that he didn't make it longer, he could actually play the leads with the skill and feel they require. On the 2006 tour he had Kenny Hickey, another totally legit stand in for John Christ. Those dudes, plus Doyle, put the 2015 Jerry trio to shame. Not to mention in 2006, they did a bunch of Samhain songs too, apparently at Kenny's behest.

Joe Fraulob and the 'Zig 2005, by Maurice Nunez

Kenny Hickey, lifted from a Myspace fan page (lol)

Listen, I love Danzig... Misfits, Samhain and the eponymous band, it just strikes a chord with me. But this love comes with conditions. Danzig's last two records, Skeletons and Black Laden Crown were bargain bin fodder and the Misfits without him is so fucking spotty, it's really not worth the effort. But two weeks ago, tickets for the June 29th "Original Misfits" show in LA practically fell in my lap and I made plans to go and I am so glad I did.

Werewolf bar mitzvah, spooky, scary 

I gave my spare ticket to Adrian, who plays guitar in Tuning on the condition that we take his car. It also worked out that we could stay at his brother's place in Ventura. The trip was planned and actualized fairly quickly and soon enough we were at the Banc of California stadium. We ran into, and then hung out with, Andy Coretex (who was responsible for the Tuning record even happening) and his family the whole day. The thing is, although we checked out where our far-away-from-the-stage seats were, we never actually sat in them, as there was a snack area, with a much closer view of the stage had a railing you could watch the show and eat at- and that's where we stayed for the whole show.

I'm having the time of my life here.

The Cro-Mags set was hit and miss, I'm not sold on this latest Harley incarnation, the Age of Quarrel songs sounded terrible, but the Best Wishes songs ruled. Anti-Nowhere League sucked, flat out and The Distillers were terribly uninteresting in this setting. Rise Against were pretty good, I really like their first few records and don't terribly mind the radio rock hits, plus Dead Hearts played with they when they were on the way up and they were really fucking cool. The crowd started to fill out 1/2 way through their set- by the time the Misfits took the stage, there were A LOT of people in that stadium.

The Misfits raged through 30 songs, all played with intensity and with 100% devastating effectiveness. I've gone over the set a hundred times in my head the past three day and it's been tough to really find the words to describe it aside from the typical- AWESOME! AMAZING! INCREDIBLE! But that's exactly what it was, awesome, amazing and incredible. I highly doubt the Misfits reunion shows that came before or that will come after will be as good. I think this is the prefect show to finally put the Danzig baby to rest, end on a high note. Especially considering there will be no higher note than the HILARIOUS $10 parking lot bootleg I got with a terribly drawn likeness of the current band on the front and the MICHAEL GRAVES era on the back! Bravo!

The Front

The Back

The Author Enojoying

Danzig and I, Part 2: Orgy Sounds?

The author circa 1999. Ignore that awesome attempt at facial hair

This is a follow up to part one from 6 years ago.

I think the late 90’s were a time nearly completely devoid of good music. Those of us who invested time is some sort of “underground” music scene had just fought off the big business of alternative rock as hard as we could, only to have "nu metal" explode and bring an even bigger type of douche bag sniffing around. Everyone suddenly went from trying to show how introverted and emotional they were to showing how fucking “extreme” they were. People were down with the sickness, doin’ the Dew, all for the nookie, feeling like a freak on a leash, and generally annoying as fuck.

Take us seriously.

Even Glenn Danzig, after the huge misfire of Danzig 5: Blackacidevil enlisted the help of two of the fucking guys from Orgy to mix his 6th album- Satan’s Child. I have mixed feelings on the record, 17 years later and though I saw Danzig many times during the touring cycle for it; latex shirts, rubber pants (Todd Youth, I’m looking at you) and the bass player’s baggy board shorts just made me wonder what his new backup band had against black jeans and looking/ being cool. Still, The Dorkzig era was pretty decent live and much better than what was going on during the tour for 5. The most exciting part of the announcement for the initial Satan’s Child US tour was that Samhain, Glenn’s prior band and kind of the transition band from the Misfits to Danzig, was going to perform each night. I felt at the time, and still feel to this day, that Samhain is the only one of Danzig’s bands that is untarnished.
My friends and I bought up tickets as soon as they went on sale for the Cleveland gig in November of ’99 and made the nearly 3 hour trek. Our money and time was not wasted;  Samhain belted out a seriously intense set. At the time, I thought that Samhain had largely been forgotten about, but people lost their damned minds during the set and I was no exception.
Samhain
Black Dream
All Murder, All Guts, All Fun
He-Who-Can-Not-Be-Named
Unholy Passion
All Hell Breaks Loose
Misery Tomb
To Walk the Night
In My Grip
Mother of Mercy
Halloween II
November's Fire
The Birthing
The most interesting thing about the show was that right after the blood soaked Samhain set was over, two members swapped out and Danzig played and Glenn’s on stage persona changed. During Samhain’s set, his on stage antics were less rehearsed, more “punk” for lack of a better word, and just raw. During the Danzig set we got the same, fired up, but disappointingly more “I’m in a rock band” delivery. The set, overall, was decent, with a nice surprise of the ripping Misfits track Earth A.D. at the end, but nothing to write home about, all that was on my mind was Samhain, Samhain, Samhain.
I saw some rather stale Danzig sets the next two years, but in November 2003, I saw the best Danzig show and one of THE BEST shows I have ever seen in Poughkeepsie, NY that as a result of directly changed my life and began the career path that I am still on 13 year later. But, as the end of Conan the Babarian says ” that is another story.”

Photo Evidence of a great reunion era Misfits gig

Remember that awesome Misfits reunion show in Toronto I posted about two weeks ago? I'm sure anyone who read that and knows how far the band and brand has fallen might be skeptical; but I had discovered photographic evidence! I stumbled across a flickr account with a few pics from the gig; it looks like a classic show. Thanks Shawn Merrill, whoever you are. STILL I wish there was video of that set.

Misfit May 10,1996 in Toronto

Danzig and I, Part 1: It's Coming Down

In 1988- 89 I got a copy of the self titled debut by Danzig on cassette. This is the same copy I wrote about in my blog a few days ago. I thought the album was amazing. It was dark and subtle in its approach. It truly was unlike anything I had heard at the time and it got repeated plays on my walkman. I can't explain how, a mere year and a half later, when I saw the video for "Killer Wolf" the vastness of my disappointment was. At the time, I was listening to more aggressive music than I had when I bought the first Danzig outing and jingle- jangle blues jams just weren't what my ears wanted to hear. I remember walking down Robinson Rd in my hometown talking to my friend Bob about how much I thought it was terrible. I wrote the album off and Danzig got no love from me for the rest of my high school career.

In 1995, I moved into my first apartment; a practical flop house with 11 rooms and 14 roommates nicknamed "Headquarters." No one ever did the dishes, we stayed up ridiculously late and most of the time I lived there, we didn't have cable. However, aside from the usual UHF channels and major networks we did get a pay-by-phone music video request channel called "The Box." On Occasion, one would be lucky enough to catch a Slayer video, but mostly it was whatever songs were popular in the inner city at the time. One afternoon while eating whatever awful vegan meal I had just prepared, I saw a music video that grabbed me and didn't let go; it was dark, a little twisted and sounded like it had come from the sleazy depths of hell itself. That video was "Until You Call On The Dark" and it's still one of my favorites to this day.

I couldn't believe how amazing the song was and THAT NIGHT, I went to every record store I liked in the city and picked up everything I could by Danzig: The 4p 12", the Mother 12" on purple, The Mother '93 cd single and the original inverted cross cd version of "Lucifuge." I was a little upset about abandoning the band 4 years prior and reveled in the music I had rediscovered. I needed to repent and luckily that time was at hand, the following month Danzig and company were going to play in Rochester, NY a mere hour away!

A week later, I went to purchase a ticket so I could just see these amazing songs live and the woman at the ticketmaster booth destroyed my dreams. That's right, the show was CANCELED.I found out months later, that it was because both guitar player John Christ and Bassist Eerie Von had quit the band. It would be a few more years before I saw Danzig, but that was ok because the Misfits were back, right?

Well, not quiet, but I was at that show and had fun, the "Newfits' hadn't written new songs yet and M. Graves just aped Glenn Danzig's moves and sound the whole night. Like I said, It was great, as was the show I saw them play a few months later in Toronto. After that, it was all downhill, but thankfully I found out that a new Danzig album was coming out and that he was coming TO BUFFALO!

I went to the Tuesday release for Danzig 5; "Blackacidevil," got home, popped it into the CD player and was DISGUSTED at what I heard. It is one of the worst albums I have ever purchased by an artist I love. Those Blayze Bayley Iron Maiden albums are pretty bad, sure, but at least they're still attempts at playing their style. Danzig 5 is a complete 180, an abomination of songs that I STILL cannot abide. Nonetheless, I went and saw the new Danzig band play that February 2, (1997) and it was decent. I remember at one point turning to my friend John and saying "this riff sounds like Sabbath?!?" To which he reply "It is!" apparently it was "Hand of Doom" but it was just barely recognizable. Like I said the show was nothing to write home about but it wasn't terrible, just not what I really wanted. I don't really like electronic music aside from some Devo and very little industrial so the new songs didn't do much for me. I will admit that the song "Deep" from the X-files soundtrack that preceded Danzig 5, I do like. Eh, sue me.

1999's "Satan's Child" was an improvement and I like some songs off the album, especially "13" which is now a minor hit thanks to the movie "The Hangover." But that wasn't the surprise Danzig had in store for the end of the 20th century. A bigger, more massive announcement was coming; a simple, unthinkable onetime rebirth of an evil classic known simply as "SAMHAIN."