Back in June, to celebrate his 70th birthday, Vanyaland ranked the 70 greatest songs from Glenn Danzig. Curated by site founder and editor-in-chief Michael O’Connor Marotta and me, it was an exhaustive dive into the catalog of the Evil Elvis, one he would surely bristle at because that’s just what he does, but which the two of us had a blast doing.
Now that it’s Halloween, we figured it might be a good time to revisit the list, since the Dirty Black Summer is in the rearview and fall is in full swing. And after all, 99.9% of Danzig’s music – no matter what the stop on his musical path – is steeped in horror of some kind. Even when it’s something tender and soft-sounding, like “Blood and Tears” from Danzig II: Lucifuge, it’s still, well, “Blood and Tears.”
Throughout the 70 songs on the list, we covered everything from the rawest horror punk of the Misfits, the death rock of his transitional project Samhain, and, of course, Danzig’s namesake outfit. There’s also a bunch of off-the-beaten-path songs, like the track “Father’s Grave,” a rare duet from Glenn he did with Melissa Auf der Maur. Checking in at No. 59, here’s what I wrote about it:
“Danzig Doesn’t Duet” should be a shirt. Throughout his career, he hasn’t done guest spots, brought in additional vocalists – none of that nonsense. Then, Melissa Auf der Maur came calling. The former Hole and Smashing Pumpkins bassist had been vision-boarding a collaboration with Glenn, and it finally came to be when she sent him a track for her second solo album, 2010’s Out of Our Minds. ‘Father’s Grave’ sees Auf der Maur as a grieving daughter burying her daddy while Danzig plays the role of the gravedigger, helping her to let go. It’s every bit as amazing as it sounds.”
Check out the full list over at Vanyaland.
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The Chronicles of Michael Christopher 
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