We've got some uncharacteristically early fall weather here on MV, that means a man's thoughts turn to ...blues metal. I've been a fan of Glenn Danzig's music for 40 years now. The Misfits need no introduction nor explanation. Samhain was an amusing but short-lived diversion into goth rock. The first four Danzig albums (and the fun little Thrall-Demonsweatlive EP) are represent Glenn in his absolute prime. He had the ideal backing band for his possessed Elvis persona. Eerie Von is the perfect backbone for the whole thing, and already had experience dealing with Glenn in Samhain. John Christ's riffs are leadenly heavy but still cut sharply through the mix. Chuck Biscuits got his start in punk rock (DOA, Black Flag, Circle Jerks) but adapts seamlessly to the demonic blues sound of Danzig. He's not a showy drummer, but he always does exactly the right thing. The efforts of all of these men are captured by producer Rick Rubin, who was also at the absolute top of his game at the time. Rick has done an awful lot to tarnish his own legacy, but the truth is in the 80s and 90s he was a music god. The first Danzig album is lightning in a bottle, and really without peer. I'm biased, because I bought it new on cassette in 1988, at a very impressionable age. Similarly, I bought II and III on CD when they came out. Both albums seek to the one(s) before them, and succeed in some areas and fall short in others. Also, they straight up fucking ROCK. Even at his most goofy, Glenn was a savant at conjuring compelling cheese. I didn't pick up 4 until years later, some time post millennium. While it's vastly inferior to the first three, it still a solid listen. Glenn was veering into experimental territory and well out of his natural depth. This would be a harbinger of (bad) things to come. He was fortunate to still have the classic band lineup and Rick Rubin producing. 4 was recorded in legendary Sound City studio, and I'm sure that helped. Look up the albums recorded there sometime, it's a staggering list. The album with the greatest guitar tone ever was recorded there. (I will die on this hill.) All of the above was enough to counterweight Glenn's worst ideas. Mostly.