Today we are going to deviate from our standard programming to look at the new Danzig lyric book entitled “Hidden Lyrics of the Left Hand.” We know how the “Misfits” world is split into various factions. In fact I have never seen a fan base so fragmented into cliques as I have with followers of those involved with the Misfits. You’ve got the Glenn-era Misfits-only people, the New Misfits fans, The Misfits and Samhain fans who don’t like anything post 88, members of the7th house who worship anything and everything Glenn shat forth into this world, the occasional odd person who only likes the new Misfits and not the Glenn era, and so on. This can make problems for doing reviews on Misfits related material. We find some releases much easier to review than others, such as Project 1950. However, when Glenn Danzig brings something new out we must take care to give the art its due.
One can argue the many merits of Danzig’s career. However, I think we can all agree that he has influenced countless people and helped spawn a subgenre of punk rock. His influence can be seen in most areas of darker rock; this putting him in the legendary category with progenitors of gothic rock, black metal, and post punk. Maybe one of these days I will write my thoughts on his most recent albums and focus of his career. Hell, he is doing great compared to the huge fucking clown show Jerry Only is taking on tour these days. If the world can’t tell who wrote the original songs for the Misfits, then the world is too far gone for me to care.
Let us now dig into this lyric book. First, I have to address this price. I bought this for 20 dollars. The book has $24.95 printed on the back; this leads me to think that some comic shops could actually be selling it for that price. I believe with shipping that was about the price I paid. For a book that comes in at 25 bones I should expect it to be hardcover. However, what we have is a soft bound gloss covered book. I suppose this could have been ok if the price was lower, but when I spend 25 clams, I expect a hardcover. My next issue was the availability. First of all this was not listed on the Danzig online store. Also, I didn’t even know it was out until a week or so after the book was released. A person could snail mail a money order to the Verotik P.O. Box, but anymore I get a sketchy vibe from this. The Danzig website stated that the book would be available at select comic shops. This turned into a damned wild goose chase. Since the run must have been small, many of the larger comic shops sold out of it rather quickly. I ended up going to a very small, very specialized trade paperback comic shop called Panel to Panel (excellent service – maybe a little slow). Now I have “Hidden Lyrics of the Left Hand” and am fairly pleased with it.
The art throughout the book is by Simon Bisley, commonly known as The Biz. The front cover is a nice depiction of Glenn on a throne with an extremely ripped demon look about him. Five characters surround the throne; many of these characters can be seen on former Danzig albums covers, Black Aria II and Circle of Snakes being the most obvious. This piece is well done if not a bit campy. I think something a bit more epic should have been used. Maybe Biz could have drawn something in the vein of Thrall’s album art. The cover could have been worse, but could have also been far better.
Opening the front cover we find a bat winged skull with the numbers 666 carved into its forehead. Chains tipped with inverted crosses flow from the skulls base, mimicking metalized veins left from its removal from the main body. This is so damned bad. When I say cheesy metal I hope everyone understands my statement. If you want a good example of this style of cheesy, go and view early Black Metal band promo photos. Nothing gets quite as good as laughing at pictures of Immortal from the early 90’s.
Moving on from the opening credits we come across a letter written from the man himself. He explains that the book was put together for the fans and how much he appreciates us all. Nice sentiment, but if he really appreciated us he would have give us more than 22 songs (10 Danzig, 4 Samhain, 8 Misfits). I understand that much of the Danzig library has been released with the albums and the same goes for Samhain. Nevertheless, with eight Misfits songs in this book that leaves 29 more that are unconfirmed by Glenn himself. I’m sure you are saying something about the lyrics in Collections II and the Boxset. Well those lyrics were lifted from the text files at the Misfits Central. The only lyrics that were official were those found with "Walk Among Us", "Bullet 7”, and "Halloween 7.” The rest of those lyrics were interpreted by the fans and the creators of Misfits Central. Also, the Boxset does not have the lyrics to "Mephisto Waltz". I would have killed to have had those lyrics officially released. In any case, we get what we get with this book, and I’m sure there will be a volume II released on the Danzig time line (which is as equally quick as evolution).
To start with the actual lyrics (after a page and half of writing) we have ten selections from Danzig’s solo career. Eight of the 10 lyrics are from the lost tracks album; excluding “When Death Had No Name” and “It’s Coming Down.” The art that accompanies each of these sets of lyrics is excellently drawn if at times blatantly cheesy – slathered with pentagrams, the number 666 and naked demon girls (not that I have a problem with that). "Satan’s Crucifixion" is by far the worst of these. For one "Crucifixion" in the book is spelled incorrectly. Secondly, the image drawn brandishes an inverted cross, lots of fanged skulls and a long-haired man with an inverted cross on his forehead. This man is either the Undertaker from WWE or the lead singer of the death metal band Deicide. I would say this may be the lamest image in the whole book, but I could be getting ahead of myself.
Let me give a rundown of each song in the Danzig section and a small critique of the artwork and lyrics. I think this will get my point across with much more fluidity than an all-out rant.
1. Lady Lucifera – Glenn is, by no means, a happy feely male, and his lyrics exemplify this to a T. His short work here is a typically dark and esoteric piece for a Danzig song. The man’s knowledge of occult, religious, and historical themes is astounding yet again. He mentions the goddess Nera in passing. I would imagine the reference to her as a deeper meaning in this lyrics. The image boasts more stock metal visual with a half-named demon woman riding a demon Pegasus. It fits the song well.
2. Naked Witch – I’ve noticed that Glenn has a fond love for the sexual side of things that go bump in the night. Not that I find anything particularly wrong with this. However, every time you see a woman, be it real or drawn, they are naked, pierced, and usually demonic or dead. The song is a well written poem about fucking a naked witch. This is not my favorite song, and really I’d have to listen to the Danzig 7 to remember it. Oh, I believe I was wrong in saying that eight of the lyrics were from the Lost Tracks album. This is clearly from Danzig 777, which leaves seven songs from the rarities album. Sorry for the mistake. As far as the artwork goes, we have a well drawn naked witch who has a half dead and pierced look. She brandishes the Danzig 777 logo on her belly and between her breasts. It fits the song well but is forgettable.
3. Liberskull – I need to just eat my own words about how many songs were on the Lost Tracks album. Liberskull is another track from Danzig 777. I personally hated that album, so I couldn’t tell you what this songs sounds like either. The artwork is the same bat skull from the inside cover of the book and is extremely lame. Lyrically this is song weaves a very compelling visual of depressing times and past wrongdoings. I dare say the words found here are better than the music that accompanies it.
4. Warlock – Here we find a Lost Tracks lyric that was cut from the Danzig 5 sessions. Say what you will but I like Blackaciddevil. Maybe I should review that album at some point; either way lyrics are lyrics and Glenn writes some pretty good material. In this case we find a poem that is fantastic. I enjoy Danzig’s lyrics best when he tells a story. In general I enjoy storytelling. I think this song should not have been cut from that album. Warlock is escorted by a fantastic portrayal of a Warlock performing his darkest magic on a woman, possibly a witch as mentioned in the lyrics, who is naked in a pentagram. The art has elements of cheese, but could be much worse. I think it works well with the lyrical accompaniment.
5. Satan’s Crucifiction – For one crucifixion is spelled incorrectly on this page. That annoys me greatly. The lyrics for this song were written as a joke aimed at the owner of American Records. That being said, these are some of the most blatant Satan references that can be found in Glenn’s works. I know he writes about Lucifer a whole lot, but this is just Satan in your face. Actually, I rather like this poem. I bet this was a shock to the director of American Recordings after he asked Glenn and Rick Rubin to not make another satanic record. The artwork is horribly stupid. This is by far the worst image in the book. I described this Undertaker wannabe and his inverted cross background filled with images that belong on a Wal-mart goth t-shirt.
6. Invocation – Biz steps up his artwork with a demon making sweet fuck to a woman in a dress. Yeah…no bare boobs in this one. The interpretation of this song is interesting, but I can buy it. Lyrically we have another tale of a demon being summoned. I might venture to say this is a bit wordy for what the song presents. This is average at best, but not Glenn’s finest work.
7. It’s Coming Down – Here is a classic track from the Thrall EP. I’m pretty sure this song weaves a tale of Angel torture, but maybe I’m just putting Bisley’s image to the words. Still these are classic early 90’s Danzig lyrics. Biz really steps up his artwork with this illustration. Three men in hoods stand around a bound angel suspended from the ceiling being tortured. Thankfully, this dispenses with stereotypical metal schlock.
8. Angel of the 7th Dawn – This was supposed to be the name of the official Danzig fan club and this song the anthem. The song was not released until the Lost Tracks album and now the lyrics are found here. Glenn digs deep into angel lore with this one. Much of his work from the mid 1980’s and until now has a scholarly edge to it; Angel of the 7th Dawn fits into that category. As for the art work, I believe this is one of my favorite pieces in the whole book. The logo of the 7th dawn is fantastic. Under the logo we see a zombie horde and a city under siege. This gets the point across of holy war.
9. Cold, Cold Rain – For years this song was one of the most anticipated songs Glenn had written. We can thank that anticipation to Eerie Von via the Danzig hotline back in 91 or 92. I don’t remember the exact year, but that doesn’t matter. When listening to the song ol’ mumbles is extremely hard to understand. Makes me happy he placed this number in the lyric book. This lyric is a love song; as much as Danzig can really write a love song. The artwork fits perfectly to the song. A comic version of Glenn is standing behind an open grave (in a very cramped cemetery) in the rain. The grave is home of the desiccated corpse of a woman holding flowers. This is very touching in that gothic romantic kind of way. Excellent!
10. When Death Had No Name – I know someone out there is going to bitch and moan about the late 80’s version of these lyrics. I know on some rehearsal bootlegs Glenn had not finalized the lyrics, but the two different official recordings have the same…or very similar lyrics. Here we find those lyrics in their official form. The first couple lines of this are just classic, “When Death Had No Name, Time Stood Still” It kills me that this only made it as a B side of a single from Danzig III. It was originally recorded for Danzig 1 and 3, but only got its official album release with the Lost Tracks. The artwork is almost as bad as Alchemy Gothic’s poster work. It depicts the mainstream version of the Grim Reaper with the word death etched into his scythe. This is cheesy to say the least, but drawn with skill.
11. Final Descent – Ah, now we roll into the Samhain territory. Final Descent was to be a track on the never released “Grim” album, as it was scrapped in the wake of Danzig 1. Glenn was delving deep into Christian dogma with this song. It tells the poetic story of the original fallen angels. Biz rolls right out of metal lameness into bad ass demonic fantasy artwork. The background shows many falling bodies which really connect the picture to the lyrics.
12. Death…In Its Arms – Another rocker from the scrapped “Grim” album. These lyrics ooze everything that made Samhain great. As an example: “Before you kiss, the sing of life, embracing unkind, nothing is safe from this fate, Death In its arms”. I did just observed that there is a typo on the page as they spell “its” in the fashion of “it’s”. Where was the editor during the final checks of the book? The artwork hammers home with some epically creepy visualization. A creepy black-winged skeletal man holds a mostly naked unconscious woman. They are surrounded by crows and inverted crosses on chains. It would have been near perfect until you realize part of the background is a gigantic dinosaur type head with its mouth open. I’m really not sure what this has to do with the song. It nearly ruins the rest of the visual for me…call me picky.
13. Lords of the Left Hand – The last of the scrapped “Grim” album songs. This one is all about the Nazi, well Hitler, obsession with finding occult objects to help them rule the world. The artwork reflects this. Taken out of context I could see this being some pro-white power bull shit. This is not the case by any stretch of the imagination. If you want to know about the history behind this song go find the various books written on the subject. I feel this was one of Glenn’s more experimental songs.
14. Unholy Passion – This is a classic Samhain song. One that I could have sworn had the lyrics released previously. This is a song about the darkest carnal pleasures. To quote Glenn “this is a song about fuckin’”. The artwork mimics the cover of the Unholy Passion EP. Biz has a far more realistic and pretty edge to it. His pencil work on the demon girl's hips is outstanding. An old school fiend skull is seen in the background, which seems a bit out of place.
15. Earth A.D. – I can’t say anything bad about the Misfits lyrics. I don’t think there is a one I don’t like. I do wish we could have had a few more (Angelfuck, Mephisto Walz, etc), but I suppose I can wait until the expected Vol. II comes out. This song is brutal and the lyrics make it clear just how violent the Earth A.D. album could get. The Artwork shows Doyle and Danzig standing victorious in a battle field…FUCKING EPIC!
16. Hellhound – This was never one of my favorite Misfits songs, but I have a new found respect for it. The artwork comes strong with a near skeletal version of Cerberus, the lupine guardian of Elysium, tearing apart a naked woman. One head is ripping off her face, another is menacing the viewer, and the third finds a snack in the form of a hand. Fantastic. It seems Biz was saving his super artwork for the Misfits section.
17. Death Comes Ripping – Another brutal treat from the Earth A.D./Wolfsblood release. It is very nice to have the bits right after Glenn says “Chopped up, Hacked up” cleared up. Man, the art gets better and better through this section. Here we find a punk naked demon girl sitting on the chest of a man holding the heart she just ripped out. Really…I mean REALLY!!! This should have been the standard throughout the book.
18. Wolfsblood – Another hard hitter from Earth A.D. I haven’t listened to this album in a very long time, so I can’t comment on what I think the lyrics were. What is presented is a very violent poem of a man’s struggle through werewolf transformation. Biz presents a picture of that very struggle. The face on the moon is a bit weak, but the rest of the image hammers home the point.
19. Die, Die My Darling – Fuck Metallica for covering this song. It is not my favorite, but it is very nice to have the official lyrics. The Artwork is a very high class version of the EP cover. Completely excellent! Fits the original design of the Misfits perfectly.
20. American Nightmare – To think I always thought he said “Hot Cherry on a Friday Night” and now I learn it’s “Hot Chevy on a Friday Night”. DAMN YOU MUMBLES!!! This was the only attempt the Misfits, well Glenn, gave at Rockabilly back in the early 80’s. The song is fantastically campy and very catchy. The artwork is a bit horrorpunk cliché, but fits the song nicely.
21. Ghouls Night Out – This is a fantastic Misfits b-side and I’m glad it is here and official finally. These lyrics only vary slightly from those found on Misfits Central, so rest easy. The artwork is of three naked demon girls eviscerating a naked man. Simple and to the point. Pretty good.
22. Horror Business – Here is a staple Misfits and Samhain song. I’m not sure why these lyrics really needed to be confirmed. What you find here is what most thought he said. I am glad they are official, but would have rather have had a different song. The image here is pretty much a horror punker’s fantasy. It fits perfectly; A man in a decrepit bathroom with a disemboweled woman in the shower. He is looking in the mirror and seeing the fiend skull as his own face as he wipes blood down his eye. This is such a great image.
If you’ve made it this far, then I applaud the effort. I would say this would be a great buy for the average person if it were less expensive. For those of us who are collectors of Glenn Danzig’s work, then no matter the price this will end up in our collections. If you don’t fall into the realm of collector then maybe try and track this down digitally. Overall this is still better than anything Jerry Only has put out in the last decade!
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