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Danzig with Mr. D?
Nah
By Dave
Wedge
Friday, February 25, 2005
Despite
being at the forefront of the underground black metal movement for 20
years, Glenn Danzig insists he's no devil worshiper.
``I
don't worship Satan. You know who I worship? Me,'' the brash 49-year-old
metal maestro said. ``I don't buy into any of that religion crap. All the
religions just want to discount each other. It becomes a business.''
Former
vocalist for seminal punk outfit The Misfits, Danzig, who plays the Roxy
in Boston on Monday, has made a career of telling tales from the shadows
over power-chord crunch. His brooding, powerful melodies helped pave the
way for heavy heroes such as Metallica, Guns 'N Roses and Alice in Chains,
while his dark passion and deep vocals have led some to dub him the Jim
Morrison of metal.
``I
don't really see it as dark,'' he said of his music. ``I just see it as
life. It's stories.''
His
gloomy style is best described as black poetry. But his goth obsessions
have more in common with Black Sabbath and Type O Negative than more
theatrical acts such as Marilyn Manson and Slipknot. On ``Black Angel,
White Angel,'' from his latest album, ``Circle of Snakes,'' he offers:
``We've lost the light, another night. Kill these days, and make them go
away.''
Other
tracks on Danzig's eighth disc are equally bleak, with titles such as
``SkinCarver,'' ``Hellmask,'' ``My Darkness'' and ``When We Were Dead.''
The album's muscular thrash largely is driven by guitarist Tommy Victor,
formerly of Prong.
``I
sing about what I like; if some of it is dark, that's fine,'' Danzig said
in a recent phone interview from his home in Los Angeles. ``If people
can't get with it, then go away.''
A
self-proclaimed movie buff, he was once considered for the role of
Wolverine in the ``X-Men'' movie and is penning a screenplay, tentatively
titled ``Gerouge,'' that will explore ``turn-of-the-century New Orleans
voodoo.'' The beefy rocker also runs an adult comic book company, Verotik,
and writes his own titles including ``Death Dealer,'' ``Satanika'' and
``Jaguar God.''
``I
wasn't happy with the stuff Marvel or DC (comics) was doing. It wasn't
adult enough,'' he said. ``So I started my own company, putting out the
craziest, wildest stuff I could find.''
The Hub
gig will be one of only three East Coast dates during which Danzig will
reunite with former Misfits compadre Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein for a
30-minute set. The pair played two West Coast dates last year, which
marked their first time onstage together in 20 years.
``Doyle's
a really nice guy. I've always had a good time with him,'' Danzig said.
``When we started rehearsing (Misfits songs), it was definitely a trip
back.''
In the
midst of a two-month theater and club tour, Danzig said the recent onstage
murder of former Pantera guitarist ``Dimebag'' Darrell Abbott prompted him
to take extra security precautions. Abbott, who had toured on bills with
Danzig, was gunned down with three others, allegedly by a deranged fan.
``Something
like this happens, and it's a wake-up call,'' he said. ``I think it was
(expletive) that this guy was even allowed to get into the venue with a
gun. It's sad.''
As for
catching flak from right-wing conservatives, Danzig takes a laissez faire
approach.
``This
is America,'' he said. ``We believe this; you believe that. Leave me
alone.''
( Danzig with Eyes of Fire and Trivium, at Roxy, Monday, 7 p.m.
Tickets, $23, at ticketmaster.com. )
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