I know most of you are reading this while rubbing your hands together and cackling maniacally fully expecting me to tear Danzig a new one. The majority of “extreme” metal fans I know fucking hate Glenn Danzig and his music. The reason for their hatred is usually because their current (or ex) girlfriend is (was) a huge Danzig fan and her bedroom wall is covered in posters of a topless Glenn Danzig showing off his fuzzy chest which she looks at while diddling herself to sleep because their boyfriend is a fat, ugly, obnoxious, pin-dicked whiner.

Of course there are people who hate him for other reasons, namely the fact that he’s an arrogant prick, which is probably why I like him. His whole schtick is just fucking hilarious to me. The fact that he acts like such an elitist asshole cracks me up, especially when people get so pissed off because of it. Not only that but his vocal style is great, there’s no denying the guy has some of the most powerful vocals in metal and his Elvis-like delivery is catchy. After listening to a Danzig album I find myself speaking using Glenn Danzig-phonetics for the next hour and laughing like an idiot. “Whoooooaaaaaa-maaaaan!! Aiiiii’m goingtothe… stoooooo-aaaaaahhhhh!!!! Should I pick up some… miiillllllkkkkk?? Whoooooooooaaaaaa!!!!!”

I have to admit when I found out Danzig was about to put out a recording of previously unreleased and rare tracks it piqued my curiosity. The Lost Tracks Of Danzig is a 2 CD compilation that features material from the earliest days of the band to the present. The first disc is essentially a collection of tracks from the original Danzig line-up when the band consisted of Samhain members John Christ, Eerie Von and Chuck Biscuits, you know, when Danzig was still good. The disc contains a number of great old school Samhain/Danzig tracks like "Pain Is An Animal", "Angel Of The Seventh Dawn", "You Should Be Dying", a cover of T.Rex’s "Buick McKane" and "When Death Had No Name". This material is just classic Danzig from the first four albums, plus "Deep" from the Sounds In The Key Of X X-files sound track. I think it’s safe to assume everybody already knows what early Danzig sounds like and either you like it or you hate it. If you like it, then you’ll love the first disc of The Lost Tracks Of Danzig, the second disc… ehhh…

Disc 2 is entirely material featuring newer Danzig line-ups and is hit and miss. "Crawl Across Your Killing Floor", "I Know Your Lie", "Bound By Blood" and "Who Claims The Soulless" will appeal to fans of “classic” Danzig, the rest likely won’t interest anyone outside of fans of the abysmal Blackacidevil. While I understand he was trying to branch out and try something different, the stuff that’s different tends to suck, but then again I’ve always been a fan of the hard rock/metal driven-era of Danzig than the more melodic material.

The last Danzig album I purchased before this one was Blackacidevil and hearing some of the newer tracks I have to admit I was surprised to hear some of the tunes they’ve recorded since have that early Danzig vibe to them and the material is actually pretty good.

Obviously I don’t think my opinion on this one is going to be very popular amongst the regulars to this site, but I don’t really give a fuck. As far as I’m concerned the original Misfits, Samhain and early Danzig was quality material and I listen to all three on a regular basis when I need a break from the relentless blast beats and gurgles of extreme music. If I listened to that shit every day without something different in between every now and then I’d shoot myself in the head.

If you’re like me and used to be into Danzig up until 4p, then The Lost Tracks Of Danzig is actually worth picking up for the first disc alone, it’s just like having an entirely new Danzig album from when they were at their peak. The newer material is surprisingly decent, though some of it fucking sucks, the majority is decent enough to make the second disc worth listening to at least once. Listening to it just once will leave you speaking in Danzig phonetics for hours… MUUUUUHHHHHHHTTTTTHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!

Review byTeufel