Glenn Allen Anzalone (born June 23, 1955), better known by his stage name Glenn Danzig, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, film director and record producer. He is the founder of the rock bands Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig. He owns the Evilive record label as well as Verotik, an adult-oriented comic book publishing company.
Beginning in the mid-1970s, Danzig's musical career has encompassed a number of genres through the years, including punk rock and heavy metal, and incorporating influences from industrial, blues and classical music. He has also written songs for other musicians, most notably Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison.
As a singer, Danzig is noted for his baritone voice and tenor vocal range; his style has been compared to those of Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison, and Howlin' Wolf. Danzig has also cited Bill Medley as a vocal influence. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Glenn Danzig at number 199 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.
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Early life
Danzig was born Glenn Allen Anzalone, the third of four sons, in Lodi, New Jersey. His father was a television repairman and a United States Marine Corps veteran of World War II and the Korean War. His mother worked at a record store. Danzig and his family also spent some time living in Revere, Massachusetts. Danzig began listening to heavy metal music at an early age, and has described Black Sabbath, the Ramones, Blue Cheer, and The Doors as being among his early musical influences.
At age 10, Danzig began to use drugs and alcohol, leading him into frequent fights and trouble with the law. He stopped using drugs at age 15.
While growing up, Danzig began reading the works of authors including Charles Baudelaire and Edgar Allan Poe, developing his appreciation for horror. Danzig collected comic books and later in life, frustrated by American comics, he would start his own company to produce "crazy, violent, erotic comics".
Danzig graduated from Lodi High School in June 1973, aspiring to become a comic book creator and professional photographer. He attended the Tisch School of the Arts and later the New York Institute of Photography. Danzig formed an adult-oriented comic book company called Verotik in the mid-1990s.
Musical career
Early career
Glenn Danzig's introduction to performing music began when he took piano and clarinet lessons as a child. He later taught himself how to play the guitar. Danzig started in the music business at the age of 11, first as a drum roadie and then playing in local garage bands. He had never taken vocal lessons, but his self-taught vocal prowess gained him attention in the local scene. Throughout his teenage years he sang for several local bands, such as Talus and Koo-Dot-N-Boo-Jang, most of which played half original songs and half Black Sabbath songs.
Misfits and Samhain (1977–1986)
In the mid-1970s, Danzig started the Misfits, releasing the band's records through his own label (originally known as Blank, later as Plan 9). Danzig had attempted to get the Misfits signed to several record labels, only to be told that he would never have a career in music. The impetus for the band's name comes from Marilyn Monroe's last film, combined with Danzig considering himself to be a "social misfit". The band released several singles and two albums, spawning a cult following. Danzig disbanded the Misfits in October 1983 due to personal and professional differences. He later explained, "It was difficult for me to work with those guys, because they weren't prepared to put in the hours practicing. I wanted to move things forward, and they didn't seem to have the same outlook."
Before the disbanding of the Misfits, Danzig had begun working on a new band project, Samhain, which began when he started rehearsing with Eerie Von (formerly of Rosemary's Babies). Danzig took the name of the band from the ancient Celtic New Year (which influenced the evolution of the modern Halloween). Initially Samhain was conceived as a punk rock "super group". The band briefly featured members of Minor Threat and Reagan Youth, who contributed to Samhain's 1984 debut, Initium. The band then settled with a lineup consisting of Eerie Von on bass, Damien on guitar, and Steve Zing on drums (later replaced by London May). In 1985 the Unholy Passion EP was released, followed by November-Coming-Fire in 1986.
Samhain eventually attracted the interest of major labels including Epic and Elektra. Rick Rubin, music producer and head of the Def Jam label, would see the band perform at the 1986 New Music Seminar, on the advice of then-Metallica bassist Cliff Burton. Danzig has credited both Burton and Metallica frontman James Hetfield with helping to raise awareness about his music: "I first met them at a Black Flag gig, and then we became kinda friends. We'd often bump into each other on the road...James and Cliff helped to spread the word about me, and I was very grateful to them."
Danzig
In 1986, after two albums and an EP, Samhain was signed to a major label by Rubin and the name of the band was changed to Danzig to allow the band to retain its name in the event of line-up changes. Danzig discussed the reasoning behind the name change: "Rick [Rubin] convinced me it was the way to go, and would also provide me with a lot more artistic freedom. After all, I was now in charge of where we were going musically, so if I didn't want to do something, it was a lot easier to say so." Danzig's intention at the time was for each album he recorded to consist of a different recording line-up, allowing him to keep working with different musicians. The original band consisted of guitarist John Christ, bassist Eerie Von, and former Circle Jerks–DOA–Black Flag drummer Chuck Biscuits.
In 1987, Danzig, owing to his association with Rubin, was asked to write a song for Roy Orbison. The result was "Life Fades Away", featured in the 1987 movie Less than Zero. Danzig also contributed to the film's soundtrack with "You and Me (Less than Zero)". Danzig had originally been asked to write the song for a female vocalist, but when Rubin could not find a suitable singer, Danzig recorded the vocals himself. The song is credited to Glenn Danzig and the Power Fury Orchestra, which featured the same membership as the initial lineup of Danzig, with the exception of Eerie Von. Since Von did not like the way producer Rubin wanted the bass played on the song, George Drakoulias played the bass instead.
In 1988, the newly formed band Danzig released their eponymous debut. Its sound showed a progression from the gothic–deathrock sound of Samhain, to a slower, heavier, more blues-based heavy metal sound.
In 1990, the band's sophomore effort, Danzig II: Lucifuge, marked an immediate change in musical direction. The album's overall bluesier tone and somewhat milder approach were departures from Danzig, featuring a '50s-style ballad ("Blood & Tears") and a full-on acoustic blues ("I'm the One").
Other projects in 1990 included the final Samhain album, Final Descent. The album was started under the title Samhain Grim several years prior. The album contained previously unreleased studio recordings, at least some of which had been intended for the Samhain Grim album before it was aborted.
In 1992, Danzig again changed musical direction, releasing the darker Danzig III: How the Gods Kill. Several songs featured a more textured, slower sound between fast, dominant guitar riffs.
Musical style
Danzig's musical career has encompassed a number of genres, from punk rock and heavy metal to classical music. He is noted for his baritone voice and tenor vocal range; his style has been compared to those of Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison, Roy Orbison and Howlin' Wolf. Critic Mark Deming of Allmusic described Danzig as "one of the very best singers to emerge from hardcore punk, though in a genre where an angry, sneering bark was the order of the day, that only says so much. Still, the guy could carry a tune far better than his peers". As a musician, in addition to his vocals, Glenn Danzig has also contributed guitar, bass, drums and piano to his various musical projects.
The Misfits combined Danzig's harmonic vocals with camp-horror imagery and lyrics. The Misfits sound was a faster, heavier derivation of Ramones-style punk with rockabilly influences. Glenn Danzig's Misfits songs dealt almost exclusively with themes derived from B-grade horror and science fiction movies (e.g., "Night of the Living Dead") as well as comic books (e.g. "Wasp Women", "I Turned into a Martian"). Unlike the later incarnation of the Misfits, Danzig also dealt with Atomic Era scandals in songs like "Bullet" (about the assassination of John F. Kennedy), "Who Killed Marilyn" (which alluded to alternate theories about Marilyn Monroe's death), and "Hollywood Babylon" (inspired by the Kenneth Anger book on scandals associated with the early, formative years of Hollywood). In later years the Misfits style was noticeably heavier and faster than during their earlier releases, introducing elements of hardcore punk.
Samhain's musical and lyrical style was much darker in tone than Misfits material, fusing an experimental combination of horror punk, gothic–death rock, and heavy metal. With Samhain, Danzig began to introduce more complicated drum patterns. Samhain songs often combined tribal drum beats and distorted guitars. Samhain's lyrical themes were rooted in paganism and the occult, pain and violence, and the horrors of reality.
The band Danzig showed a progression to a slower, heavier, more blues-based and doom-driven heavy metal sound primarily influenced by the early sound of Black Sabbath. Other musical influences include The Doors, and the ballads of Roy Orbison. Danzig opted for a thicker and heavier-sounding guitar tone than with his previous bands, retaining his preference for a single lead guitarist and short guitar solos. After replacing the band's original line-up, Danzig began to experiment with a more industrial sound, before merging into gothic metal. Later, Danzig albums have returned to the band's original sound.
Television and film
Danzig appeared with the Misfits in the 1982 concert film Walk Among You that also featured Violent Apathy and the Necros.
Danzig appeared with the Misfits in their 1982 standalone concert film Love Hall.
Danzig made a cameo appearance as himself during a crowd scene at a concert in the 1988 film Tougher Than Leather starring Run-D.M.C.. This film featured "She Rides" by the band Danzig playing during one scene and people wearing Samhain shirts during two other scenes.
Danzig had a minor role as fallen angel Samayel in the 1998 film The Prophecy II starring Christopher Walken.
Danzig appeared as singer Fellatia in the 2008 film Young Hollywood starring Kimberly Kane.
He was invited by 20th Century Fox to audition for the role of Wolverine in X-Men, as his height and build closely resemble that of the film's protagonist, as described in the original comic books. However, he declined due to scheduling conflicts. He later admitted that he was glad to turn the role down as he thought the final product was "terrible" and further insulted Hugh Jackman's performance, calling it "gay".
Danzig guest-appeared as himself in the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode "Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future" where he purchased the house of the character Carl.
In February 2016, Danzig appeared in the Portlandia episode "Weirdo Beach".
Danzig appeared as vampire Bad Bathory in the 2021 film Death Rider in the House of Vampires starring Danny Trejo.
Directing
Danzig plays a personal role in the production of the band's music videos, suggesting ideas and sometimes directing them himself. He has worked on a film version of the Verotik comic Ge Rouge. The possibility of an animated film version of the Satanika comic has also been discussed.
In 2019, Danzig made his feature film directorial debut with Verotika, an anthology horror film that premiered at Chicago's Cinepocalypse Film Festival that year. The film was directed, written and scored by Danzig.
In September 2019, at the Los Angeles red carpet premiere of the Rob Zombie film 3 from Hell, Danzig told interviewers that production for a new film would begin in October. He described the project as "a vampire Spaghetti western", after revealing there would not be any more Misfits tours.
In 2020, Danzig announced his next film was Death Rider in the House of Vampires, which blends elements of the Spaghetti western with vampire horror. Danzig stated there would be several prominent actors in the film, including: Devon Sawa, Danny Trejo, Julian Sands, and Kim Director.
In multiple interviews, Danzig cites Italian horror director Mario Bava among his directorial inspirations, along with Sergio Leone and Jean Cocteau.
Personal life
Danzig lives in Los Angeles, California, where he (along with his then-bandmates in Danzig) moved in 1989 during the making of Danzig II: Lucifuge. When asked why he had moved there, Danzig said, "I'd been working in L.A. a lot and there wasn't much for me in New York anymore. It had become...taken over by yuppies and preps and rap music was gigantic. Out here there was tons of different stuff to do."
In January 1992, Danzig became a student of Jerry Poteet, a martial artist in Jeet Kune Do. Danzig has since earned a teaching degree in the discipline. Danzig has also studied Muay Thai.
Danzig also developed an interest in bodybuilding:
"I've always been attracted to the Nietzschean idea of perfection, and so I began trying to perfect my body. I bought Arnold Schwarzenegger's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding and started studying. Lifting weights is just lifting weights, but bodybuilding is about sculpting the body. Nutrition is essential, and though I'd like to be eating candy and cake, it immediately settles on my hips. Unfortunately, when I'm on the road I only get to work out a few times weekly, but when I'm at home with my weights and machines I work out four or five times a week."
Danzig has several distinctive tattoos, all by tattoo artist Rick Spellman, which incorporate artwork based upon his music. These include a Danzig/Samhain skull symbol designed by Michael Golden, a bat with a Misfits Crimson Ghost skull, a wolf's head with the text "Wolfs Blood" (the title of a Misfits song), a skeleton as found on the cover art for the album November-Coming-Fire, and a demon woman as found on the cover art for Unholy Passion. His lower back features the logo for the Devilman manga.
Danzig is a fan of horror movies and Japanese anime/manga, and has expressed his appreciation for the works of filmmaker David Cronenberg and manga artist Go Nagai.
Danzig's favorite composers include Richard Wagner, Sergei Prokofiev, Camille Saint-Saëns, Carl Orff, and film score composer Jerry Goldsmith.
