Name	Danzig
Height	5' 3
Naionality	USA
Date of Birth	23 June 1955
Place of Birth	Lodi, New Jersey, USA
Famous for

This US heavy metal band is largely a vehicle for the lyrical and musical talents of Glenn Danzig (b. Glenn Allen Anzalone, 23 June 1955, Lodi, New Jersey, USA). Using musicians from his previous bands, the Misfits and Samhain - guitarist John Christ (b. 19 February 1965, Baltimore, Maryland, USA) and bass player Eerie Von (b. 25 August 1964, Lodi, New Jersey, USA) - plus stylish hardcore veteran Chuck Biscuits on drums (b. Charles Montgomery, 17 April 1965, USA; ex-D.O.A. , Black Flag, Circle Jerks), he founded Danzig in 1987 and sold the concept to Rick Rubin’s Def American label the following year. The resultant album realized all of the promise shown in Glenn’s former projects, producing work with a soulful profundity at which he had previously only hinted. While satanically inclined, Danzig has managed to avoid most of the pitfalls that have plagued other bands that court a devilish image. Younger, more overtly aggressive acts such as Deicide and Slayer presented images dominated by rage and pain, whereas Danzig approached other aspects of the satanic in artfully composed songs, from the seductive to the quietly sinister. However, this subtlety has tempered their appeal within the heavy metal fraternity, many of whom demand a more direct or traditional approach, and Danzig remain a connoisseur’s metal band.

Danzig’s second release, 1990’s Lucifuge, did little to alter this. None of the elements used were in themselves original - vocals in the style of 50s crooners, rich, black blues guitars, evocative heavy metal riffs - but it was the cunningly seamless way in which they were combined that generated Danzig’s dark magic. A third long-playing release, How The Gods Kill, formed a bridge between the high melodrama of heavy metal and the alluring menace of gothic mood. Black Aria (1992) was a solo project for Glenn Danzig, and was something of a stylistic departure from his previous guitar-based material. It comprised quasi-classical instrumentals, with one side dedicated to portraying the story of Lucifer’s fall from grace.

In late 1993 the mainstream rock crowd discovered Danzig through the runaway success of the video for ‘Mother’ on MTV. ‘Mother’ was, in fact, a track from their debut, but it took five years for this twisted classic to gain widespread recognition. 4 followed and was met with critical accusations that it was a deliberately commercial outing for the band, designed to please their new audience. Indeed, the album contained little of the rousing anthemic rock that had peppered previous albums, but this fourth instalment was still distinctively Danzig (indeed, it echoed Samhain days). Glenn Danzig had long since demonstrated that he could yell up a storm with the Misfits, but this collection proved that he was at his most menacing and creative when he was at his quietest.

During touring to support 4, Joey Castillo (b. 30 March 1966, Gardena, California, USA) replaced Biscuits. Danzig, a long-standing comic book fan, founded his own company, Verotix, in 1995, with the intention of publishing adult comics. A new line-up (Danzig, Castillo, ex-Prong guitarist/vocalist Tommy Victor, bass player Josh Lazie) recorded Blackacidevil in 1996. Both this album and the belated follow-up, 6.66 Satan’s Child, met with limited commercial and critical interest.

A new line-up took shape in the early 00s, with Danzig and Castillo joined by Todd Youth (b. Todd Schofield, 15 May 1971, New Jersey, USA; guitar) and Howie Pyro (bass). The 2002 release Danzig 777: I Luciferi was a much better effort, eschewing the electronic and industrial leanings of the previous two albums in favour of classic heavy rock. Further line-up changes saw Tommy Victor (guitar), Jerry Montano (bass) and Bevan Davies (drums) helping record the guitar-heavy Circle Of Snakes (2004). It was followed by the second instalment of Glenn Danzig’s Black Aria project.