The Devil And Glenn Danzig

In the waning days of the 1980s, shortly after current TV Dad Ozzy Osbourne had abdicated, and before Marilyn Manson took over, Glenn Danzig occupied rock's Satanic throne. Danzig, a founding member of the legendary hardcore punk band the Misfits, later graduated to the more metal-oriented Samhain before forming his own dark rock band. Enlisting the help of drummer Chuck Biscuits, guitarist John Christ, and bassist Eeerie Von, Danzig became synonymous with Lucifer-tinged lyrics and eerie but heavy guitar rock. Although the band's message is sometimes repetitive and filled with cartoon horror ("Kiss The Skull" is one title from their new CD), their music is constantly evolving.

One of the first bands on Rick Rubin's Def-American Records, Danzig's self-titled first CD, replete with mysterious line drawing of a devil /goat head, contained Beelzebub themed music with no breather track in earshot. Unlike most of the death and mayhem bands before and since, there was definitely a sexy, bluesy threard permeating the songs. The titles alone ("She Rides", "Am I Demon") were aphrodisiac enough for budding Goth metalheads. The original recorded version of "Mother" also appeared on this disc.

1990's Lucifuge continued in the same vein thematically, but the music took on a new dimension with boogie-tinged number, slide guitar, and even a ballad! The first video for Lucifuge, (the eerie yet cheesy "Her Black Wings") even managed to be banned from MTV for awhile. Thankfully, Headbanger's Ball came to the rescue, and Danzig videos were among the show's staples just before grunge confiscated the airwaves.

By the release of 1993's How The Gods Kill, the over the top Spinal Tap image had dissipated slightly and more emphasis was placed on song structure and creative ways to compliment the horror movie lyrics. Headbanging riffs gave way to more melodic and even experimental textures.

Following the release of Thrall-Demonsweat, the live EP that broke Mother as a hit single, each succeeding Danzig CD forged more challenging musical ground without swaying from the dark subject matter so intrinsic to their identity. Glenn released a solo CD, the ambitious semi-classical concept piece Black Aria and the band contributed a song, Thirteen, to Johnny Cash's American Recordings.

Danzig's original line-up crumbled in 1994, shortly after the release of Danzig 4. Initial recordings by the new line-up (Glenn, guitarist Tommy Victor, drummer Joey Castillo, and bassist John Lazie) Danzig 5:Blackacidevil and 6:66 Satan's Child failed to capitalize on the notoriety the band had cultivated via Mother and their MTV videos.

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