''Danzig'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Danzig, released in August 1988. The album was the first release on producer

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popula ...

's new label

Def American Recordings American Recordings (formerly Def American Recordings) is an American record label headed by producer Rick Rubin. The label has featured artists such as Slayer, the Black Crowes, ZZ Top, Danzig, Trouble, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, The Mother Hi ...

. Def American's successor, American Recordings, reissued the album in the United States and United Kingdom in 1998. It remains the band's best-selling album having been

certified gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in the U.S. in 1994, and has since been certified platinum. Danzig promoted the album with a successful world tour in 1988–1989.

Music and recording

''Danzig'' was recorded at Atlantic Recording Studios and Chung King Metal, and mixed at Smoke Tree and Village. These sessions took place between September 1987 and April 1988. The song "

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ...

", retitled as "Mother '93" and with live audience overdubs, became a hit on radio and

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

in 1993–94 after a new video-single with live footage was created to mark its inclusion on ''

Thrall-Demonsweatlive ''Thrall-Demonsweatlive'' is an EP by American heavy metal band Danzig. It was released in 1993 on Def American Recordings and has been certified Gold. Music and recording The EP is split into two sections. The first section, ''Thrall'', cons ...

''. The song was also later included on various hard rock and heavy metal music compilations, and featured in the video game series ''

Guitar Hero ''Guitar Hero'' is a series of music rhythm game video games first released in November 2005, in which players use a guitar-shaped game controller to simulate playing primarily lead, bass guitar, and rhythm guitar across numerous songs ...

''. It also appeared on the soundtrack to the 2013 film ''

The Hangover Part III ''The Hangover Part III'' is a 2013 American action comedy film and the sequel to ''The Hangover Part II'' (2011), both produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the third and final installment in ''The Hang ...

''.

Glenn Danzig Glenn Allen Anzalone (born June 23, 1955), better known by his stage name Glenn Danzig, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, film director, and record producer. He is the founder of the rock bands Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig. He owns ...

originally wrote the songs "Twist of Cain" and "Possession" for his previous band,

Samhain Samhain ( , , , ; gv, Sauin ) is a Gaelic festival on 1 NovemberÓ hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 402. Quote: "The basic Irish division of the year ...

. Lyrically, "Twist of Cain" is inspired by the biblical story of

Cain and Abel In the biblical Book of Genesis, Cain ''Qayīn'', in pausa ''Qāyīn''; gr, Κάϊν ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl / Qāyīn and Abel ''Heḇel'', in pausa ''Hāḇel''; gr, Ἅβελ ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hābīl ...

. Guitarist

John Christ John Christ (born John Wolfgang Knoll on February 19, 1965) is an American musician best known as the original guitarist for the metal band Danzig. He has been known for his bluesy hard rock sound and frequent use of the pinch harmonic. Chri ...

described the recording of "Twist of Cain": "We started writing that song even before

rummer A rummer (also known as a Römer or Roemer, among other variations) was a type of large drinking glass studded with prunts to ensure a safe grip, popular mainly in the Rhineland and the Netherlands from the 15th through the 17th century. Rummers ...

Biscuits A biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be ...

joined the band. At first we started recording it in G, then at the last minute we decided that A was better. We kept the drum tracks as they were and re-recorded the guitars, bass and vocals. Not many people know this, but

James Hetfield James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder and a main songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his intricate rhythm playing, but occasionall ...

(of

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

) came down and recorded some backing vocals on that track." Hetfield also recorded backing vocals on "Possession"; however, due to contractual reasons, he could not be credited in the album insert. A backwards piano track is used during the intro to "Possession". John Christ has described "She Rides" as "Our first sex song...it's such a stripped-down song, just a couple of guitar tracks and almost no bass. "She Rides" probably has the best vocal performance on the album, though. There are also some really weird background noises and moaning sounds on it." Generally the song refers to mythology on

Lilith Lilith ( ; he, לִילִית, Līlīṯ) is a female figure in Mesopotamian and Judaic mythology, alternatively the first wife of Adam and supposedly the primordial she-demon. Lilith is cited as having been "banished" from the Garden of Ed ...

. References to "she rides/from the daylight in chains" reflect traditional methods for binding demons. The song also appears to take inspiration from the poetry of

Christopher Brennan Christopher John Brennan (1 November 1870 – 5 October 1932) was an Australian poet, scholar and literary critic. Biography Brennan was born in Haymarket, an inner suburb of Sydney, to Christopher Brennan (d. 1919), a brewer, and his wife ...

, in particular part xiii of the "Lilith" sequence of The Forest of Night: "She is the night: all horror is of her..." While the album's liner notes expressly state "All songs written by Glenn Danzig", the song "The Hunter" was written by Booker T. & the M.G.'s and Carl Wells. Originally recorded by

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...

, the Danzig version of the song only features slightly modified lyrics. Folk musician

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Flophouse, Palace Br ...

recorded a cover version of "Am I Demon" for his 2007 EP '' Ask Forgiveness''.

Artwork and packaging

Original LP, CD, and cassette versions of the album cover had no identifying text whatsoever, only a white skull on a black background. The skull, also used on the Samhain albums ''

Initium ''Initium'' is the 1984 debut album by American deathrock band Samhain, released on lead singer Glenn Danzig's independent record label Plan 9. In various interviews, Danzig stated that the album's title, which translates from Latin to English ...

'' and ''

November-Coming-Fire ''Samhain III: November-Coming-Fire'' is the second studio album by American deathrock band Samhain. It was released in February 1986, through lead singer Glenn Danzig's independent record label, Plan 9. Background ''November-Coming-Fire'' ...

'', was taken from the cover of the Marvel comic book ''

The Saga of Crystar ''The Saga of Crystar, Crystal Warrior'' was an 11-issue fantasy-based comic book published by American company Marvel Comics in 1983. It was associated with a toy line from Remco, consisting of seven figures, some vehicles and accessories. Produ ...

'', ''Crystal Warrior'' (issue 8). It was drawn by artist Michael Golden, who is not credited. Later pressings of the compact disc added the Danzig band name logo in the lower right. While 1990–1998 pressings of the CD had the

Parental Advisory Advisory (abbreviated PAL) is a warning label introduced by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1985 and adopted by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2011. It is placed on audio recordings in recognition of profan ...

label in the form of a sticker on the cellophane wrap, pressings since 1998 have the label printed on the artwork. ''Danzig'' is one of few albums labeled as "explicit" despite the virtual absence of profanity, save for one use of "whore". Glenn Danzig commented on this use of the advisory label: "That's because of its content. We're making people think. You're not allowed to make people think in the United States. You're not allowed to have them question the government or authority."

Reception

* ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

'' - "Danzig debuts with a record of simple, pounding, bluesy metal featuring lead singer Glenn Danzig's trademark Elvis-meets-

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and err ...

bellow and outlandishly dark, evil lyrics. There isn't a great deal of musical variety or complexity here, but the band powers its way through such signature tunes as 'Twist of Cain,' 'Am I Demon,' and the (future) hit 'Mother' with a primal energy." * ''

Thrasher Thrashers are a New World group of passerine birds related to mockingbirds and New World catbirds. Like these, they are in the family Mimidae. There are 15 species in one large and 4 monotypic genera. These do not form a clade but are ...

'' - "Glenn Danzig has built up a new unit that's so damn powerful, so relentlessly brutal, it staggers the senses just to comprehend. The ensemble drives forth with a new force, an ambitious direction and absolutely ferocious power. Glenn's vocals have matured with age; his croons are commanding expressions of the full range of his voice...the music explodes with a vigorous combination of hooks and punches that wallop a tight, clean drive; a forceful nucleus of hard rocking energy. All together Danzig provide a heavy dose of pure entertainment that has awesome momentum and pile-driving fury. ''Danzig'' becomes more impressive with every listen." * ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' - "''Danzig'' is a crunchy and lusty demonic cross between

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

Misfits Misfits or The Misfits may refer to: Film and television * ''The Misfits'' (1961 film), a film starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, and Montgomery Clift * ''The Misfits'' (2011 film), a Mexican film * ''The Misfits'' (2021 film), an American ...

and

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped def ...

. Roughly half of the album is ominous and mighty, the rest displays the weak underbelly of Rubin's thinly homogeneous production." In 2017, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' ranked ''Danzig'' as 23rd on their list of 'The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time'.

Music videos

Music videos were released for the songs "Twist of Cain", "Am I Demon", "Mother" and "She Rides". Upon its release the music video for "Mother" was banned by

for containing controversial imagery. All four music videos later appeared on the ''Danzig'' home video.

Track listing

All songs written by

, except "The Hunter" (Jones/Jackson/Dunn/Cropper/Wells).

Credits

– vocals *

Eerie Von Eerie Von (born Eric Stellmann; August 25, 1964) is an American musician best known as the original bassist for the heavy metal band Danzig. His preferred bass is the Fender Jazz Bass. Early life Eerie Von was raised in Lodi, New Jersey. ...

– bass *

– guitars *

Chuck Biscuits Chuck Biscuits (born Charles Montgomery on April 17, 1965) is a Canadian drummer best known for his work in several punk rock bands. Biscuits was a member of D.O.A. from 1978 to 1982, playing on the band's first two albums before briefly join ...

– drums *

– uncredited background vocals on "Twist of Cain" and "Possession" Production *

– producer * Dave Bianco – engineer * Steve Ett – engineer * Jim Scott – engineer * Howie Weinberg – mastering * Barry Diament – CD mastering *

Mark Weiss Mark Weiss is an American rock music photographer. His most widely recognized photographs capture the look and aesthetic of music and celebrity personalities of the 1980s. His work with publications such as ''Circus'' magazine and ''FACES'' hel ...

– photography

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danzig (Album) 1988 debut albums Danzig (band) albums American Recordings (record label) albums Albums produced by Rick Rubin Albums recorded at Chung King Studios