By: Tom Lounges of EntertainmentPress.com
As founder of the seminal hardcore/punk band The Misfits, Glenn Danzig was no stranger to dark rock when he broke off to form the even darker Samhain, which evolved shortly thereafter into a group simply bearing his name, Danzig.
Rising from the underground to mainstream recognition in 1993 with the song, "Mother," Danzig has been to the '90s what his heroes, Black Sabbath, was to the '70s. Glenn Danzig has long been the dark angel of goth metal, making even Ozzy Osbourne seem like a choirboy. Nothing proves this more than his latest release, "6:66 Satan's Child."
"This is my sixth Danzig album," said Danzig, "and it's not any coincidence that the sixth record is coming out at the turn of the millennium. These two things made using the 666 reference too good to pass up."
In truth, the hand of fate is behind his sixth album's millennium tie-in. For three years, Danzig has been tied up in legal woes with Hollywood Records. It seems the Disney-owned label, was none to happy to discover Danzig signed to their roster.
After Rick Rubin's American Records crumbled, a bidding war erupted for Danzig. "American was a really dysfunctional label," he said. "I went with Hollywood because I was promised total autonomy and my own label (under Hollywood's umbrella). They told us no one from Disney had any say at Hollywood. That was bull, because three weeks into the deal, Roy Disney found out this crazy Satanic or whatever kind of band was on their label and he pulled the plug."
As a result, the group's fifth album, "Blackacidevil," was shelved and for the next three years the group fought for release from their contract.
Now free of corporate red tape, Danzig controls his career. "I hold all the cards now," he said. "This album is on my own label, Evilive, which is attached to E-Magine Records. Through them we have regular distribution through WEA and we also have a means of major Internet distribution too."
"6:66 Satan's Child" is dark, even by Danzig standards. "That's because of the pent up aggression from the whole Hollywood Records thing. It turned out to be a really good thing for the album though, because aggression is always what I use to write. It just so happened that there was a lot of extra aggression and anger for to tap into while making this one."
On board to mix seven of the 12 tracks were Jay Gordon and Amir Derakh of the group, Orgy. They give an inspired vibrancy to Danzig's darkness. "(We toured) for three weeks with Coal Chamber, and Jay and Amir had done their first album record and I liked it a lot," said Danzig. "Then I got a copy of Orgy's record and I really loved the sound. When it came time to mix my new album, I talked to them. I thought they could bring something (new) to my sound and they have."
Along with "6:66 Satan's Child," Danzig has several other projects in the making, including a boxed set of previously unheard Danzig tracks due in early 2000. "The 'Unreleased Tracks' will have unreleased songs from every album session we did," said Danzig. "Fans will love it, because there's some really good stuff there." If that is not enough for fans, an expansive boxed set of material from his previous band, Samhain, is also in the works.
For that reason, Glenn Danzig is pulling double duty on the current U.S. tour. Danzig is opening for his self-named group by performing with the reunited line-up of Samhain on the first U.S. leg of this tour.
"It's gonna be a cool package," he said of the Samhain box. "It's for the real Samhain fans and for people unable to get our albums since I pulled them from the market four years ago. It will have all the records, plus tons of unreleased tracks. Fans will hear Danzig songs like 'Twisted Cane' and 'Possession' in their earliest forms, because they started out as Samhain songs."
Live material and video footage are also planned for the collection. "This is going to be a real boxed set. Not some record company rip off," he said, taking a swipe at the boxed set recently released for The Misfits, with which he had no involvement and which he views with disdain.
A double-live Danzig album is also in the works. It will profile the band from 1989 up to and including shows from the current tour.
Also in the works for 2000 is a follow-up to Glenn Danzig's solo classical album, "The Black Aria," an early '90s album that will be re-released early next year).
"I don't know what I'm going to call it yet," he said. "It won't be called 'Part Two' or anything like that. I might give it a Japanese title, because I think there will be some strong Eastern influences on this one."
While he was well received in his role as a demonic fallen angel in the film, "Prophecy 2," there is no acting in the near future for Danzig. "I'm just way too busy with my music now," he said.
Word of him playing the character, Wolverine, in the upcoming live action film, "The X-Men," was premature. "They did ask me to read for the part, but they wanted like 8 or 9 months from me if I got it. I couldn't do it under those conditions because I wouldn't have been free (to tour) until June of 2000 and that was impossible. It would have been cool to do it, but it wasn't in the cards. I wish they would have made it (the picture) when I was having all my down time."
Even without Wolverine in his future, comic characters are still very much a part of Danzig's life. He owns Verotik, a company which publishes comic books and creates cold cast porcelain models called 'Super D's.'
"We call them 'Super D's,' because they are all done in the Japanese 'super deformed' style. They have the really big heads and the squashed little bodies." A line of Danzig models is in the works.
With so many projects heading to retail as we enter the new millennium, the demon-inspired rocker seems unfettered by beliefs that the world is coming to an end.
"That's where you are wrong. The new millennium is not actually until the year 2000 is over," he laughed. "People don't seem to realize that until 2000 is over, the millennium isn't over. There's still a whole year to go."
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