- Danzig (album)
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Danzig 
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 Danzig
(1988)Danzig II: Lucifuge
(1990)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. 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.
Contents
Music and recording
Danzig was recorded at Atlantic Recording Studios and Chung King Metal, and mixed at Smoke Tree and Village.
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. 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, 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.[6] James Hetfield of Metallica performed backup vocals on "Twist of Cain"[7] and "Possession", but due to contractual reasons could not be credited in the album insert. A backwards piano track is used on "Possession".
Guitarist 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.”[7]
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.
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".
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.[8] All four music videos later appeared on the Danzig Home Video.[9]
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
Credits
- Glenn Danzig - Vocals
- Eerie Von - Bass
- John Christ - Guitar
- Chuck Biscuits - Drums
- James Hetfield (Uncredited) - Backup vocals on "Twist of Cain" and "Possession"
Production
- Producer: Rick Rubin
- Engineers: Dave Bianco, Steve Ett, Jim Scott
- Mastering: Howie Weinberg
- CD Mastering: Barry Diament
- Photography: Mark Weiss
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America) Year Chart Position 1988 The Billboard 200 125 Singles - Billboard (North America) Year Single Chart Position 1993 "Mother" Mainstream Rock Tracks 17 1994 The Billboard Hot 100 43 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
- ^ 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.
Categories:- Danzig albums
- 1988 albums
- Debut albums
- Albums produced by Rick Rubin
- Def American Recordings albums
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