I have loved The Misfits, Samhain and the original line-up of Danzig for about thirty-two years. Yes, I am that old. I even saw the original Danzig line-up perform in San Francisco in October of 1992 and it still holds up as the best show I have ever been to. This is all to say that I have always seriously loved the music of Glenn Danzig.
My all time favourite album is November Coming Fire by Samhain. I love it so much that I finally sought out and bought a mint condition first edition US vinyl pressing of it. I got it the other year for only about £140.00 so I know I am a lucky bitch. Early Danzig is my next favourite era followed by the original Misfits. No, I haven’t been to any of the Glenn fronted Misfits reunion shows, mainly because I now live in Europe. However, if the original Danzig line-up ever tours I would fly to New York, Philly or even Boston for that. Just saying.
Here are my all time favourite songs from each band. I enjoy sharing music so I hope that you find something that you really like and connect with.
Chuck Biscuits always looks so lost in Danzig band photos. It’s adorable, plus he is a great drummer.
I saw the original Danzig line-up perform on October the 29th of 1992 at The Warfield in San Francisco. Those of you who are into Glenn Danzig will know how lucky I was to be able to see that show because it was the last full tour that the original line-up ever did. Chuck left in 94 and Eerie and Christ departed in 95. This original line-up has never reunited despite some members saying that they would love a reunion.
For a Danzig show it wasn’t really that violent. Their shows kind of had a reputation during that time because people would heckle Danzig and he would usually get a bit punchy. I mean, if you are going to a show just to fuck with the singer you kind of deserve to get knocked out. About a step or two above the pit was an area where you could lean against a long thin table and watch the show with a totally clear view. That is where I was, surrounded by a sea of men.
Am I Demon, from their first album ‘Danzig’.
I get it, mostly guys go to metal and punk shows, especially back then. I would say that the audience was about 80% men. No joke. I actually ran into two female friends at it and we all commented on it. I was with my ex-husband at the time so I didn’t get my freak on or anything like that. However, if I had been single at that show I guarantee you that I could have gotten laid that night. There was everybody; from bikers to skaters and beyond. It was like a smorgasbord for single ladies.
Anyway! How was the performance? Epic.I can safely say that this was the best concert that I have ever been to. Slayer is number two if that says anything. They sounded very tight, everybody stayed on beat and Glenn’s voice was in tune and never cracked. It was two nights before Halloween so maybe demons were at work? They played all of the hits from their three albums and a lot of the crowd, including myself, sang along. It was kind of wholesome.
Halloween II by Samhain.
Then came the encore song; the Samhain version of Halloween II. You’ve got to understand that November Coming Fire by Samhain was, and still is, my all time favourite album, with that track being my favourite song off of it. It was played perfectly and powerfully and I remember getting goosebumps from it and almost getting teary because I never thought that I would ever get to see that song performed live. To say I was moved would be an understatement.
I remember not being able to sleep that night because I was just so excited and happy when I got home. I didn’t know how lucky I was to see such a great show until I saw Danzig about ten years later; Glenn’s voice was shot and the band did not sound tight at all. If the original band ever gets back together to tour internationally I would totally go because those early Danzig albums mean a lot to me and they were an amazing band live.
I hope every single one of you get to experience something similar with your favourite band, because the memories from a great show can stay with you for life and that is cool as hell.
Yesterday I was innocently perusing Glenn Danzig related videos when to my shock and surprise I discovered that somebody had uploaded the 1990 Danzig VHS tape! OH MY GOODNESS!!!! EDIT: The video has been taken down by Glenn. RIP video.
I bought this over 30 years ago and my friend Sheri and I would watch it and just drool. Seriously, if you like dudes with muscles playing evil sounding music then this is the video for you! It’s composed of a few music videos from the first Danzig album entitled ‘Danzig’, along with various interviews. My favourite is the one in which Glenn discusses the lost books of the bible. Glenn knows his stuff when it comes to Christianity, probably more than most Christians.
What trips me out is how young they all look. I am now older than they were when this was made. I actually saw this original line-up of the band on their Dirty Black Summer tour and it was the best concert I have ever been to. The audience was at least 80% men, and filled with everybody from punks to bikers. It was really close to Halloween, and for an encore they played the Samhain version of Halloween II. That is my favourite song off of November Coming Fire, which is my all time favourite album, so to say I was thrilled would be an understatement.
So, watch the above video and bask in it’s glory because it’s a very cool video if you are into anything Glenn related.
This record has been in my top ten favourite albums for about thirty years, and it is frequently number one on that list. In my humble opinion this is the best album that Glenn Danzig has ever made, a pinnacle that he will never reach again. It’s the perfect blend of punk and goth music, and I would even venture to say that this is one of the best deathrock albums ever made. I would definitely place it above Specimen’s Batastrophe and Christian Death’s Theater Of Pain. Yes, I went there.
I found out about Samhain in a very strange way. I went to an amusement park a couple of weeks before I graduated high school in 1989 with some metal friends. I was wearing my Sex Pistols Holidays In The Sun shirt. Back then they weren’t as well known as they are now, trust me on that. With all of that being said a girl walked past me at some point while wearing a Samhain November Coming Fire shirt and called me a poser. During that time I was also into The Dead Kennedys and 7 Seconds, so I was in no way a poser. What she said didn’t affect me as much as the appearance of her shirt did. I stored the band name Samhain in the back of my brain for future reference because I thought maybe they would be as good as their shirt looked.
Later in 1989 I very briefly dated a guy who had a Misfits poster in his room even though he didn’t listen to them. I knew who the Misfits were during that time but I hadn’t gotten around to listening to them yet. I know that sounds strange but I was into so many bands at that point that it was difficult to buy all of that music and the albums of bands I wanted to try out at the same time. Back then you actually had to buy the music if you wanted to own it. I mean you could get some tapes off of your friends but it was always a goal to actually legally own the music and support the band at the same time. After I broke up with that guy I went and bought the Misfits album Legacy Of Brutality. My friend Sheri was also really into the Misfits during this time and she is the person that introduced me to the band Danzig.
The man, the myth, the legend.
I remember going to the Rasputin’s music store in San Lorenzo in early 1990 and buying the Danzig and Danzig II: Lucifuge cds. The store had separate sections for goth, punk and just about everything else, which actually made it really easy to find music. I remember looking through the punk section and coming across the name of a band that looked familiar: Samhain. I cold bought November Coming Fire on cd that day and it was quite possibly one of the best music based decisions I have ever made. I’m not overstating that by any means. Back then I cold bought a whole lot of music on the recommendation of other people or by seeing somebody strange wearing a band shirt.
Usually when you hear an album for the first time you will pick out certain songs above others or maybe not even like some of the songs. I liked every single song on this album the very first time I listened to it. The song order has a certain flow to it. For example the song To Walk The Night is slow and quite introspective, perhaps the most traditionally goth rock sounding song on the whole album. While the next song Let The Day Begin is more quick paced and takes you slowly out of the bleakness, all the while singing about darkness and the evil that is coming. The very next song Halloween II is a Misfits cover which is sung completely in Latin and takes you to the place where the last song’s events were leading you to.
I have always liked both goth and punk music but not that many bands have achieved the feat of seamlessly bringing the two genres of music together. The only other band that I can think of immediately is TSOL, whose two albums Dance With Me and Beneath The Shadows are also favourites of mine. However, what Glenn Danzig did with this album is bring it to a higher level by adding into the mix some very dark theming and lyrical content. It’s like the album is in its own dimension of darkness where no light can reach it. November Coming Fire taught me that it was okay to unabashedly embrace my darkness and relish in it. Don’t be a goth who claims that they are totally normal on the inside, because I’m not. Don’t be a punk who always thinks that non violence is always the answer, because it’s not.
If it wasn’t for November Coming Fire I wouldn’t be the very darkly inclined woman that I am today. Never heard of Samhain or November Coming Fire? Give the below a listen, you won’t regret it.
