Three New Patches.

Check out these three new shoulder patches that I got.

Oh, and don't mind the other stuff! I just put that there.

Danzig: 4p T-Shirt

I remember about the time Danzig4p came out, I had already become completely obsessed with the group, the music and even the front-man himself, Glenn. I was totally ghey for the 'em... ya know, in that not so gay sort of way.

So I used to buy these cheesy-ass bootleg CD's from this place back home and as I was wandering through the place one day I notice multiple duplicate Danzig4p promotional posters on the wall in the corner. I ask the guy, "How much do you want for one of those?" He's like, "Those aren't for sale!" And I'm like, "What the fuck are you talking about!?"

Now, there was an obvious leak in the roof of this place and some other posters around these ones were already water damaged so I'm thinking if I'm going to own one I better get it now. The guy was having none of it. And mind you, at the time I was only fifteen years old! Sure, I was a smart ass for my time but scumbag adults that run shitty record stores shouldn't be conning moneys off of young kids anyways.

He tried to give me some shit and I told him to fuck off. A couple months later his roof caved in just above the posters and the entire corner of his store was ruined - walls, posters, merchandise underneath, all of it. We could have both gotten what we wanted that day: For him, money, and for me, a fuckin' free poster that I would have payed for! But the guy was a fucking douchebag son of a bitch and I hope he rots in hell. That fuck.

:)

Danzig: Group on White Silkscreen T-Shirt

Here's the front and back to what I believe to be an fairly obvious Bootleg t-shirt... [but you never know, I could be wrong for once (so let me know)]. I think I got this back in 96' at the Pipeline, and of course bought it on sight. It's Very heavy white silkscreen ink on an X-Large black t-shirt. Looks as if someone had drawn outlines or sketches from Danzig photographs and artwork, arranged it with a few original(?) mirrored skull and skeleton drawings and then had the shirt pressed.

Front: Danzig on the Throne.

Back: Beyond the Doors.

Personally, I think whoever did this did an admirable job for such a simplistic and one-hued design. I wore this shirt regularly back in the day as a matter of fact and even after about fifty (more or less) washings, to this day there's only that strange large crease mark in John Christ's face (see above) and also some slight fading on the right portion of the back side. Oh, and the black cloth didn't really fade at all either like many of my older shirts. The fade marks are easily fixable, but I'm not planning on wearing my classic shit anytime soon so why bother?

I just wish I had more information on this one. Seeing as it has been about fifteen years and I've never once seen this design or shirt anywhere online, it doesn't seem probable that I'll find any. Go ahead and bug me if you know where this came from.

Danzig: Bleeding Light T-Shirt

Here's a pic of my Officially Licensed Danzig t-shirt - known as "Jesus Bleeding Light" or "God Don't Like It". It was officially released in 1988 (or 1990?) and then in 1989 with the words "Summer 89'" underneath the back lettering.

"Hey let me help you off of that strange wooden contraption."

 Like much of his previous Misfits and SamHain record and promotional art, Glenn Danzig thought of the concept and designed this. One thing about Glenn as a designer is that he's always been talented with the artwork he creates, arranged or uses; often times utilizing bright and colorful motifs. This particular eye-catching, and some would say "controversial" collage, he was quite understandably proud of (as can be seen here in THIS INTERVIEW from the VHS of Danzig: The Videos, around the 1:05 mark.). 

Clowns scare God too.

Grinning with mischievous glee as he describes it, you can see Glenn obviously hamming it up in this dark and mysterious interview. Many people misunderstand Danzig's intentions when it comes to his words due to the black, cold image he developed early on and his often serious, dedicated tone. His playful and joking side is glaringly obvious to me, but he does what he can to make it as confusing as possible to anyone undeserving to be in on the fun of it all. And what's more fun than pissing people off? He's been intentionally trolling and even unintentionally pissing people off for years, but you know what? That's part of his fucked up charm.

I of course didn't buy this shirt in 88', 89', or even 90' as at the time that would make me roughly nine years old. Let's just say that I "found" it in my neighbor's mom's roommate's room when I was fifteen, and on that day God didn't like Me not liking the eighth commandment too much. And to think, my neighbor who I had known since I was four years old gave me shit about taking it. Even though he himself fuckin' tortured small animals, and he knew that I was a Danzig fiend... and on top of those two things, he didn't even really like the guy living there. The gall of that little bastard. I'm not the one that ripped my pet bunny's ear off, buried it quickly and then blamed it on the dog. But anyways.

Danzig - Skulls And Bones

Danzig - Skulls And Bones (CD, Jewel Case, Live Bootleg) [1993/94/95] ??? (Italy?)

Now we know why that blonde girl at the beach was nicknamed 'Firecrotch'!

01. Intro (Overture Of The Rebel Angels) / Brand New God [4:36] *
02. Snakes Of Christ [4:16] *
03. It's Coming Down [3:19] *
04. How The Gods Kill [6:41] *
05. Mother [3:30] *
06. Her Black Wings [4:55] *
07. Tired Of Being Alive [3:37] *
08. Twist Of Cain [3:35] *
09.  Long Way Back From Hell [4:41] *
10. Left Hand Black [4:41] *
11. How The Gods Kill [5:49(?)] **+
12. Mother '93 [3:13(?)] ***+

*Recorded Live: 6/17/94 at Orange County Fairgrounds; Middletown, NY

**+ Recorded Live: 10/31/92 at Irvine Meadows Amphitheater; Irvine, CA [Track is fucked!]
***+ From the "Live" Mother '93 Single / Music Video release. [Track is fucked!]

"It's too fucking hot for a shirt! This is Snakes Of Christ!" This show was recorded during the same tour (lets say about a month after) as the "Power Of The Dark Side" CD that I just wrote about. Luckily this sounds a lot better than the other one. There's some crackling, a lot of close-up crowd noise during the quiet spots and a bit of insanity here and there... but fortunately they fixed that distortion problem from the previous shows. This is a damn fine intro set, and if you're into Danzig's Live performances then there's really no reason to keep you from getting this provided you've got some extra cash. They played a few songs they don't normally play (Left Hand Black, for instance) and the sound, while not great, is acceptable and loud during both vocals and instruments.

I don't know what the fuck happened with the last two tracks. Apparently the guy who "mastered" this Bootleg either fucked up or thought that it would be a funny joke to speed up the sound on 'em? Or maybe this "company" RTW didn't think there was enough room on the CD so these two tracks had to become smaller files, who fuckin' knows. Does it work that way? I don't know. It's not chipmunk sound or anything, but halfway there... and rendered totally worthless. Perhaps this Bootleg company just wanted their CD to finish as the time 51:50. That's cool at least, but I don't think so. Maybe they thought How The Gods Kill lasted too long. They sure as shit though must have been insane to fuck with shit this way. IDIOTS!

Strange that they note on the CD back cover "Intro / Come To Getcha", just like Power Of The Dark Side. Sure, POTDS had problems with the last set, but this one is pretty much the solution to that problem, so why the inclusion of the two famous tracks only to distort them? Guess we'll never fuckin' know... right?

Danzig - The Power Of The Dark Side

Danzig - The Power Of The Dark Side (CD, Jewel Case, Live Bootleg) [1994] Italy.

Good job Chuck. "Yeah, this hat will block the sun better than sunglasses! See guyz... oh wait."

Yeah beitch, they call me Clean Gleen Shower Scene Danzig! Gotta problem?

01. How The Gods Kill [6:22] *

02. Mother '93 [3:28] **

03. Intro (Pre-Her Black Wings Medley) / Am I Demon [6:25] ***

04. Twist Of Cain [3:30] ***

05. Mother [3:12] ***

06. Evil Thing [2:54] ***

07. When Death Had No Name [4:59] ***

08. Not Of This World [3:41] ***

09. Intro (Overture Of The Rebel Angels) / Brand New God [5:08] ****

10. Snakes Of Christ [4:05] ****

11. It's Coming Down [3:10] ****

12. Mother [3:18] ****

13. How The Gods Kill [6:08] ****
14. Her Black Wings [4:23] ****

15. Twist Of Cain [3:50] ****

16. Long Way Back From Hell [4:47] ****
17. Dirty Black Summer [4:16] ****

* Recorded Live: 10/31/92 at Irvine Meadows Amphitheater; Irvine, CA

** From the "Live" Mother '93 Single / Music Video release.

*** Recorded Live: 7/7/89 at The Palace Theater; Hollywood, CA
**** Recorded Live: 5/30/94 at Darien Lake Amphitheater; Buffalo, NY

An interesting Bootleg I got here from "Metal Crash", bought it when I was probably fifteen and just found it to be killer! I've seen way worse Bootlegs in terms of quality, spelling errors, incorrect song titles (some of 'em just guess - I'll show you what I mean later with that)... but this one has to be one of the very Best out there! First off, take a look at that cover. That is one badass shot that they used! (Now, take a look at Glenn's 'final nail in the bootleg coffin' cover for "Live On The Black Hand Side", yeah, what's with the huge dirty looking hand? Who fuckin' designed that!? Uhg!) They got a clear inside tray with a cool group photo underneath, a picture disc, and a f'n eight page booklet w/ pics! Okay, so they spelt his name wrong... Eerie Von's got two E's and Glenn's got two N's, I guess it could be an honest mistake. All songs listed are correct except for "Come To Getcha" which is actually Brand New God but this Bootleg was released some four months before 4p so that's understandable.

I fucking LOVE this set piece! It was the most badass shit EVUR!

The first two tracks are listed as being recorded Live in the USA in 1993. How The Gods Kill was actually recorded during Danzig's most famous Live Date on Halloween in Irvine Meadows, California in 1992. Around this time they were working on their one and only EP to date, Thrall-Demonsweatlive, and compiled a few different video recordings of their song Mother to make a Music Video titled Mother '93 [Watch the MUSIC VIDEO]. They canned in audience recordings over their original song and set it to the video, and the results were absolutely explosive! The second track on this Bootleg is that recording. Their performance of HTGK from Irvine '92 has to be one of the best I've heard. Aside from watching the official Music Video [Uhhh, watch the MUSIC VIDEO] for the track, this Live performance is my favorite. [Note: Yahoo's got better quality, but the vid is CUT so here's the YTube one with teh boobies.]

Glenn playing darts backstage during intermission. Oh Glenn, you zany fucker.

The next six tracks, 3-8, recorded in not LA California, but rather The Palace Theater in Hollywood in 1989 are the real treasures found on this disc. This recording came a year before Lucifuge was released and before they start Am I Demon the band does this strange introduction that develops into the Her Black Wings riff before falling back and settling into the named track. These six tracks are stupendous quality, not only audio-wise but also in terms of their electric performances. John is shredding, Glenn is top form, Chuck is f'n going off and Eerie's fingers are bleeding! It's really cool to hear Not Of This World and especially Invocation on a Live CD. These fuckers WENT OFF and luckily it was captured on tape and preserved, because this is one show that when you listen to it, you're really going to wish you were there!

And then there's the next nine tracks from Buffalo, New York in 1994. Man, does the sound quality on this one suck. Wait, don't get me wrong, I've heard worse, a LOT worse than this actually... but compared to the first half of this Bootleg, this next set is pretty weak. If it were on its own, and you hadn't actually listened to the previous eight tracks, it probably wouldn't sound as bad (you know what I'm saying?). Hey, at least Now the disc feels like an actual Bootleg, right? There may have been problems with the set-up that day though, as there's a bit more squealing amp distortion than usual. So maybe their grips needed to get their shit together. Danzig's set list flows though, and it's cool to hear Brand New God then Snakes Of Christ then It's Coming Down back to back to back like that. Glenn definitely had a plan with that set list.

Simply put, a great fuckin' photo.

Despite the muffled sound of this last part, the show is energetic and the crowd is still as wild as ever. You can hear a lot of people talking to eachother durin HTGK so I wonder where the camera and/or recorder was located. I don't think Glenn is moving too much during this song, but now and then the distortion still hits hard. This set isn't their best performance, nor their best sounding, but its got a few moments of greatness. Maybe it's because they were playing right before Metallica at the time and all the roadies were fucked up. The band sounded great, but the situation was pure shite. All in all I'd say that this Bootleg CD is on par and even better than some of the Official releases. There's some classic shit here, and a great almost-shitty sounding show to end it all. Recommended.

Danzig - Sacrifice

Danzig - Sacrifice (CD, Jewel Case, Single) [1996] US.

Hollywood Record's art guy (name not listed) had a one-hour deadline with a half-hour lunch.

1. Sacrifice (Rust Mix) [3:47] *

2. Sacrifice (Trust Mix) [3:47] *

3. Sacrifice (Must Mix) [6:26] *

4. Sacrifice (Crust Mix) [6:29] *
5. Sacrifice (Martyr Mix) [6:20] **
6. Sacrifice (Album Version) [4:29] ***

* Remixed by J. G. Thirlwell
** Remixed by Joseph Bishara
*** Taken from the Danzig 5 sessions.

As bad as Danzig 5: BlackAciDevil is, especially when compared to Glenn's previous works, at least the music that he himself produced on that album isn't as horrid as these stupid-named Remixes are. The "Rust Mix" does its best job of covering Glenn's voice in distorted layers of shit until you can't even hear him. Some people have complained about this on albums 6 and onward, but on 5 he's loud and clear! Was this Remix a foreshadowing of things (or complaints) to come? The "Trust Mix" is essentially the "Rust Mix" but without the vocals at all! I guess covering 'em up wasn't enough. Heh. J.G.Thirlwell may have a somewhat impressive resume, and I own a few other CD's that he's done Remix work on, but this shit is uninspired and tired.

Despite the lack of vocals on the "Must Mix" (aside from one yell of "Sacrifice"), this seems to be the only track that the guy gave a fuck about. It feels like it could be in a Metroid game, sounds really nothing like the title track, and is weird enough to be considered OK. Joseph Bishara's one entry here sounds like the mutated child of the only good Thirlwell track and Danzig's far superior Original Version [Watch the MUSIC VIDEO]. This is the other OK track on this Single. If in fact this single consisted of the Original Version, the "Must Mix" and the "Martyr Mix" it would probably be a pretty decent release. Seeing as how Bishara did some work on one of the Mortal Kombat sequels and Heavy Metal: FAKK 2, I would have liked if he had another track on this to show off what else he could do.

This is no EP. It's a Single. This is the original release and not the Reissue with three bonus remix tracks. I have no desire to pick up the Reissue as even owning this dics displeases the hell out of me. The Reissue's cover art is actually well done, using the full picture that in this case has been blown up from eyebrows to chin and looks like total shit of a cover art job. The back of this atrocity looks like someone just straight ripped off an old NIN remix cd. I expect that kind of lazy shit from Trent and his art guys, but at least they sometimes have interesting backgrounds. This just looks like blurry, scratchy purple-ish trash. For shame. And the coverart isn't even a folded piece of paper either, it's just a straight double-sided insert job where the inner art is what's on the back cover, without the tracklist or other wording. Avoid!

Danzig - CantSpeak

Danzig - CantSpeak (CD, Maxi-Slim, Single) [1994/95] Germany.


Now that's some badass cover work! Bet it took three minutes.

1.Cantspeak (Album Version) [4:06] *

2. Cantspeak (Edit) [3:54] *
3. Twist Of Cain (Live) [4:25] **
4. Dirty Black Summer (Live) [4:14] **
 

* From the Danzig 4p sessions.
** Recorded Live: 12/19/1994 at Seattle Center Arena; Seattle, WA

I've always loved Danzig's song CantSpeak [watch the MUSIC VIDEO]. I didn't hate the slight change in direction that Glenn went with 4p. I embraced it and still to this day really feel that 4p and his two previous albums are his most accomplished works. If the man had remained on this technical level and perhaps had been more open to his bandmate's artistic influences, Danzig 5 would more than likely had been celebrated triumphantly and treasured by his fans. Unfortunately we all know what really happened. I dig the sound of this track and yeah, I even think it rocks when all that distorted shit kicks in around the middle mark. The music video's curious visuals and cool lightning effects amplify this songs strange feel and gives it another dimension. If only the Video had been included in this CD package instead of that Radio Edit track. Or perhaps even discard the Album Version and put Let It Be Captured as the secondary track. CantSpeak's instrumental is after all LIBC played backwards, so that would have been at least interesting.

The Live version of Twist of Cain here takes what can be a sometimes underwhelming & repetitive song and gives it a fresh mind-tingling vibe. John's guitar work here is insane, as he changes things up and inserts little bits of awesomeness all over the place for seconds at a time. The distortion is right on and it's got a gritty feeling that improves upon the original version. It's not technically perfect since it is a raw performance, but the band puts all of their effort into getting this one rockin'! On the second Live track here, Dirty Black Summer, Glenn seems to be really having fun with it. Sounds like he needs to drink a little water though near the end of it. It should be NOTED that these two tracks were recorded during that same concert in '94, yet were not included on the Black Hand CD Set from '01. That's a pity, but I guess it gives Danzig fans good reason to go out and find this Single. Even if it's for Twist of Cain alone. This is a worthwhile, yet imperfect Single.

Danzig - I Don't Mind The Pain

Danzig - I Don't mind The Pain (CD, Maxi-Slim, Single) [1995] Germany.

That cool looking Ouija Table on the back cover. Front cover, rather uninspired.

Line-up change. If only it had stayed this way afterwards...

1. I Don't Mind The Pain (Edit) [4:28] *
2. Going Down To Die (Album Version) [5:02] *
3. Bringer Of Death (Live) [6:35] **
4. Little Whip (Live) [4:55] **

* From the Danzig 4p Sessions.
** Recorded: 12/19/1994 at Seattle Center Arena; Seattle, WA

I don't know what's up with the Edit on the title track or the second track on the CantSpeak single, but they're both just under twenty seconds shorter and neither of the songs are profane so I'm just going to safely assume that they're both Radio Edits to make them both just under the four minute mark. As for the title track of this Single, I Don't Mind The Pain [watch the MUSIC VIDEO, which looks like Danzig stepped on the set of a Jean Rollin film using Dario Argento's old Imbibition Technicolor film stock (kinda)] is an interesting choice for the fourth single. I wouldn't have minded Sadistikal in its place, but this was the tracks destiny I guess (IDMTP is a bit more "catchy"). Hell, they made Little Whip a shirt. The Album Version of Going Down To Die, while a beautiful track, is still just the album version so I'm skipping it.

The real treat on this Single is the live track Bringer Of Death [watch a FAN VIDEO set to the film Masque of Red Death]. The sound is crisp, clear and the energy Glenn and the band have here is simply incredible! They're playing this song fast as fuck, but to perfection. Then they slow it down to just light drumming and Eerie Von's bassline, and Glenn starts whispering, telling the crowd to quiet down for a moment: "Shhhhh! I wanna hear the bones break. Shh! Yeah... I wanna hear another skull crush! Hahaha! HAHAHA!!!" Oh and that laugh he gives after he says that is diabolical let me tell you. I think this live version is even better than the one on the album.

Little Whip starts off, as usual, slowly, but Danzig and Co unleash a furious, blasting power during the finale of the song that you can really get into and feel. These two live tracks are outstanding, and I'm sure that Glenn thought so himself because in 2001 he released six tracks from his '94 live show in Seattle on the Double-Disc Live album "Live On The Black Hand Side". The others from that set are Killer Wolf, Going Down To Die, Stalker Song & Long Way Back From Hell. I find this live version of Bringer Of Death to be better than the one they put on the original album. This Single is only recommended for collectors, as (like I just said) three of the songs have been released on readily available albums and the title track is a shortened Radio Edit. Unless you're really into Radio Edits, or something...

Danzig - Dirty Black Summer

Danzig - Dirty Black Summer (CD, Digipak, Single) [1992, 1994 Re-Issue] US.

In this re-issue the case spine still shows "Def American"...

...though, the CD is their newer "American Recordings" style.

1. Dirty Black Summer (Album Version) [5:12] *
2. Bodies (Album Version) [4:24] *

3. When Death Had No Name (Previously Unreleased) [5:20] **

* From the Def American album How The Gods Kill.

** From the How The Gods Kill sessions.

42 seconds of ominous low-drowned tones, light thunder and rain... John Christ's squeeling riff begins as Chuck Biscuit's drums slowly build and creep in... Glenn and Eerie get into it and step (almost) away from the pyre, to commence rocking. So what does Dirty Black Summer [Watch the MUSIC VIDEO] remind you of? Being fifteen years old, having bonfires at the beach and just doin' whatever the hell made you feel good - things you've never done before or were just starting to experience? Perhaps you knew a girl named Summer when this song came out, and  (un)fortunately for her she just got a new nickname?

How The Gods Kill, Lucifuge and, when I got would teg hgih, 4p were non-stop in my CD player. I fell in love with 4p, for there was no denying that is just spoke to me. But Lucifuge and HTGK are what I consider to be Danzig's peak, for he, his band and Rick Rubin achieved untouchable perfection with their sound, style and content. That's not to say that I love every song on both of these records. I actually wasn't too fond of Dirty Black Summer, nor was I too much of Do You Wear The Mark, 777, or I'm The One. All four are very listenable tracks and I know that Glenn is proud of I'm the One; they just never really stuck with me, though over time I've come to appreciate them a bit more.

Bodies [Watch the MUSIC VIDEO] gives Eerie Von another time to shine, one not found in this Single's title track, and I'm glad that it's been included here since it is the best track out of the three presented. Danzig recorded WDHNN at every session from something like SamHain up until, well hell it's been so long now that he could damn well still be recording it. Even though it never seems to get added to the album, it's played at damn-near every single live show and a version is occasionally released as a B-Side somewhere. The version on this album is also on The Lost Tracks Of Danzig 2-Disc set that came out in 2007. There's also a version of the song from the first album's session.

So back to me (sorry), what do I think of this release? While I really like Bodies, none of these three tracks are particularly my favorites from the band. The Digipak looks great, but can easily scuff so be careful. I would say that this CD is for hardcore collectors only, because the one special extra track can be found all over the place, and the title & second track are album versions. All in all it's a bit weak, but I found it in the shop brand new for a lowish price back in 1995/6 so I'm pleased that I own it. You can probably find versions of this Single online for a low price still (it may not be a Digipak), but I would say just buy Danzig III and the Lost Tracks, unless you're a completest.

*EDIT* And Unholy Hell does that Bodies video kick major arse!! Truly, the Dirty Black Summer video does nothin' for me... check em' out and let me know what you think.