Glenn Danzig Names His Most Personally Rewarding Album as a Musician

What was the most personally rewarding creative experience of Glenn Danzig‘s career? During a chat with Full Metal Jackie for her weekend radio show, the Danzig, Misfits and Samhain frontman who has also worked in the world of film and comics singled out the Danzig III: How the Gods Kill album.

“I like all the stuff I’ve done. I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t like it,” the singer clarifies, but choosing the 1992 Danzig studio album. “A really satisfying moment was Danzig III: How the Gods Kill, which I produced and Rick Rubin executive produced. It was the first time we cracked the Billboard Top 20. I remember walking into a mall and there was our record. I couldn’t believe it. We were never in a mall before.” Danzig recalls the thrill of seeing the album take off stateside before exploding in Europe as well.

Danzig is back with his self-titled band in 2025 preparing for what should be one of the great tours of the year. He’s playing shows with Down, Abbath and Cro-Mags and Danzig also spoke with Jackie about how he approaches putting together tour bills, his thoughts on being a touring musician in 2025 and some of the newer bands that he’s tried to feature that reflect his taste in the current music scene.

He also shares his thoughts on social media, whether or not new music might be under consideration and provides a reflection on his interactions with Johnny Cash.

Check out more of the chat below.

It’s Full Metal Jackie and I am so excited to bring you singer, songwriter, actor, director, producer, the one and only Glenn Danzig. We’re here to talk about these upcoming shows with one of the coolest 2025 lineup announced so far. You’re playing shows with Down, Abbath and Cro-Mags joining you in March. There’s some great talent with a lot of history on this tour. Do you have friendships or are you a fan of any of the bands supporting you on this run?

Yeah, of course. I’ve known [Down’s] Phil [Anselmo] forever. And everyone knows I’m a big black metal fan from way, way back. So having Abbath on is fantastic. And I’ve known Harley [Flanagan] since he was a little kid in the Cro-Mags, so…

That’s so great. Seriously incredible lineup. It was like I almost fell out of my chair when I saw.

It’s gonna blow everybody’s doors off. So don’t miss this show.

Absolutely. It sounds like this is gonna be it for Danzig touring this year. Is that true?

Yeah I think. I don’t really like going on tour, as you can see. I’m only doing six shows, so it’s just like trying to get me to go and do a bunch of shows. I don’t mind doing a one off here or there or whatever, but doing a bunch of shows, it’s like riding around on the bus.

I’ve said it before, I know that. We had to make up a Phoenix show last time that had to get canceled because there was a bus shortage. And so basically, in order to get a bus, we had to move all our first dates on the tour to the end of the tour. And there wasn’t an available venue in Phoenix at that time period, so we’ll make up a Phoenix show. Then we had a lot of fans asking why we haven’t come up to the Pacific Northwest and San Francisco. So we’re trying to make that up. It’ll be it for a while.

Glenn, in the last decade or so, you’ve occasionally commented on potentially stopping touring, but instead have opted for more scaled back appearances. Whether it be with the Misfits, one offs or smaller Danzig runs, has this become a more tolerable way to tour? And what have you seen as the biggest changes in touring since your early days?

Well, everything’s more expensive, so we’re paying. The last time I went out was 2022 or 2023. Again, just a handful of shows and the prices on buses and gas had just gone through the roof. This last time we went out in ’23, they went up three times.

We normally pay and this time it’s even crazier, though. I think it’s also become really hard for a lot of bands to go out there and tour or do a ton of touring. Young band just going out there, they would have to go out in a van, kind of how we did back in the day with Danzig and Samhain and the Misfits.

I mean, we would go out in a van, but we could afford it.

Did you enjoy the van days at that time?

Uh, no. No one loves being in a van with a bunch of other people and limited amount of space, personal space especially. I’d have to be driving too. A lot of times we’d have a stick shift and me and maybe one other person knew how to drive a stick shift, so I’d have to drive most of the time also.

Oh, my goodness. Just trying to visualize that right now.

Driving and you’re loading equipment in and you’re doing everything pretty much right.

We need to figure out a way to get you, like a house on wheels that you can. So we can get you to tour more. So you’ll be cool with going out on the road. Everything that you have at home that you like.

I don’t think that’s gonna happen.

Just spitballing here.

But anyway, I’m looking forward to these shows. But it’s been a while and hopefully all the fans will be digging it and we’ll surely have a great time. The lineup, like you said, is insane. So what else can we do except come out there and knock you on your ass.

Glenn, the Danzig lineup are guys you’ve worked with for quite some time. But it’s been a while since there’s been new music. Granted, you’ve had plenty going on with a variety of different things, but with Danzig playing shows again in March, is new music on the table?

No.

You’re just going to focus on touring. You don’t have any interest in getting into a new dance?

I’m not even focused on touring. I’m just doing six shows. If that’s touring, then what I used to do must have been mega touring. We used to go out for three, four, five, six months at a time. So the whole music thing and recording and everything, it’s just changed dramatically where people really don’t buy physical product anymore. They just want to download it for free online. So there’s really no incentive do new music unless I’m in the studio and I do something and I want to give it away for free to everybody.

I don’t know if that’s a great business model, but, you know.

Do you still enjoy writing music?

Yeah, of course. But I write lots of different stuff, so maybe I don’t see the music industry changing at all. So I don’t know if I’m ever gonna record again. At least Danzig stuff, maybe at some point. Don’t know right now.

READ MORE: 25 Bands Whose Singer Is the Only Original Member Left

You’ve written for yourself, and of course you’ve written for others. You’ve used music, comics and film as your outlets. What’s inspiring you as an artist in 2025 and are there things you still have on your to do list?

That’s a good question. I don’t really know. Film takes up a lot of time, so I’m kind of eh about film right now. Comics take up a lot of time. I’m like about comics like I’m kind of about everything.

I love performing onstage. It’s just I hate being on a bus and being away as you know because you live in California, we have these fires and everything. If I was on tour, I’d be not happy.

Right. It would be terrible to be away from home right now with everything going on, too.

Exactly. So there are lots of things like that that when you’re on the road, you have to think about. I don’t know what the future holds. We’ll see. Hopefully it’s a little brighter than it is right now.

Glenn, in a modern music world engulfed by social media, you’ve managed to keep up a mystique about yourself by being a relatively private person. Do you feel that mystique is something that’s missing in today’s music world?

Yeah, I don’t know. It’s not like I purposely do it. I just don’t give a …

Some people are obsessed with everything online, and I’m just like I live in the real world. I don’t live on a computer. So that’s my attitude, you know.

So you don’t look at social media. When you look at the news, are you looking online or where do you go? You don’t spend any time looking at any stuff on social media?

No, I think that the Internet is great to get news that you won’t get on legacy media, mainstream media, because they’re all buttons sold by the growth, but I think should be used in moderation in the world out there. Some people just live on their computer and don’t go out, really.

You might want to tell people what to do, but the world is out there. It’s a real world, not a virtual world, if you know what I’m saying.

Oh, 100 percent. I feel like most of what we see online that people project about themselves is not true. And unfortunately, a lot of people believe what they’re seeing. It’s dangerous, it’s addictive. And I’m not going to say I’m not on social media, but I can understand where you’re coming from.

Yeah. So anyway, that’s my attitude. People can do what they want. I don’t care. Because like I said I don’t give two …

Glenn Danzig on the show with us this week. Let’s talk about Misfits for a moment here. It’s been so great to see you play Misfits shows again, and having Dave Lombardo on drums has definitely been a plus. How has that experience for you been since coming back to the band and what does it mean to you to see a group that was more of an outsider band in its prime now being embraced by a new generation of fans and musicians?

Well, I think it’s still an outsider band. The band, songs and the style have influenced so many people across many different generations. It’s still not really recognized by mainstream music media as anything and here we are headlining one of the stages at Coachella.

But, you know, it’s still kind of a media blackout on them. It’s great. It’s like the big middle finger to the legacy in mainstream media, music media. We played Madison Square Garden a couple years ago. Wow. It’s probably like five years ago now. And we sold it out. We actually oversold it. So they opened up more seats and we sold that out. And it was pretty funny. Cause I remember during the punk days, all these big wig music people who were probably selling hot dogs on 6th Avenue were like, a punk band will never headline Madison Square Garden. So we not only headlined it, we sold it out. We oversold it. And your little hot dog stand on 6th Avenue,

Glenn, this is not the best album question, but I do want to ask you over your experience with multiple bands, comics and film projects, what was the most personally rewarding thing that you’ve worked on just based off your satisfaction with how things turned out and what was going on in your life at that time?

Oh, wow, that’s a good question. I like all the stuff I’ve done. I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t like it. A really satisfying moment was Danzig III: How the Gods Kill, which I produced and Rick Rubin executive produced.

It was the first time we cracked the Billboard Top 20. I remember walking into a mall and there was our record. I couldn’t believe it. We were never in a mall before. Those record stores that used to be in malls that are all gone now.

That was really great and then it blew up in Europe also. So really, the record that made the band,

Danzig, “How the Gods Kill”

Glenn, Just recently, I saw the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, and Dylan’s friendship with Johnny Cash is portrayed in the movie. I know you worked with Johnny writing music for him, as well as Roy Orbison. What were your own experiences working with Johnny, and was he a larger than life figure for you?

Yeah, of course. My dad was a big Johnny Cash man. I actually got a photograph signed for him, or Johnny signed a photo for my dad. He was a really nice guy. Definitely larger than life, like you say, really nice down to earth. Very cool.

One of the cooler moments here was actually getting to work with him in 113. And then I wrote him another song, “Come to Silver,” but I never gave it to him because I left American.

Glenn, you have explored different kinds of music over the years, whether it be horror, punk, industrial, or metal. How much do you pay attention to today’s music? And where do you feel the state of the music scene is right now?

Well, you can see where I see it when you see some of the bands that I will bring out on the road. We brought out Midnight, who I think are fantastic and bands like that, Mutoid Man and bands like that. I’m leaving out bands which I’m not doing on purpose, but you can see we’re bringing a boss time out with us and the Cro-Mags.

I like lots of different kinds of music, but usually the music I like all has kind of the same underlying thing in it that makes you like it. So that’s what I try to do. That’s the kind of stuff I listen to. Whether it’s classical or soundtrack stuff, or whether it’s metal or old school rock or black metal, whatever. It all has some kind of same underlying thing in it that makes me like it.

I feel like all the tours and festivals that you’ve put together, like, they’re just real deal. It doesn’t ever seem like any kind of industry BS favors that might happen. I feel like you’ve always stayed true with giving bands that you believe in and you dig. And many of us dig the opportunity that they don’t typically have. I’ve always loved that about the lineups that you’ve put together.

Yeah, well, we never got those opportunities. I think Metallica are the only people that really ever gave Danzig a shot. Other bands were either scared of our audience or thought we were too, whatever, they wouldn’t give us that opportunity. So I always try to book bands inside of that platform to give them an opportunity. I also want to put together a great bill.

People work hard for their money. You should get a great show, not just your band, but other bands on the bill. It should be great bands all across the board. So they come away feeling like they just went to something special. Not just a show, but something special. That’s what I try to do.

Well, you’ve absolutely done it with the lineup for these March dates. Danzig, Down, Abbath and Cro-Mags. Everyone needs to make it out and see these shows because that’s going to be it for 2025, and you don’t want to miss it.

Glenn, beyond the upcoming tour, what does 2025 hold in store for you? What comes next?

A couple Misfits, one-offs after Coachella and right now that’s about it. Some comics, maybe possible movie projects. We’ll see.

Thanks to Glenn Danzig for the interview. Stay up to date on all of Danzig’s projects through his website. You can also follow Danzig on Facebook and Instagram and listen to Danzig music through Spotify. Find out where you can hear Full Metal Jackie’s weekend radio show here.