Here we go, the collection the die-hard Glen Danzig fans have been waiting for. Or were they? This double-disc collects 26 rarities by Danzig (though the first couple were written while he was still waving the Samhain banner). They are far from "lost" tracks, since he knew where they were all the time. There is something here that makes this collection a bit disingenuous from the start: since many of these cuts weren't finished in time for the original recordings they were to be included on, they were completed specifically for inclusion on this set. Danzig claims in his liners that he added "...new and extra guitars, bass, vocals, keyboards and percussion..." In other words, most of these tunes were little more than demos that have now been reworked. Still others were cuts that the Danzig band played live but never got around to putting on record for one reason or another. Music aside, though, many listeners have to admit it's so very difficult to get past Danzig's utterly egotistical and inarticulate (to put it kindly) annotations in the accompanying booklet. His comments on the song "Deep" are as follows: "An alternate take of the song I gave to the X Files. It was supposed to be on Danzig V but in the end didn't make because of Disney got spooked." This is only one of numerous examples. As for the music, as one would expect, it's a mixed bag. Some of these tracks are great. "Angel of the 7th Dawn," with its hypnotic guitar crackle and bass throb rocks, as does a killer cover of
T. Rex's "Buick McKane." Other covers include
David Bowie's "Cat People" and
the Germs' "Caught in My Eye." Neither one works. The low-end rumble and utter distortion of the bottom end makes the song a disaster bearing gifts. "Satan's Crucifiction" (sic), has a very
Black Sabbath-like riff in its refrain. The tune was supposedly written as a joke, but if so, it's not a particularly effective one. Another troubling cut is "White Devil Rise," supposedly suggested by
Rick Rubin in response to some comments by Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam. One set of hateful comments does not cancel out another. The song is terrible in and of itself, substandard metallic kitsch. Lyrically, Danzig's claims are the song expresses " the white race rising up and answering his call for a race war." Since Farrakhan's original comments calling for such a thing are not printed here, one can only make assumptions about Danzig. Cheap shock and big guitars have been his answer to everything he doesn't like. "Crawl Across Your Killing Floor" is a fine tune and should have made it onto the 6:66 Satan's Child album as it's easily the equal of anything on it and better than most. The layers of lead guitars and the very basic, hypnotic beat give the song a hunted quality. "Bound by Blood" (a European B-side that was never released in the U.S.) is the only place on the entire collection where we get to hear some differentiation in Danzig's vocal delivery -- he actually tries to sing here -- and it works! The riff is slow, demonstrative and full-on thud. There's a lot here on
Lost Tracks of Danzig, and fans will either see this as a legitimate kind of bootleg or not, since these tunes, while covered over and added to, still sound like sludge for the most part and feel like demos even in the end. (One has to wonder what the original tapes sounded like?) The package is long box style with a faux comic book that serves as a booklet. With photographs of the man himself in various poses alone, with bandmates, and of course, with naked women. For the truly die-hard faithful only. ~ Thom Jurek