Danzig (album)
| Danzig | ||||
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| Studio album by Danzig | ||||
| Released | August, 1988 | |||
| Recorded | 1987-1988 at Atlantic Recording Studios and Chung King Metal in New York City | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal, blues rock | |||
| Length | 40:57 | |||
| Label | Def American, Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Rick Rubin | |||
| Danzig chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| College Music Journal | (favorable) [2] |
| Melody Maker | (favorable) [3] |
| Rock Hard |    [4] |
| Thrasher | (favorable) [5] |
Danzig is the 1988 debut album of the American heavy metal band Danzig, led by Glenn Danzig who was formerly the songwriter and vocalist of the Misfits and Samhain.
The album was also the first release on producer Rick Rubin's new label Def American Recordings.[6] Def American's successor, American Recordings reissued the album in the USA and UK in 1998.
Danzig is the band's best-selling full length album and was certified Gold in the U.S. in 1994.[7]
Contents |
[edit] Music and recording
Danzig was recorded at Atlantic Recording Studios and Chung King Metal, and mixed at Smoke Tree and Village.[8]
The song "Mother", retitled as "Mother '93" and with live audience overdubs, became a hit on radio and MTV in 1993-94 after a new video-single with live footage was created to mark its inclusion on Thrall: Demonsweatlive.[7][9] The song was also later included on various hard rock/heavy metal/alternative music compilations, and featured in the video games Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, True Crime: New York City, the Guitar Hero series, and F.E.A.R. 3.
Glenn Danzig originally wrote the songs "Twist of Cain" and "Possession" for his previous band, Samhain.[10] Guitarist John Christ described the recording of "Twist of Cain": “We started writing that song even before Biscuits 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 (of Metallica) came down and recorded some backing vocals on that track.”[11] 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.”[11]
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, the Danzig version of the song only features slightly modified lyrics.
[edit] Artwork and packaging
Original LP, CD, and cassette versions of the album cover had no writing or identifying text whatsoever, only a white skull on a black background. The skull, also used on the Samhain albums Initium and November-Coming-Fire, was taken from the cover of the Marvel comic book The Saga of Crystar, Crystal Warrior (issue 8). It was drawn by the artist Michael Golden.
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 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".
[edit] 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 MTV for containing controversial imagery.[12] All four music videos later appeared on the Danzig Home Video.[13]
[edit] Track listing
- "Twist of Cain" – 4:17
- "Not of This World" – 3:42
- "She Rides" – 5:10
- "Soul On Fire" – 4:36
- "Am I Demon" – 4:57
- "Mother" – 3:24
- "Possession" – 3:56
- "End of Time" – 4:02
- "The Hunter" – 3:31
- "Evil Thing" – 3:16
All songs written by Glenn Danzig, except "The Hunter" by Booker T. & the M.G.'s and Carl Wells
[edit] Credits
- Glenn Danzig - Vocals
- Eerie Von - Bass
- John Christ - Guitar
- Chuck Biscuits - Drums
- James Hetfield (Uncredited) - Backup vocals on "Twist of Cain" and "Possession"
[edit] Production
- Producer: Rick Rubin
- Engineers: Dave Bianco, Steve Ett, Jim Scott
- Mastering: Howie Weinberg
- CD Mastering: Barry Diament
- Photography: Mark Weiss
[edit] Charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The Billboard 200 | 125 |
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | "Mother" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 17 |
| 1994 | The Billboard Hot 100 | 43 |
[edit] References
- ^ http://allmusic.com/album/danzig-r5073
- ^ http://prod1.cmj.com/articles/display_article.php?id=12281
- ^ http://www.misfitscentral.com/display.php?t=darticle&f=melodym.88
- ^ http://www.rockhard.de/index.php?smod=p209MJ56rKOyMTyuWz1iMUIfo2qAo2D9pz9wn2uupzDhpzI2nJI3pl5xMKEunJkJnJI3Wzqlo3IjFHD9pzuspzI2nJI3WzAioaEyoaEWEQ0kAQH3ZvL%3D
- ^ http://www.misfitscentral.com/display.php?t=darticle&f=thrasher.87
- ^ Ma, Maria (December 10, 1988). "DANZIG: Def New Music". Concrete Foundations. http://www.misfitscentral.com/display.php?t=darticle&f=concrete.88. Retrieved 2011-12-28.
- ^ a b Chirazi, Steffan (Spring 1994). "Black Gold!". Kerrang!. http://www.misfitscentral.com/display.php?t=darticle&f=kerrang.94. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
- ^ Danzig liner notes
- ^ "On the Same Track". Entertainment Weekly. February 18, 1994. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,301185,00.html. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
- ^ Cipollini, Christian. "Glenn Danzig - Horror Business". Penny Blood. http://www.pennyblood.com/danzig.html. Retrieved 2010-04-16.
- ^ a b Kitts, Jeff (July 1994). "Prime Cuts: John Christ". Guitar School. http://www.misfitscentral.com/display.php?t=darticle&f=gschool.94. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ^ Zogbi, Mariana (Spring 1989). "Danzig on Thin Ice". Metal Mania. http://misfitscentral.com/display.php?t=darticle&f=mania.89. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
- ^ "Danzig - Home Video". Danzig-Verotik.com. http://www.danzig-verotik.com/danzig/discvideo/danzig_vid1.html. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
