Search - Danzig :: The Lost Tracks Of Danzig (2CD)

The Long Awaited Lost Tracks Does Not Dissapoint

Joseph P. Hodgson | 07/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It was around 1998, I want to say, when the idea of a Danzig boxed set was floated around by Glenn himself that would contain a bunch of unreleased material spanning his solo career up to that point. It was around the same time that former Danzig/Samhain bassist Eerie Von had his own hot-line and would play unreleased Danzig songs in the background much to the delight of fans. Some really promising stuff was present on those hot-line recordings (specifically the ballad "Cold, Cold Rain") and ever since then fans have been dying to get a hold of this material.



Here we are, nearly 10 years later, and the Lost Tracks of Danzig has finally been released. It took a lot of legal action, some label shopping, numerous delays, and several trips to the recording studio to get it here but the wait has paid off. It would be hard to review this as an album, because it's not, it's a collection of songs much like a greatest hits album, so the only way to really review this is to go song by song. I'll rate each song on a numerical scale ranging from 1 to 5. Each rating will carry a specific meaning outlined below:



5 = Exceptional Danzig, one of the best songs he's ever done.

4 = Essential, this song should have been on the album it was recorded for and is a must have for Danzig fans.

3 = Good, careful consideration should have been made as to whether or not this should have been included on the album it was recorded for.

2 = Filler, not bad, but one can see why it was left off initially.

1 = there's a reason why this was never released up until now.



Now, onto the songs which are presented on the album in chronological order, though with some debate:



Pain is Like an Animal (4 stars) - Sometimes referred to as "Pain is Such a Loving Thing" (which is the chorus). This was originally recorded as part of the last Samhain sessions (the same ones which spawned "Twist of Cain," "Possession," etc) and was recorded multiple times. Glenn claims this is the version from the first Danzig record, though the vocals place it more around the time of Danzig III. Nevertheless, it's a great rockin' tune that has a good drive to it. The production isn't perfect, but this is an old recording. At any rate, it would have probably made both Danzig and Danzig III better records had it been included the first time around. A great song to get started with.



When Death Had No Name '88 (2.5 stars) - Another song that was recorded for several different albums, here it is present in two forms. The original 1988 version and the one previously released on the Dirty Black Summer Single. It's a very slow tempo song that picks up towards the end. Most people are probably already familiar with this tune. It's pretty good, but the version from '92 is a little better which is why I gave it a 2.5 rating.



Angel of the Seventh Dawn (3 stars) - A song that takes its name from the old Danzig Fan Club. It's a nice blues-based rock song from the Danzig II sessions and definitely worthy of being on an album. Unfortunately for this song, it was recorded for Danzig II, arguably the best album Danzig has ever made, and there just wasn't any room for it. Especially considering a more deserving song was left off as it is. This one features some imaginative lyrics about a guardian angel and has really good pacing. A nice solo from John Christ caps it off before a powerful outro where Glenn's vocals shine.



You Should Be Dying (2 stars) - It starts off sounding like a Black Sabbath riff before going into a faster tempo complete with trademarked Danzig guitar squalls. The vocals are not very good, and I question if these were recorded in '90 or more recently. Not to say Glenn's voice is poor at this stage of his career, but the mix just isn't strong. The chorus is repetitive, and ultimately the song just isn't that interesting, though it will get stuck in your head from time to time.



Cold, Cold Rain (5 stars) - Probably the most eagerly anticipated song on this release. This is another song from the Danzig II sessions. It's basically a 50's era ballad. What sets it apart from other songs from this era of Danzig are the vocals which really shine. Apart from perhaps "You and Me" from the Less Than Zero soundtrack, this is the best vocal performance from Glenn at this point of his career. The song starts off quiet and has nice buildup throughout culminating in a patented Danzig wailing outro. Fans shouldn't be dissappointed with this one!



Buick McKane (3 stars) - This is a TRex cover from the Danzig III sessions. It was supposed to be released as a B-side but never was for some reason. It has a great main riff and Glenn brings out a little bit of the rock-a-billy voice for this one. Just a solid rocker. If I had one complaint about it it's that it drags on at the end and it's easy to lose interest.



When Death Had No Name '92 (3 stars) - Very similar to the other version, but with better vocals and stronger playing all around. Most have probably heard this one as it was previously released as a B-side for "Dirty Black Summer." Needless to say, it's a solid Danzig tune and worthy of re-release.



Satan's Crucifiction (4 stars) - It's 1994, and the band is coming off it's first commercial hit with "Mother '93" and it's time to record what would become Danzig 4p. Some executives at American Recordings see this as the time to really catapult the band into the spotlight, and they don't want to mess it up, so the band is asked not to make the new record "satanic." From this we get "Satan's Crucifiction," a song recorded just to mess with the execs over at American Recordings and it was never meant to get released, and yet, it's pretty awesome. It definitely could have taken the place of a song like "Sadistikal" on Danzig 4p but they chose not to do anything with it. It's very slow, but very heavy, and the lyrics are pure metal cheese but the song is a lot of fun. I'll admit, I had low expectations going in but I came away impressed.



Mandrake's Cry (3 stars) - This song is also from Danzig 4p. It's simple, and pretty straightforward but something about it just works. The mix could have been better on the vocals, but they get the job done. It's a song about a mandrake who lures people into death with his/her lullaby. An interesting concept and not something I'd expect from Danzig, perhaps that's why it was never released until now?



White Devil Rise (1 star) - I'll let you read the liner notes or one of the many recent interviews where the story behind this song is revealed. It is probably the most interesting thing about the song, and while it's intentions are fine the song still sounds like an anthem for the KKK. That I don't care about so much as the song just sounds unfinished and the chorus is obnoxious (he just screams "White! Devil! Rise!"). Definitely a song I could do without and one I skip over frequently.



Come to Silver (Acoustic) (4 stars) - An acoustic version of a song that appeared on Danzig 5: Blackacidevil. The album version featured some excellent guitar work from Jerry Cantrell. I'm told he played on this version as well, though it hardly matters since the strumming is pretty simple. Sadly, the vocals for this version were either never recorded or too deteriorated to use here so Glenn had to re-do them. The new vocals sound fine, it's more of a talking song than a sing-a-long like "I'm the One," but just to better place it in the time period it was recorded I would have liked to have had the original vocal track here. As an acoustic song, one can really hear how Glenn envisioned this to sound if it had been recorded by Johnny Cash (which is whom the song was written for) and it's a great song, both here and on Danzig 5. I still prefer the version on Danzig 5, but this is a great song in it's own right.



Deep (2/3 stars) - I gave this song two ratings, and I'll explain why. Compared to most Danzig songs, this is more of a 2 star rating as it's not really an exceptional recording. However, given that this was recorded with the other songs from Danzig 5, it would have made Blackacidevil a better record had it been included. A remix would later appear on the Blackacidevil re-issue though. This version was orignally released on the X-Files soundtrack "Songs in the Key of X." The vocals are clean with industrial elements in the background. It gets loud for the chorus but the song never really goes anywhere. It pretty much is the definition of a filler track.



Warlok (4 stars) - I could have given this one two ratings as well, as it is pretty close to a 5 star rating given that it is from the Blackacidevil recording sessions, but I went with a 4 across the board. This one surprised me and will probably surprise most when they hear it. It's pretty simple but just has a nice melody throughout and the vocals are clean and soft. It's a great closing track for the first disc. I imagine it didn't make it onto Blackacidevil originally because it sounds too much like a closing track and Blackacidevil already has a great closing track in "Ashes."



Lick the Blood off My Hands (3 stars) - The first track from disc 2, and the first from Danzig 6. It's a slow, deliberate song but with an evil blues touch. To me, this is what "Hint of Her Blood" from Danzig 5 should have sounded like. A nice way to kick off disc 2.



Crawl Across Your Killing Floor (5 stars) - Awesome song! I don't know why it never made it onto Danzig 6, but this is a great song. It's long by Danzig standards, nearly 7 minutes, but it doesn't feel long. The guitar work is also impressive. Even though session guitarist Jeff Chambers played on Danzig 6, I am told the guitars for this were recorded later by Todd Youth who replaced Chambers for the tour. The song sounds like a classic rock song with no effects on the vocals or in the background. If the guitar had just a little more "twang" to it, it wouldn't be hard to convince someone this was from Danzig II. Again, I don't know how this didn't make it onto Danzig 6.



I Know Your Lie (3 stars) - Sounds like a cross between "Five Finger Crawl" and "Unspeakable." I'm guessing the song was scrapped for those reasons. This is a solid song, but it sounds unfinished. With a little more time it probably could have been more, but here it serves as a nice complement to the rest of the Danzig 6 recordings which are all very good.



Caught in My Eye (4 stars) - A Germs cover done well. This was originally intended to be a b-side but by 1999 singles weren't all too common for musicians other than pop stars. This one takes the old punk attitude of the original, and just adds a little Danzig to it. It has a creepy vibe as Danzig sings with a whisper track backing the vocals (pretty common for the band during this album). The chorus is just as catchy here as it was for the Germs. Short and sweet and a fun song to listen to while driving.



Cat People (4 stars) - Disc 2 continues to impress with this David Bowie cover. It starts off real slow with vocals that sound like the verse to "The Coldest Sun" off of Danzig 7, before exploding into a faster verse with some crunching guitar riffs. The climax of the song is what sets it apart from the lesser songs on this collection. This is what "Wicked Pussycat" should have been scrapped for.



Bound By Blood (5 stars) - I did not see this one coming. During the recording process of Danzig 7 Glenn lamented how hard it was going to be for him to leave this one off the final record and I can see why. Another longer song, this one starts off slow with some, dare I say sweet, lyrics. They really caught me off guard as just by reading the title I assumed it was going to be some gory bondage song (which makes sense given this is Danzig we're talking about) but the title goes the other way, being a song about family ties. It almost sounds like a song one would write for their child. As far as I know, Glenn has no children so I don't know who this was written for (if anyone) but it is a standout track amongst all of his work just for the lyrics alone ("and if you find yourself cold/ just take your warmth from my words/ i'm always with you/ we're bound by blood"). And to add to it, the guitar work by Todd Youth is excellent. I wonder how dissapointed he was up until now that his two best songs with Danzig had never been released ("Crawl Across Your Killing Floor" being the other)?



Who Claims the Soulless? (3 stars) - It would be easy for this song to fail given what it follows, but it's a solid song. I can think of songs worse than this one that eventually made it onto Danzig 7. It doesn't really sound like many Danzig songs, and yet at the same time almost sounds typical, which is hard to describe. The verse is nice, and the chorus is catchy. I can't think of anything else to say about it, though.



Malefical (2 stars) - A slow, brooding, kind of song. The lyrics are campy, and there isn't really any hook present.



Soul Eater (3 stars) - This is a real hard one to rate. On one hand, the guitar tone is downright disgusting which is the case of many songs on Circle of Snakes (though this is credited as being from Danzig 7 I hear, but I have my doubts), the vocals are plain but with a whisper track that is turned up way too high in the mix giving them a hoarse quality, and the lyrics are horrible ("i am the blackest of the black, attack!"). However, the riff is undeniably groovy and this one can really get stuck in your head. It would be a good live song, for sure. If it was cleaned up it could be pretty awesome, here it's a seriously flawed song that just happens to be extremely catchy. Likely a song most will either love or hate.



Dying Seraph (4 stars) - The last great song on the collection, "Dying Seraph" is a slow, sorrowful song with some jazz qualities. It's easy to overlook the first time through because it's never in your face, but after a couple listens one will really come to appreciate just how good it is. It has some nice metaphors and it shines with it's uniqueness. It would have been the perfect song to close out the album, but since this collection is just that, a collection, it's placed here instead of at the end.



Lady Luciferi (2 stars) - I'll start off by saying I hate the vocals on this one. They're very deep, and very slow, and they just make me scratch my head as to why Glenn would choose to sing this song this way. Aside from that the guitar tone is awful and the rest of the song is kind of "typical Danzig." It saves itself from a 1 rating by being moderately catchy.



Underbelly of the Beast ( 2.5 stars) - This is a remix of the song "Belly of the Beast" from Danzig 6. It was originally released on the soundtrack to The Crow: Salvation. The original song is better and one I would give a 3 star rating. Still, the remix doesn't ruin it (it really doesn't change it all that much) and it's not bad, though not entirely necessary.



Unspeakable (Shango Mix) (1 star) - A real dud to end the collection on. This originally appeared as background music for the adult film Grub Girl based on a comic book character put out by Glenn's company Verotik. Basically, everything has been stripped from the song except a few guitar notes here and there and replaced with a synth drum beat (remember, this was for a porn movie). It's not even worth listening to, really, and a head-scratcher as to why it was even released to begin with. Glenn has been quoted as saying there are more unreleased songs that won't ever be released. If none of them could bump this one off of here, then I can see why they would never be released.



So that concludes my rather lengthy review. I'm sure if I added up all of the scores I assigned to each song the overall rating would be somewhere between a 3.5 and 4.5. However, I'm giving this overall collection a 5 star rating because it contains too much essential material for the Danzig fan. This is a collection aimed at the die hard fan and anyone claiming to be such would be foolish not to scoop this up right away. And this is also good enough to appeal to more casual fans of Glenn's work. What really made this that good was the surprising amount of quality material on disc 2. I'm a fan who likes all of Glenn's work be it with the Misfits, Samhain, early Danzig, and modern Danzig. It is no secret though that most fans prefer the earlier works (Danzig through Danzig 4p) and expectations of disc 2 were set pretty low since that contains material from Danzig 6 and on to the present. However, some truly great songs were left off of those records (and Danzig 5, as well) that I think fans of Glenn's earlier works will come to enjoy as well. And to top it all off, the packaging for this is top notch which is also something I didn't expect given how poor the packaging for the Samhain Box Set was. This could very well be the last great release from Glenn Danzig, so be sure not to miss it!"

Danzig's best album?

king wolf | Jotunheim | 07/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The definition of an album has changed, I think, due to technology. It's so easy to mix and match tracks these days, does anybody but dinosaurs like me actually ever listen to records in their original order? Aren't there a lot of "albums" these days that take the form of nothing but a computer download? If an album doesn't even really physically exist, what is an "album", anyway?



For that reason, I decided to approach this double-cd set as a double album. My rationale was this: could a reasonably consistent and coherent album be constructed simply by arranging the track selection in an order other than the chronological (as presented in the original)? If so, how good would the result be?



The answers: yes, and great. This might even be Danzig's best album, which obviously means its an instant classic by any reasonable standard. This is Danzig's White Album, his Exile on Main St., his Physical Graffiti (only far more interesting than all that old fossilized rock, of course).



First on an album, obviously, we need a killer opener. We have the best he has ever written in "White Devil Rise" (if that one doesn't get your blood pumping, you're not a real Danzig fan. It has an impressive, almost progressive structure, with a time change into a break. And what an amazing break, the best I recall on any Danzig record. Don't worry about the politically correct, conformist hacks who downgrade this album because of this song; the riff is a little recycled (from Pain in the World) but man, is it ever pure evil old-fashioned Danzig just the way we like it, and his vocals on this track are incredibly aggressive).



Power ballad? Check. Danzig's purest and best power ballad is here, "Cold, Cold Rain"; it edges "Blood and Tears" and "Sistinas" by an angel hair, but it is better. (Also a perfect album closer; it should have been on Lucifuge). And "Bound by Blood", which is on here, is also in the elite league of classic Danzig ballads. It features some of the most beautiful and intelligent lyrics he has ever written, though almost Manowar-ish in their point of view. "Dying Seraph" (a typical Danzig soft-to-loud track) isn't bad, either.



How about an acoustic changeup along the lines of "I'm the One"? We got that covered, and with a better song: the best version ever made of "Come to Silver". This one is a little superior to Johnny Cash's version of the Danzig-penned "13", which it recalls sonically, just because Danzig's voice is even better than the Man in Black's, in my view. Glenn sings every word very clearly on this one, unusual for him, but very effective. Superb.



Of course, we need some songs with monster hooks in the bulk of the album to fill the role of singles. No problem. "When Death Had No Name", which might just be the very best Danzig song, and with his doomiest-ever riff, makes its debut on an album at last (I remember being amazed that he left this off III after it appeared as the B-side of the "Dirty Black Summer" single.) "Satan's Crucifiction" is another sinister tune worthy of the Danzig name (the riff is the most evil on any song ever that is not named "Snakes of Christ"), as are the double whammy of "Malefical" and "Soul Eater". These are the ones that caught me right away, at least, but there are a number of other strong songs, enough to form a heart of the lineup the `27 Yankees would envy. (By the way, it seems like these discs have a disproportionate amount of relatively upbeat rockers, at least by Danzig standards. "Lick the Blood off My Hands", for example, lives up to the nickname "Evil Elvis", with a 50's-ish verse melody. "Pain is Like An Animal" is just awesome straight-up hard rock and should have been the opener of Danzig I. And the "Buick McKane" cover had my jaw on the floor. As much as I liked the original Danzig band, I never thought they could just go out and absolutely smoke performance-wise like this).



I was quite pleasantly surprised to hear that there's very little of the electronic goofing around that marred the second (bad) half of the Danzig run of albums, even on the tracks from that era; and that his pipes evidently were in better shape than I had thought at the time. All these songs have his voice right up front of the mix, exactly where it belongs. The vocal tracks all sound like prime Glenn Danzig, on both cds. Enough said.



Summary: Whatever sins Danzig has committed against the holy religion of heavy metal since 4p are hereby expunged. There's some filler here, but Danzig's B sides turn out to be better than just about anyone else's A sides, and the good stuff here is good enough to form an album that is worthy of standing alongside anything he has done. The rest we can account bonus material. (This record proves what I suspected all along, due to Danzig's poor choices of singles releases: his taste, like Rubin's, in his own music is mystifyingly bad).



This is simply the best pure metal album released in years. There will be naysayers with the usual biases and agendas; ignore them and treat your black soul to "Lost Tracks" as soon as possible. You have tread in the light too long, and it is time to feel once more that cold wind out of the blue hells, the one that your heart has so long ached for...thank you, Glenn, from an original "Angel of the Seventh Dawn"."

A Real Treat For Long Time Danzig Fans

Wyluli | Florida USA | 07/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First, let's get one thing straight. To the other poster that said that Danzig is merely trying to "cash in" with this album.. Well OF COURSE he is, but that's the business that Glenn is in. You make music, and you sell it if people are buying. If you were in Danzig's place and had these songs to release knowing that his fans would pay money for them - tell me you wouldn't do exactly the same thing. And be honest with yourself. If you say you would give them away for free or wouldn't release them, then I'm calling BS.



Now, on to this release itself. This 2 cd set is basically a collection of unreleased stuff including a couple of covers, and a ton of original Danzig songs that didn't make the final cut for the final studio album for one reason or another. Also a couple remixes/alternates of songs we have heard before. The songs range from stuff that was originally Samhain tunes, all the way up through Circle Of Snakes, and the cd's have the songs on them in chronological order. Also included is a booklet with some cool pictures, and most interestingly (in my opinion) are Glenn's comments about most of these songs saying how he feels about them, why they weren't on the studio releases, etc.



I'm still getting familiar with some of these songs, but some songs that jump out to me right away are:

Pain Is Like An Animal

When Death Had No Name (either version)

Cold, Cold Rain

Satan's Crucifiction

Warlok

Crawl Across Your Killing Floor



There is some really good stuff on this album that in my opinion definitely was good enough to be on the official releases of Danzig's albums, and Disc 1 of this set really took me back in time to the good old days of Danzig 1-4, when the band was at its peak. Disc 2, while not as strong as the first, still has some good songs on it and I'll listen to it more than once. This is not just a collection of unreleased junk just designed to rake in a few bucks.. Glenn's comments in the booklet state that several of these songs he either regretted leaving off the albums, or he really liked but they weren't finished in time, etc. I wholeheartedly agree after listening to some of these tracks. Sure, some aren't real good, but there's some gems on here.



My only complaint about this set is that the boxed set itself is made out of softer cardboard and is easily dinged, scuffed, dented, etc. If you plan to carry this music around with you alot, I would recommend putting the 2 cd's in individual jewel cases and leaving the book itself at home, or I guarantee you that before long, it will turn into a beat up piece of junk. I've had mine for only 2 days and it already has a couple of dings on it. Otherwise, the set is visually attractive, with some cool artwork, and great photos on the inside and generally pretty well thought out and put together. Just try your best to keep it from getting damaged!



Bottom line, this is a great set of unreleased music, and at $28, which is $14 per cd (not all that bad really) it's a must-have. If you're like the one poster and you can't find anything in this set that you really like, then I question if you're really all that big of a Danzig fan, because there are alot of songs on here that I've already listened to several times because they grabbed me right away, and just felt like classic Danzig. As you can see by the reviews this set is getting, most people are loving it, so don't let the few naysayers throw you off. Buy this set now!"