Samhain | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Danzig_Getaway_Rock_Festival_2011.jpg) Glenn Danzig in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1983–1987 (changed their name to Danzig) (partial reunions: 1999, 2011, 2012, 2014) |
| Labels | |
| Spinoffs | Danzig |
| Spinoff of | Misfits |
| Past members | Glenn Danzig Steve Zing Eerie Von Pete "Damien" Marshall London May John Christ Brian Baker Lyle Preslar |
Samhain was an American rock band formed by singer Glenn Danzig in 1983, immediately following his departure from The Misfits. Glenn Danzig originally planned Samhain as a side project with Eerie Von.[1] After the Misfits' contentious 1983 dissolution, Samhain became Danzig's full-time band.
Samhain catalogs a transitional period in Glenn Danzig's musical career, bridging the gap between the punk rock/horror punk of the Misfits and the dark, heavy metal- and blues-influenced sound of Danzig. Samhain's lyrics were much darker than those of the Misfits, with themes rooted in paganism and the occult and eventually the horrors of reality, as opposed to the sometimes cartoonish ghouls and ghosts of the Misfits.[2]
Both Samhain and its successor, Danzig, use the same horned skull image originally drawn by artist Michael Golden for the cover of the 1984 comic book The Saga of Crystar No. 8, published by Marvel Comics. The font often used in the wordmarks of Samhain, and later Danzig, is taken from the film The Giant Gila Monster. Danzig took the name of the band from the Irish month of November and pre-Christian, Celtic festival Samhain, the origin of the modern Halloween. Despite the festival being pronounced "sau-win", the band's name is often pronounced as "sam-hane". Glenn Danzig has said that both pronunciations are correct.[3]
Samhain released two full-length albums and one EP during their three-year career as an active band. Danzig has said that he wrote two songs ("Death Comes Ripping" and "Bloodfeast") with the intention of using them on the first Samhain album, but instead recorded them with the Misfits for the Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood album in order to round out that band's final series of recordings and release a full album.[2]
- ^ "Eerie Von Interview – BLANKMANinc". October 15, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
- ^ a b Cipollini, Christian. "Glenn Danzig – Horror Business". Penny Blood. Retrieved April 16, 2010.
- ^ Christopher, Michael (October 15, 2015). "Interview: Glenn Danzig talks Elvis, his covers album, and his legacy ahead of Rock and Shock appearance". Vanyaland. Retrieved July 24, 2024.