Beezlebub. Lucifer. Mephistopheles. Moloch. The archfiend Danzig. For some reason, coincidental or otherwise, the word "Danzig" blends perfectly with the other names used to describe the Prince of Darkness.
Satan is a word that has followed Glenn Danzig throughout his coup of the hard-rock throne. From the formation of the horror-punk band The Misfits in 1977, to its bastard child Samhain, to the group bearing his name, Danzig has been tight with the monarch of hell. It seems only fitting that he names his sixth album Danzig 6:66: Satan’s Child. After all, if anyone has earned the right to name an album after the antichrist, it’s Glenn Danzig.
After suffering legal torments comparable to those of Purgatory, Danzig finally broke free of Hollywood Records to record the new album. Unlike the corporate red tape endured at Hollywood, Danzig now has full control over his music. His own label, evilive, struck a unique profit sharing agreement with E-Magine Entertainment that proves to be more profitable and amicable than most standard artist agreements. "So far so good. It’s an indie label so there’s lots of glitches to iron out, but we’ve got Internet distribution as well as regular distribution which is cool," shares Danzig.
Given the demonic reputation and brooding blood-and-doom style music, one might be tempted to write Danzig off as a Satan-loving psycho. This would be an ignorant mistake to make. In a very laid back and casual manner, Danzig explained how the album came by its name:
"The 666 part was too good to pass up being the sixth Danzig album. ‘Satans Child’ was a song I wrote and it was not so much about me as about lots of different stuff. Of course people say ‘You’re not
Satan’s child!’ Well you know what? Go read a fucking book!" laughs Danzig.
As is customary with the release of an album, Danzig has been touring to promote Satans Child. What can someone expect from a live show? "You might want to [stop] if you’re going to the show, stand to the side and see if you want to get involved. That’s the only thing I can tell you," he says laughing.
As far as the setlist for the tour, expect a diverse mix from the six albums.
It is believed the devil assumes many different forms to accomplish his devious tasks. Like the devil, Danzig also assumes different forms. The transformation can be seen in his comic company Verotik. One look through the Satanika series and it becomes apparent that Danzig is involved. The stories, written by Danzig himself, revolve around the exploits of a busty she-demon and inevitably involve plenty of blood.
"[The idea behind Verotik. was] to piss off Marvel, DC, and Image. Lots of Danzig fans are just common fans–you know you can talk to them about your favourite stuff. I realized there was definitely–not just from my standpoint, but from lots of other people’s standpoints–a need for a company like Verotik., which publishes pretty wild, crazy, sexy comics that aren’t about superheroes. There’s nobody in tights trying to save the world or having a dilemma about having the power to save the world. I like to call it reality- based fantasy comics," says Danzig.
While on the topic of fantasy,who would Danzig help in a fight, Lemmy (Motorhead), or Ozzy (during the Black Sabbath days)? "I don’t think I’d need to help Lemmy in a fight against Ozzy, but I’d probably help him anyway. Yeah I’d help Lemmy," he says, laughing.
With both a comic company and a successful band, one might wonder where Danzig gets the creative energy to juggle both projects.
"[Writing about] things that piss me off and things that excite me seems to provide that energy," he begins. "What pisses me off? Everything. You know there are so many hypocrisies. Of course organized religion is always coming up with new ways of pissing me off and then of course politicians are constantly pissing me off, and of course there’s always just the standby stupid idiot asshole people."
Danzig hits the MacHall Ballroom on Sun., April 9 with Disturbed and guests.