Glenn Danzig is best known for his tenure as the frontman of The Misfits, but in 1983, he put a new project together called Samhain. Samhain would have three albums to their name and several lineup changes. Although they wouldn’t gain as much recognition as Danzig’s previous band, they’d represent an important change that combined the distinctive horror punk style The Misfits were known for with the metal influence of his eventual solo career.
Glenn Danzig Forms Samhain Following Dissolution of The Misfits
Danzig formed Samhain following the dissolution of The Misfits with the band’s photographer, Eerie Von. The idea for the project would be that it would be more ambitious, involving a supergroup featuring members of the hardcore punk scene.
While the two were still in involved in the world of The Misfits, Danzig revealed vague details of the new project to Flesh & Bones magazine, “I’m going to work on something new in a few months and this time I’ll have a hand in producing, which I didn’t have the last time…”
“I did think about calling this band Danzig, but I just felt it was a little too egotistical.” – Glenn Danzig
By 1983, The Misfits were done. Infighting and tensions led to Danzig disbanding the group. Glenn Danzig would tell Loudersound, “It was difficult for me to work with these guys because they weren’t prepared to put in the hours practicing. I wanted to move things forward and they didn’t seem to have the same outlook. So it was time for me to move on. I know what I wanted, and that was to bring in people who cared about their musicianship and would improve as we went along. I did think about calling this band Danzig, but I just felt it was a little too egotistical.”
As the year progressed, several of the scene’s veterans, including Al Pike of Reagan Youth, Brian Baker and Lyle Preslar of Minor Threat, and Graham McCulloch of Negative Approach contributed tracks towards what would become Samhain’s debut album, Initium.
Danzig abandoned the supergroup concept once Pike chose to work on his fanzine full-time, and the three remaining musicians went with singer Tesco Vee to form The Meatmen.
Later in the year, Preslar regrouped with Samhain, and Eerie Von became the group’s bassist with Steve Zing of Mourning Noise becoming the band’s drummer.
“I think all the Samhain releases were different from anything that was going on at the time.” – Steve Zing
Steve Zing would speak of his integration into Samhain, telling Vinyl Writer Music, “I had become friendly with Glenn while The Misfits were still together. Glenn had wanted to go in a different direction and he was getting frustrated and the band had some internal differences, so when he decided to disband The Misfits, he called me and asked if I’d be interested in starting a band.” Zing would also comment on the impact of the band’s approach, “I think all the Samhain releases were different from anything that was going on at the time. Some didn’t get it. It had all the elements of true-to-life horror stories.”
“We’re trying to keep a basic sound, a real drive, and also, just not get tied down to one form of music.” – Glenn Danzig
In 1984, Samhain continued making progress on the Initium album, and were later interviewed by New York’s WNYU station, 89.1 FM. Danzig explained the recording process of the group’s first album, “We’re just exploring a lot of different directions. We’re trying to keep a basic sound, a real drive, and also, just not get tied down to one form of music.”
When asked whether Samhain’s music would be more accessible than The Misfits, he responded, “Maybe not so much that it’s more accessible, it’s just that right now, big labels are looking to indie bands, because they’re selling a lot more records than the band’s they’re putting money into that aren’t doing anything, so we’ll see what happens with that.”
Samhain Premieres “Black Dream” on The Hell Hole
Samhain premiered a rough cut of their track, “Black Dream,” on one of the station’s shows, The Hell Hole, which played original music from local independent punk and metal acts. When prompted to describe the song, Danzig would be more tongue-in-cheek with his answer, “The song is about a succubus…The thing is, every time she makes it with a guy, she drains more and more of his life force until he eventually dies, and I guess it’s about life, too, in that way.”
A week after their appearance on the show, Samhain made their live debut at the Rock Hotel in New York City, with an extreme routine involving covering themselves in blood.
Pete Marshall Replaces Lyle Preslar
By June of the same year, Pete Marshall from Mourning Noise had replaced Lyle Preslar, and the band would appear on The Hell Hole again to discuss their first show and the lineup change, while Initium was being mastered. Danzig would tell the station, “For as much rehearsal as we got with Lyle, it was pretty good. He was just coming up here and then flying right home. Originally, it wasn’t supposed to be like that, but as the show got closer and closer to being over, he wanted to act like a rock star. I got along with him kind of alright, but…I had to keep an eye on these guys from killing him… After the Rock Hotel show, we just didn’t call him anymore…so we got a new guy, Pete.”
Initium is Released on Plan 9 Records
In August of 1984, Samhain released Initium on Danzig’s indie label, Plan 9 Records. The album experimented with post-punk sounds at the time, while incorporating an innovative metal-based foundation. The band began playing live more frequently, embarking on a mini tour of mostly southern and Midwestern states.
By 1985, the band would follow up the album with the Unholy Passion EP, which Eerie Von would classify in his 2009 photography book as, “More underground, more tribal, and a step back further into the darkness.”
“…Girls understood us a little better, but every skinhead immediately hated us.” – Pete Marshall
Despite the support Samhain received up to this point, they were still a tough sell to their hardcore punk peers. Pete Marshall, when interviewed by Jeff Frumes in 2020, recalled the hostile reaction the band received when performing “Macabre”, saying, “They didn’t like us at all. There were glass ashtrays around the club that they were throwing at us. Occasionally, you had people trying to pour beer into our boots. Girls understood us a little better, but every skinhead immediately hated us.”
“A bunch of guys said they were going to get us…” – Pete Marshall
Marshall emphasized the extent of that hostility in an anecdote on one of their performances in Columbus, Ohio, when sharing the bill with Louisville punk band Maurice, saying, “A bunch of guys said they were going to get us… We had one of the kids from Maurice look out and make sure it was safe, but this guy slashed all the tires on our Hertz rental van, and he denied it when we came back outside.”
Samhain wouldn’t be deterred. By 1986, they released their sophomore effort, Samhain III: November-Coming-Fire, and their shows were a testament to their success at the time. Danzig told Thrasher Magazine, “If somebody asked me, ‘Which record should I get that really portrays Samhain,’ I would say the new one. Already, we’re drawing about the same amount as The Misfits are drawing. We just played up in Boston, and it’s a totally different crowd… It’s a lot of kids who don’t even know who The Misfits are. There are a lot of people that do come, who are interested in what goes on after The Misfits and just like the songwriting, and that’s cool. I have people come up to me and say, ‘God, there will never be another Misfits,’ and then walk away, but there are also people who say, ‘The Misfits were never this good.”
“It became a common sight to see long haired metal-heads walking down a street wearing a t-shirt with The Misfits trademarked goofily grinning skull emblazoned on it.” – Spin Magazine
Spin Magazine would even acknowledge the influence of Samhain, “It became a common sight to see long haired metal-heads walking down a street wearing a t-shirt with The Misfits trademarked goofily grinning skull emblazoned on it.”
Glenn Danzig Signs Solo Deal with American Recordings
A month after the interview, Samhain performed at The Ritz, and attracted the attention of producer Rick Rubin, who would sign Danzig to a solo deal with his label, American Recordings. Metallica bassist Cliff Burton and frontman James Hetfield encouraged Rubin to sign Danzig. Glenn Danzig revealed to Loudersound, “I first met them at a Black Flag gig, and then we became kinda friends. We’d often bump into each other on the road, and then one day Cliff called me up, asking for the lyrics to ‘The Last Caress/Green Hell’, the old Misfits song. It seemed Metallica were planning to do this for a covers EP, although by the time they got around to recording this, Cliff had died. So, James and Cliff helped spread the word about me, and I was very grateful to them.”
It was at this point that Danzig changed the band’s name to Danzig and he would take control of both the creative direction and the lineup, with Eerie Von as the only permanent member.
Samhain’s Final Album, Final Descent is Released
The third and final album from Samhain, Final Descent, would be released in 1990, featuring a collection of tracks prior to the transition to Danzig, as well as reworked tracks from Initium.
Over the years, Samhain participated in various reunions and interest in the band has steadily grown since the reunions. Their material continues to receive praise as recently as this year. Despite their renewed visibility, the band’s catalogue hasn’t been released fully in its original form, and hasn’t seen an official digital release either, which remains a contentious issue.
On October 18th, Neil Jameson of Decibel Magazine wrote an article titled, An Open Letter to Glenn Danzig. In the article, Jameson promptly calls for a full reissue of Samhain’s catalogue, while also recounting personal interactions with Danzig, and his dedication as a fan of his music.
“…Please reissue these effing records. Pretty please with some skulls on top?” – Neil Jameson, Decibel Magazine
The remaining section of the article may sound humorous, but conveys a sincere passion and urgency, as it reads, “Here we are, a couple weeks before Halloween, and I’ve taken you through nearly 30 years of my life. My Samhain CDs are all in tatters, my vinyl is in the hands of someone who’ll probably only take pictures of them for Instagram and never listen to them, and Danzig almost ran me over when he sped out of the Amoeba parking lot. So, this Halloween, please, Glenn, I’ve been good. Please reissue these effing records. Pretty please with some skulls on top? I know you want those. Thanks. Your pal, Neil.”
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