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
Samhain ( , , , ) or () is a Gaels, Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the "Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, darker half" of the year.Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, Ó hÓ ...
, 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
Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
and
heavy metal, and incorporating influences from
industrial,
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
and
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
. He has also written songs for other musicians, most notably
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
and
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...
.
As a singer, Danzig is noted for his
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...
voice and
tenor
A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...
vocal range
Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...
; his style has been compared to those of
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
,
Jim Morrison
James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his charismatic persona, poetic lyrics, distinctive vo ...
, and
Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. He was at the forefront of transforming acoustic Delta blues into electric Chica ...
. Danzig has also cited
Bill Medley
William Thomas Medley (born September 19, 1940) is an American singer best known as one-half of the Righteous Brothers. He is noted for his bass-baritone voice, exemplified in songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Medley produced a n ...
as a vocal influence.
In 2023, ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' ranked Glenn Danzig at number 199 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.
Early life
Danzig was born Glenn Allen Anzalone, the third of four sons,
in
Lodi, New Jersey
Lodi (; ) is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 26,207, an increase of 2,070 (+8.6%) from the 2010 United States census, 2010 census coun ...
. His father was a television repairman and a
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
veteran of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
. His mother worked at a
record store
A record shop or record store is a retail outlet that sells recorded music. Per the name, in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, record shops only sold gramophone records. But over the course of the 20th century, record shops sol ...
.
Danzig and his family also spent some time living in
Revere, Massachusetts
Revere (, ) is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Located approximately northeast of Downtown Boston, Revere is the terminus of the Blue Line (MBTA), MBTA Blue Line, with three stations located within the city: Wonderland station, Wonderla ...
. Danzig began listening to heavy metal music at an early age, and has described
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
, the
Ramones
The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...
,
Blue Cheer, and
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...
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
Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...
and
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...
, developing his appreciation for horror.
Danzig collected comic books and, frustrated by American comics, he started 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
developed specialized terminology. Several attempts have been made to formalize and define the terminology of comics by authors such as Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, R. C. Harvey and Dylan Horrocks. Much of the terminology in English is under di ...
and professional photographer. He attended the
Tisch School of the Arts
The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University.
Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...
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
Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
'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
Samhain ( , , , ) or () is a Gaels, Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the "Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, darker half" of the year.Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, Ó hÓ ...
,
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
Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
). Initially Samhain was conceived as a punk rock "super group". The band briefly featured members of
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C., by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guita ...
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
Epic commonly refers to:
* Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation
* Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale
Epic(s) ...
and
Elektra.
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records.
Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...
, music producer and head of the
Def Jam
Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.
The ...
label, would see the band perform at the 1986
New Music Seminar, on the advice of then-
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
bassist
Cliff Burton.
Danzig has credited both Burton and Metallica frontman
James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder, and a primary songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his raspy voice and intricate rhythm playi ...
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
"Classic" era (1986–1994)
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
ubinconvinced 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
Circle Jerks (stylized as Ciʀcle JƎʀᴋs) are an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California. The group was founded by former Black Flag (band), Black Flag vocalist Keith Morris and Redd Kross guitarist Greg Hetso ...
–
DOA–
Black Flag drummer
Chuck Biscuits.
In 1987, Danzig, owing to his association with Rubin, was asked to write a song for
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...
. 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
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
-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.
Also in 1992, Danzig tried his hand at composing classical music with ''
Black Aria''. The album debuted at number 1 on the
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
classical music chart.
In 1993, Danzig released ''
Thrall-Demonsweatlive'', an EP featuring both studio recordings and live tracks. Danzig broke into the mainstream when the live video of "Mother '93" became a hit on
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
and earned
Buzz Bin rotation, six years after the original song was recorded. During this time the band reached its commercial peak, with both the debut album and ''Thrall-Demonsweatlive'' being certified Gold, and "Mother" becoming the band's highest charting single. Both ''Danzig'' and ''Thrall-Demonsweatlive'' have since been certified Platinum.
In 1994, the release of ''
Danzig 4'' saw the band going further into a darker, heavier and more experimental sound. The album also saw further development of his vocal style and range, most notable in songs like "Let It Be Captured", and a more blues-based approach on songs like "Going Down to Die".
Also in 1994, Danzig's song "Thirteen", written for
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
, appeared on the latter musician's album ''
American Recordings''.
Later years (1995–2004)

In 1996, the band underwent a complete overhaul. The original lineup had fallen apart, as had Glenn Danzig's relationship with their record label,
American Recordings, with label owner Rick Rubin's involvement as producer diminishing with each album.
Danzig would later engage in a legal battle with Rubin over unpaid
royalties
A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...
and the rights to the band's unreleased songs.
Danzig enlisted new bandmates, most notably
Joey Castillo, who would be the band's drummer until 2002.
Once again, he explored a new musical direction and recorded ''
Blackacidevil'', this time infusing heavy metal with
industrial rock
Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten and Chrom ...
. Danzig went on to sign a deal with
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group which focuses on pop, rock, alternative, hip hop and country genres, also specializing in recordings for a more mature audience not suitable for the flagship Wal ...
, which led to several religious groups boycotting its parent company,
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
, for signing a controversial "satanic" band.
As a result, the label pulled support for ''Blackacidevil'' and the record deal was severed.
In September 1999, Danzig signed his band to E-Magine Records, becoming the first artist on the label.
The deal also led to the release of a
Samhain box set and the re-release of ''Blackacidevil''.
Danzig's subsequent three albums, ''
6:66 Satan's Child'' (1999), ''
I Luciferi'' (2002) and ''
Circle of Snakes'' (2004), all musically and lyrically evolved to a more stripped down, heavier
gothic metal
Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal music, heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different ...
sound. The Danzig lineup continued to change with each album, while Danzig's voice started to show change after years of touring.
In 1999, during the U.S. touring for the album ''6:66 Satan's Child'' Danzig reunited Samhain along with drummers Steve Zing and London May. Then-Danzig guitarist
Todd Youth was invited by Glenn Danzig to fill in the guitar position for the Samhain reunion tour, replacing Samhain's original guitarist, Pete "Damien" Marshall, who had opted out in order to tour with Iggy Pop. Eerie Von was not invited to rejoin Samhain due to personal issues within the band. Both Zing and May handled bass duties, switching from drums to bass in between the "Blood Show".
In 2003, Danzig founded the Blackest of the Black tour to provide a platform for dark and extreme bands of his choosing from around the world.
Bands featured on the tour have included
Dimmu Borgir,
Superjoint Ritual,
Nile
The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...
,
Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. The band incorporates folk music, folk, blues, classical music, classical, and jazz elements into its usually lengthy compositions, as well as strong influences from deat ...
,
Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Since their formation in 1994, the group has had two name changes, being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal, and they have recorded ten studio albums, two extended plays, two l ...
,
Behemoth
Behemoth (; , ''bəhēmōṯ'') is a beast from the biblical Book of Job, and is a form of the primeval chaos-monster created by God at the beginning of creation. Metaphorically, the name has come to be used for any extremely large or powerful ...
,
Skeletonwitch,
Mortiis and
Marduk
Marduk (; cuneiform: Dingir, ᵈAMAR.UTU; Sumerian language, Sumerian: "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) is a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of Babylon who eventually rose to prominence in the 1st millennium BC. In B ...
.
Recent activity (2005–2011)
In 2005, Danzig's tours to support the ''Circle of Snakes'' album and the Blackest of the Black Tour were highlighted by the special guest appearance of Misfits guitarist
Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein. Doyle joined Danzig on stage for a 20-minute set of classic Misfits songs: "To do this right, I invited Doyle to join Danzig on stage at 'Blackest of the Black' for a special guest set. This is the first time we will be performing on stage together in 20 years. It's the closest thing to a Misfits reunion anyone is ever going to see."
On October 17, 2006, he released his second solo album, ''
Black Aria II''. The album reached the top ten on the Billboard classical music chart.
In November 2006, Danzig toured the west coast with former Samhain drummer
Steve Zing on bass. They played three Samhain songs including "All Murder All Guts All Fun". In Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Doyle joined the band onstage for the encore and played two Misfits songs, "Skulls" and "Astro Zombies".
In 2007 Danzig produced the debut album by ex-Misfits guitarist Doyle's metal-influenced band,
Gorgeous Frankenstein.

In July 2007, Danzig released ''
The Lost Tracks of Danzig'', a compilation of previously unreleased songs. The project took nine months to complete with Glenn Danzig having to add extra vocal and instrument tracks to songs that had been unfinished. The album included the controversial "White Devil Rise", recorded during the sessions for ''Danzig 4'' in response to inflammatory comments by
Louis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan (; born Louis Eugene Walcott; May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader who heads the Nation of Islam (NOI), a Black nationalism, black nationalist organization. Farrakhan is notable for his leadership of the 1995 Million M ...
and his use of the term "The White Devil".
The song is Danzig's conjecture as to what would happen if Farrakhan incited the passive white race to rise up and start a race war: "No one wants to see a race war. It would be terrible, so the song's saying, 'Be careful what you wish for.
Danzig himself has bluntly denied any accusations of racism: "As far as me being an Aryan or a racist, anyone who knows me knows that's bullshit."
In October and November 2007, Danzig toured the western United States, along with Gorgeous Frankenstein,
Horrorpops, and
Suicide City
Suicide City is an American punk rock band from Brooklyn, New York City, founded in 2005. The band's original lineup consisted of lead vocalist Karl Bernholtz, rhythm guitarist Billy Graziadei, lead guitarist AJ Marchetta, bassist Jennifer Arroy ...
. This "3 Weeks of Halloween" tour was in support of his most recent album, ''The Lost Tracks of Danzig'', as well as the newest graphic novel release from Verotik, ''Drukija: Countessa of Blood''.
On October 23, 2007, Danzig was performing the song "How the Gods Kill" in
Baltimore
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
and fell off the stage, injuring his left arm. He did not perform the Misfits set that night,
but he continued the tour and played classic Misfits tunes with Doyle onstage as an encore with a
sling on his left arm after the injury.
In 2008, Danzig confirmed he had recorded the first duet of his career, with
Melissa Auf der Maur
Melissa Gaboriau Auf der Maur (; born March 17, 1972) is a Canadian musician.
Auf der Maur began performing in 1993 after forming the indie rock band Tinker (band), Tinker while she was a student at Concordia University. She was recruited ...
. The song, titled "Father's Grave", features Danzig singing from the perspective of a
gravedigger and appears on Auf der Maur's 2010 album ''
Out of Our Minds''.
Auf der Maur has spoken highly about the experience of meeting and working with Danzig.
Danzig's ninth album, ''
Deth Red Sabaoth'', was released on June 22, 2010.
In a July 2010 interview with Metal Injection, Glenn Danzig was asked if he was going to make another Danzig record after ''Deth Red Sabaoth''. His response was, "I don't know, we'll see. With the way record sales are now...I won't do some stupid
pro-tool record in someone's living room where all the drum beats are stolen from somebody and just mashed together...and I'm not going to do that if I can't do a record how I want to do it, and if it's not financially feasible, I'm just not going to do one."
During the later quarter of 2011 Danzig performed a string of one-off reunion shows called the "Danzig Legacy" tour. The shows consisted of a Danzig set, followed by a Samhain set, then closing off with Danzig and Doyle performing Misfits songs.
During the third date of
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
's 30-year anniversary shows at the Fillmore Theater in San Francisco, Danzig went on stage with Metallica to perform the Misfits songs "Die, Die My Darling", "Last Caress", and "Green Hell".
Current activity (2012–present)

Danzig has said he wishes to avoid extensive and exhaustive touring in the future, preferring instead to focus on his various music, film and comic book projects: "I don't really want to tour. My reason for not doing it is because I'm bored of it. I like being onstage, but I don't like sitting around all day doing nothing. I could be home, working."
Danzig has started work on a third ''Black Aria'' album,
and a covers album is set for release by the end of 2013.
Danzig hopes to record a dark blues album involving
Jerry Cantrell
Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. (born March 18, 1966) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the founder, lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and main songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains. The band rose to internatio ...
and
Hank III.
He is currently working on new Danzig material with
Tommy Victor and
Johnny Kelly.
In 2014, Danzig filed a lawsuit against Misfits bassist
Jerry Only
Gerald Caiafa Jr. (born April 21, 1959), better known by his stage name Jerry Only, is an American musician, best known as the bassist for the Misfits and later the vocalist as well. He is the only member to appear in every Misfits lineup exce ...
claiming Only registered trademarks for everything Misfits-related in 2000 behind Danzig's back, misappropriating exclusive ownership over the trademarks for himself, including the band's iconic "Fiend Skull" logo, violating a 1994 contract the two had. Danzig claims that after registering the trademarks, Only secretly entered into deals with various merchandisers and cut him out of any potential profits in the process. On August 6, 2014, a U.S. district judge in California dismissed Danzig's lawsuit.
On October 21, 2015, during an interview with Loudwire, Danzig stated his current tour with
Superjoint could be his last.
On May 12, 2016, Danzig, Only, and Frankenstein announced they would perform together as the Misfits for the first time in 33 years in two headlining shows at the September 2016
Riot Fest in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
and
Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
. He later noted that he would be "open to possibly doing some more shows". The reunited Misfits did more shows and Danzig enforced a "no cell phone" policy at the reunion shows. The reunited "Original Misfits" sold out a succession of arenas, a singular accomplishment for a classic punk band, providing evidence that they are among the most popular punk bands ever.
Danzig returned to Riot Fest in 2017 with his band Danzig. Their album ''
Black Laden Crown'' was released on May 26, 2017.
In April 2025, Danzig faced backlash among his fans for selling merchandise with Nazi-related symbolism.
Musical style
Danzig's musical career has encompassed a number of genres, from
punk rock
Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
and
heavy metal to
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
. He is noted for his
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...
voice and
tenor
A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...
vocal range; his style has been compared to those of
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
,
Jim Morrison
James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his charismatic persona, poetic lyrics, distinctive vo ...
,
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...
and
Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. He was at the forefront of transforming acoustic Delta blues into electric Chica ...
. Critic Mark Deming of
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
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
The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...
-style punk with
rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...
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
John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onas ...
), "Who Killed Marilyn" (which alluded to alternate theories about
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
'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
Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...
.
Samhain's musical and lyrical style was much darker in tone than Misfits material,
fusing an experimental combination of horror punk,
gothic–
death rock
Deathrock (or death rock) is a rock music
Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, prima ...
, and heavy metal. With Samhain, Danzig began to introduce more complicated
drum patterns
The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
. Samhain songs often combined tribal drum beats and
distorted guitars. Samhain's lyrical themes were rooted in
paganism
Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...
and the occult, pain and violence, and the horrors of reality.

The band Danzig showed a progression to a slower, heavier, more
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
-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
Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal music, heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different ...
. Later, Danzig albums have returned to the band's original sound.
Glenn Danzig's lyrics, which had already evolved from those of the Misfits to the more serious style of Samhain, progressed even further with Danzig to become "frighteningly intense images of doom" which "convey their bleak messages with an eerie grace and intelligence".
His lyrics are typically dark in subject matter, bearing "a heavily romanticized, brooding, gothic sensibility, more quietly sinister and darkly seductive than obviously threatening or satanic". Lyrical themes include love, sex, evil, death, religion, and occult imagery. Danzig's songs about love often deal with the pain of loss and loneliness using gothic romanticism. Sex is another common theme, with songs frequently alluding to various
sexual practices and depicting powerful, seductive and sometimes
supernatural
Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
female figures. Glenn Danzig has tackled
Biblical
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...
subjects and has offered his criticisms of organised religion. He often promotes rebellion and anti-authoritarianism, whilst embracing independence and the left-hand path. In other lyrics, Danzig deals with the subject of death and questions the concepts of evil and sin.
Glenn Danzig has served as the sole songwriter for every band he has fronted, and described his writing process: "Sometimes I get the guitar lines, sometimes I write on the piano, sometimes I'll write the lyrics first and then figure out the Chord (music), chord patterns on guitar, and sometimes I write the drum pattern first. It's all different".
Danzig also records basic song ideas when away from his home: "I usually hum it into a microcassette recorder and then I transpose it when I get home and work it out on guitar or piano".
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 stand alone 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 (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 (character), Wolverine in ''X-Men (film), 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 Brutananadilewski, Carl.
In February 2016, Danzig appeared in the ''Portlandia (TV series), 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 film, 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, 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
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, who is 5 ft 3 in height, also developed an interest in bodybuilding:
: “I've always been attracted to the Friedrich Nietzsche, 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 Anime, Japanese animemanga, /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.
Danzig is an avid reader and owns a large book collection on subjects including the occult, religious history and true murder cases.
He commented about the book ''The Occult Roots of Nazism'' that "every school kid should have this book", though he later stated that the comment was satirical. Danzig also has a long-standing interest in New World Order (conspiracy theory), New World Order-related conspiracies: "Not only have I always been interested in the families that run the world forever, that people know now as the Bilderberg Group. But there's an older book called ''Committee of 300'' which tells you all about it. I mean, I got in trouble for this back in the 90s, talking about this kind of stuff – how the United States is based on a Freemasonry, Freemason thing, and I got so many government files on me from that one".
Regarding his political views, Danzig has described himself as being "conservative on some issues, and some issues I'm really liberal". He defended former President Donald Trump's controversial Executive Order 13769, travel ban from selected countries, arguing "It's really not a travel ban. When you walk into the country, we want to see who you are and what you're doing." Danzig has voiced his dissatisfaction with the United States' two-party system; stating "the bottom line is that both parties are in agreement about one thing: They don't want a third, a fourth, or a fifth party in there. They want it Democratic and Republican. Both sides are corrupt."
Though sometimes portrayed as a Satanism, Satanist by the media, Danzig has denied this in several interviews, elaborating that "I embrace both my light and dark side... I definitely believe in a yin and yang, good and evil. My religion is a patchwork of whatever is real to me. If I can draw the strength to get through the day from something, that's religion... I'm not trying to be preachy or tell people what to think."
[ Danzig has voiced his approval of certain aspects of Satanic ideologies, including the quest for knowledge and individual freedom.] He has stated that religion does not play a role in how he perceives other bands and musicians.
Discography
Danzig
Studio albums
* ''Danzig (album), Danzig'' (1988)
* '' Danzig II: Lucifuge'' (1990)
* '' Danzig III: How the Gods Kill'' (1992)
* '' Danzig 4'' (1994) – LP
* '' Blackacidevil'' (1996; reissued in 2000 with extra tracks)
* '' 6:66 Satan's Child'' (1999)
* '' I Luciferi'' (2002)
* '' Circle of Snakes'' (2004)
* '' Deth Red Sabaoth'' (2010)
* ''Skeletons (Danzig album), Skeletons'' (2015)
* '' Black Laden Crown'' (2017)
* ''Danzig Sings Elvis'' (2020)
EPs
* ''Thrall-Demonsweatlive, Thrall/Demonsweatlive'' (1993)
* ''Sacrifice (EP), Sacrifice'' (1996; reissued in 2000 with extra tracks)
Singles
* "Mother (Danzig song), Mother" (1988) – promotional CD single
* "Her Black Wings" (1990) – promotional CD single
* "Killer Wolf" (1990) – promotional CD single
* "A Taste of Danzig III" (1992) – promotional CD single
* "Dirty Black Summer" (1992) – CD single
* "How the Gods Kill" (1992) – promotional CD single
* "It's Coming Down" (1993) – promotional CD single
* "Mother '93" (1993) – promotional and wide-release CD singles
* "Until You Call on the Dark" – (1994) – promotional CD single
* "Brand New God" (1994) – promotional CD single
* "Cantspeak" (1994) – CD single
* "I Don't Mind the Pain" (1995) – CD single
* "7th House" (1996) – promotional CD single
* "Sacrifice" (1996) – CD single
* "Unspeakable" (1999) – promotional CD single
* "Wicked Pussycat" (2001) – promotional CD single
* "On a Wicked Night" (2010) – CD single
* "Ju Ju Bone" (2011) – CD single
Compilations
* '' The Lost Tracks of Danzig'' (2007) – double LP
Live albums
* ''Live on the Black Hand Side'' (2001) – double LP
Soundtracks
* "Deep" ''Songs in the Key of X, Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by the X-Files'' (1996)
* "UnderBelly of the Beast" ''The Crow: Salvation Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (2000)
* "Mother" ''Guitar Hero II'' (2006)
* "Thirteen" ''The Hangover Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (2009)
* "Mother" ''Guitar Hero Smash Hits'' (2009)
* "Black Hell" ''The Hangover Part II Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (2011)
* "Mother '93" ''The Hangover Part III Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (2013)
Official videography
* ''Danzig (1990)'' – VHS
* ''Lucifuge: The Video'' (1991) – VHS
* ''Danzig III: How the Gods Kill: Special Limited Edition'' Box Set (1992) – CD/VHS
* ''Archive de la Morte'' (2004) – DVD
* ''Il Demonio Nera'' (2005) – DVD
Misfits
Studio albums
* ''Walk Among Us'' (1982)
* ''Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood'' (1983)
* ''Static Age'' (1996)
* ''12 Hits from Hell'' (2001)
EPs
* ''Beware (EP), Beware'' (1980)
* ''3 Hits from Hell'' (1981)
* ''Evilive'' (1982)
Singles
* "Cough/Cool" (1977)
* "Bullet (Misfits song), Bullet" (1978)
* "Horror Business" (1979)
* "Night of the Living Dead (song), Night of the Living Dead" (1979)
* "Halloween (Misfits song), Halloween" (1981)
* "Die, Die My Darling" (1984)
Compilations
* ''Legacy of Brutality'' (1985)
* ''Collection I, Misfits'' (1986)
* ''Collection II'' (1995)
* ''The Misfits (album), Misfits Box Set'' (1996)
Live albums
*''Evilive'' (1987)
Soundtracks
* "Hybrid Moments" ''Jackass: The Movie Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (2002)
* "Last Caress" ''True Crime: New York City'' (2005)
* "Halloween II" ''Halloween (2007 film), Halloween Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (2007)
Samhain
Studio albums
* '' Initium'' (1984)
* ''Samhain III: November-Coming-Fire'' (1986)
* '' Final Descent'' (1990)
Other releases
* ''Unholy Passion EP, Unholy Passion'' (EP, 1985)
* ''Box Set (Samhain), Box Set'' (compilation, 2000)
* ''Samhain Live '85-'86'' (live album, 2001)
* "Mother of Mercy" ''Guitar Hero: Metallica'' (soundtrack, 2009)
* ''Live 1984 at the Stardust Ballroom'' (DVD, 2005)
Glenn Danzig and the Power Fury Orchestra
* "You And Me (Less Than Zero)" ''Less than Zero (soundtrack), Less than Zero Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (soundtrack, 1987)
Solo
Studio albums
* '' Black Aria'' (1992)
* '' Black Aria II'' (2006)
Singles
* "Who Killed Marilyn?" (1981) – 7" single
Other
* ''Less Than Zero (film), Less Than Zero Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (1987) (Glenn Danzig and Roy Orbison wrote the song "Life Fades Away", performed by Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...
) "You And Me (Less Than Zero)" Performed by Glenn Danzig And The Power And Fury Orchestra (Written by Glenn Danzig and Rick Rubin)
* ''Tougher Than Leather (film), Tougher Than Leather Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (1988) (Unreleased) "She Rides" Performed by the band Danzig (Written by Glenn Danzig)
* ''Kinghorse'' (1990) (Eponymous debut album produced by Glenn Danzig)
* '' American Recordings'' by Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
(1994) (Danzig wrote the song "Thirteen")
* ''Songs from the Earth'' by Son of Sam (band), Son of Sam (2001) (Extra guitar and keyboards on "Songs from the Earth", and extra guitar on "Stray")
* '' Gorgeous Frankenstein'' (2007) (Eponymous debut album produced by Glenn Danzig)
* '' Out of Our Minds'' by Melissa Auf der Maur
Melissa Gaboriau Auf der Maur (; born March 17, 1972) is a Canadian musician.
Auf der Maur began performing in 1993 after forming the indie rock band Tinker (band), Tinker while she was a student at Concordia University. She was recruited ...
(2010) (Guest vocals on "Father's Grave")
References
External links
*
*
*
Glenn Danzig audio interview from Synthesis magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danzig, Glenn
1955 births
American comics artists
American crooners
American heavy metal singers
American Jeet Kune Do practitioners
American male singer-songwriters
American baritones
American people of Scottish descent
American people of German descent
American people of Italian descent
American punk rock singers
Danzig (band) members
Horror punk musicians
Living people
Misfits (band) members
People from Lodi, New Jersey
People from Revere, Massachusetts
Samhain (band) members
Singer-songwriters from New Jersey
Tisch School of the Arts alumni