Editing Danzig 4

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = Danzig 4
| type         = studio
| artist       = [[Danzig (band)|Danzig]]
| cover        = Danzig4palbum.jpg
| alt          = 
| released     = October 4, 1994
| recorded     = October 1993 – May 1994<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.misfitscentral.com/danzig/sessions.php|title=Danzig Recording Sessions|work=misfitscentral.com|access-date=January 15, 2017}}</ref>
| venue        = 
| studio       = *[[Ocean Way Recording|Ocean Way]] (Los Angeles)
*[[Sound City Studios|Sound City]] ([[Van Nuys]])
| genre        = * [[Heavy metal music|Heavy metal]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=Köfler|first=Marko|date=December 17, 2018|title=Review: Danzig "4" (American Recordings)|url=https://antichristmagazine.com/review-danzig-4-american-recordings/|access-date=July 13, 2023|website=antichristmagazine.com}}</ref>
* [[blues rock]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stingley |first=Mick |date=July 8, 2002 |title=Danzig 777: I Luciferi |url=https://www.knac.com/article.asp?ArticleID=1083 |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=KNAC.COM}}</ref>
| length       = 61:06
| label        = [[American Recordings (record label)|American Recordings]]
| producer     = [[Glenn Danzig]], [[Rick Rubin]]
| prev_title   = [[Thrall-Demonsweatlive]]
| prev_year    = 1993
| next_title   = [[Blackacidevil|Danzig 5: Blackacidevil]]
| next_year    = 1996
| misc         = {{Singles
 | name        = Danzig 4
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = Cantspeak
 | single1date = 1995<ref name="Official Danzig Website">{{cite web|url=http://danzig-verotik.com/danzig/danzig4.html |title=Official Danzig Website |publisher=Danzig-verotik.com |access-date=September 4, 2023}}</ref>
 | single2     = I Don't Mind the Pain
 | single2date = 1995<ref name="Official Danzig Website"/>
}}
}}

'''''Danzig 4''''', also titled '''''Danzig 4P''''', is the fourth studio album by American [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] band [[Danzig (band)|Danzig]]. Released in 1994, it was the band's final album on [[American Recordings (record label)|American Recordings]], and the last to feature the original lineup of [[John Christ]] (guitar), [[Eerie Von]] (bass), and [[Chuck Biscuits]] (drums). ''Danzig 4'' followed 1993's highly successful ''[[Thrall-Demonsweatlive]]'' [[Extended play|EP]] and singer [[Glenn Danzig]]'s 1992 instrumental solo effort, ''[[Black Aria]]''.

==Album title==
In various 1994-95 interviews, Danzig explained that he did not wish to give the album a title, as he felt that a logo or printing would ruin the artwork, which he wished to stand on its own. After pressure from representatives from American Recordings, who did not want to release an unlabeled album for fear that sales would plummet, Danzig relented and allowed a sticker reading "Danzig 4" to be placed on the album's [[cellophane]] wrapper in both the vinyl and CD formats. To the right of the "4" is a tiny uppercase letter "P", in reference to the Four P movement. The following information was supplied by American Recordings in 1994:

<blockquote>"The Four P movement is an alleged Satanic cult operating throughout the United States. An offshoot of the notorious [[The Process Church of The Final Judgment|Process Church of the Final Judgment]], the Four P movement takes its name from the Process' original sigil: a [[swastika]]-like form composed of four interlocking [[P]]s. The Four P movement was supposedly begun in 1967, and has been connected to a number of ritual killings across the country, including the [[Son of Sam]] killings in New York and the [[Helter Skelter (Manson scenario)|Manson Family]] murders in California."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the7thhouse.com/news/Articles/article4.htm|title=4p|last=Rogers|first=Steve|date=November 15, 1994|publisher=[[American Recordings (record label)|American Recordings]]|access-date=2013-11-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111017175110/http://www.the7thhouse.com/news/Articles/article4.htm|archive-date=October 17, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref></blockquote>

In interviews the band members themselves usually refer to the album simply as ''Danzig&nbsp;4'', which is printed on the CD itself, the inlay spine, and the labels on the vinyl LP. In the liner notes to the 2007 compilation ''[[The Lost Tracks of Danzig]]'', however, Glenn Danzig refers several times to ''Danzig 4P''.

==Production==
''Danzig 4'' was recorded at [[Ocean Way Recording|Ocean Way]] and [[Sound City Studios]] in California.

During the song writing process for the album, Glenn Danzig recorded his basic ideas onto a [[microcassette]].<ref name="Musician">{{cite web|url=http://www.misfitscentral.com/display.php?t=darticle&f=musician.894|title=Careful with that Axe, John Christ|last=Considine|first=J.D.|date=August 1994|publisher=[[Musician (magazine)|Musician]]|access-date=February 10, 2011}}</ref> The process continued with Glenn Danzig and John Christ working on guitar parts, before the next stage of Eerie Von and Chuck Biscuits working out their parts of the song arrangements.<ref name="Musician"/>

The band introduced different instruments and used a few [[Industrial music|industrial]] sounds in the background of some tracks.<ref name="Allmusic" /> Christ explained "We wanted to introduce some new textures into the band, so we experimented with several older, exotic acoustic instruments, including a [[Pump organ|harmonium]], a recorder and wind chimes."<ref name="Guitar World">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.misfitscentral.com/display.php?t=darticle&f=gworld.94|title=The Passion of Christ|last=Gilbert|first=Jeff|date=August 1994|magazine=[[Guitar World]]|access-date=September 25, 2010}}</ref>

Christ also experimented with his guitar sound: "The big difference on this album in terms of my playing is how I use sound and texture. I experimented with several different types of [[Chorus effect|stereo chorusing]] and [[Pitch shift|pitch-shifting]]. For example, my tone on "Son of the Morning Star" constantly evolves throughout the song."<ref name="Guitar World" />

Biscuits preferred the drum sound captured on ''Danzig 4'' to the drum sound on his previous Danzig recordings: "I've had problems with the drum sounds on previous records. They've been too flat, too controlled. In the past, [[Rick Rubin|Rick [Rubin]]] has been into that dry, tight [[AC/DC]] sound. This one was looser, with more spaces, more noise."<ref name="Musician"/>

The CD release ends with an unlisted hidden thirteenth track. According to an interview with Glenn Danzig, the track is titled "Invocation" and is "about a demon fucking somebody."<ref name="Musician2"/> The song is inspired by a [[black mass]] Danzig claims to have heard at the ''Magickal Childe'' occult emporium in New York.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.the7thhouse.com/news/Articles/metal_hammer2_dec.jpg|title=The Dark Knight Returns|date=December 2002|magazine=[[Metal Hammer]]|access-date=March 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111017204813/http://www.the7thhouse.com/news/Articles/metal_hammer2_dec.jpg|archive-date=October 17, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> "Invocation" includes a [[Gregorian chant]],<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1994/10/14/album-review-4/|title=4|last=Browne|first=David|date=October 14, 1994|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date=August 2, 2010|archive-date=September 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911215204/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,304052,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and instrumental tracks that are unique to the song, but reversed, as is Glenn Danzig's spoken introduction: "All right, let's hear it back". The track has been described as sounding like a demonic ritual, and Christ described the motivation behind the recording: "People give us a hard time about the '[[Devil]] thing', so we figured, 'Let's give them something to really talk about'."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/12/09/album-cant-quell-the-demons-that-haunt-danzig/|title=Album Can't Quell the Demons that Haunt Danzig|last=Kening|first=Dan|date=December 9, 1994|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=July 12, 2012}}</ref> There are several blank tracks before "Invocation", so that it is numbered track 66.<ref name="Allmusic" /> CD players that display the "current track number" and "total disc time elapsed" in minutes thus read ''66&nbsp;&nbsp;61:38'' on the display as the final track starts. This is perhaps an intentional reference to [[Number of the beast|The Number of the Beast]] and the song "[[We Are 138]]" that Danzig wrote during his days in the [[Misfits (band)|Misfits]]. "Invocation" is not included on the cassette or vinyl versions of the album.

Although the songs "Crucifixion Destruction" and "White Devil Rise" were mentioned in interviews and articles throughout 1994, with Danzig even discussing the latter in some detail, neither song was included on the final version of the album. Along with another outtake from the same sessions, "The Mandrake's Cry", these were finally released in 2007 on the first disc of ''[[The Lost Tracks of Danzig]]'' (with "Crucifixion Destruction" under its correct title, "Satan's Crucifiction").

==Musical style==
The album is more experimental than its predecessors, and Glenn Danzig described it as "A very challenging record, philosophically, vocally and musically."<ref name="Flux">{{cite web|url=http://www.misfitscentral.com/display.php?t=darticle&f=flux.94|title=The Dark Knight Returns|last=Kitts|first=Jeff|date=September 1994|publisher=[[Flux Magazine (US)|Flux Magazine]]|access-date=April 20, 2011}}</ref>

Inspired by accusations that their songs contained [[Backmasking#Satanic backmasking|hidden Satanic messages]], the guitar tracks for "Cantspeak" are those of "Let It Be Captured" played in reverse, as Christ explained: "Eerie Von had the idea of playing one of our songs backwards...we recorded whole guitar solo and drum parts backwards in the songs on this record. In the end we were so obsessed on this that we were trying to really play the whole song "Let It Be Captured" backwards. Therefore, a new song was created - "Cantspeak"."<ref name="WOMmagazin">{{cite web|url=http://www.misfitscentral.com/display.php?t=darticle&f=wom.94|title=Satan Spelled Backwards|date=October 1994|publisher=[[WOM magazin]]|access-date=April 22, 2011}}</ref>

Christ explained the song structure of "Son of the Morning Star" in more detail: "We actually start out with jazz chords and a funky jazz beat. All of a sudden, we kick into this heavy riff pattern. Then we come back to the original jazz feel, but in a rock version."<ref name="Musician" />

==Themes==

The lyrics to the song "Cantspeak" provide a depiction of helpless desperation.<ref name="Musician2">{{cite web|url=http://www.misfitscentral.com/display.php?t=darticle&f=musician.894|title=Danzig Knows the Power of the Dark Side|last=Young|first=Jon|date=August 1994|publisher=[[Musician (magazine)|Musician]]|access-date=February 8, 2011}}</ref>

Glenn Danzig has stated that the song "Going Down to Die" was written about "knowing you're gonna die and dying....some people know they're going to die. They sense it, and they do die. I've known when other people are going to die, and they died."<ref name="RIP">{{cite web|url=http://www.misfitscentral.com/display.php?t=darticle&f=hparader.994|title=DANZIG Mother's Finest|last=Turman|first=Katherine|date=September 1994|publisher=[[RIP (magazine)|RIP]]|access-date=April 21, 2011}}</ref> He also revealed that at one point there were plans for the song to be included on the ''[[Natural Born Killers]]'' film soundtrack.<ref name="RIP" />

==Artwork and packaging==
The album cover features artwork by Glenn Danzig. Glenn Danzig has referred to the symbols on the album cover as "Vehmic runes" that spell out "Danzig".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the7thhouse.com/news/Articles/d6_twec.htm|title=Glenn Danzig chat|date=January 27, 2000|publisher=TWEC.com|access-date=December 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716220649/http://www.the7thhouse.com/news/Articles/d6_twec.htm|archive-date=July 16, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> They were taken from the alphabet of a secret tribunal group from Medieval Germany called the [[Vehmic court|Vehmgericht]].

The liner notes contain a panoramic picture of the four band members in propped up coffins, flanked by [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] men, as a [[Bill Clinton]] impersonator shakes hands with a police officer wielding a shotgun.<ref name="Guitar">{{cite web|url=http://www.misfitscentral.com/display.php?t=darticle&f=guitfpm.94|title=48 Hours in the Life of Danzig's John Christ|last=Christ|first=John|date=October 1994|publisher=[[Guitar for the Practicing Musician]]|access-date=April 22, 2011}}</ref> The photo is reminiscent of a 19th-century photograph of dead outlaws on display.<ref name="Guitar" /> Glenn Danzig would later reveal that the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] considered him a threat to Clinton, the American President at the time of the album release.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rockdirt.com/was-glenn-danzig-deemed-by-fbi-a-threat-to-clinton/12500/|title=Was Glenn Danzig Deemed by FBI a Threat to Clinton?|date=February 19, 2005|publisher=RockDirt.com|access-date=March 18, 2010}}</ref> The liner notes also include a [[Yin and yang|yin yang]] symbol incorporating the Danzig skull, by artist [[Michael William Kaluta]].

The first pressings of the album were sold in a distinctive cardboard sleeve, which Glenn Danzig claimed was more like that of an old-fashioned [[LP album|LP]] and more environmentally-friendly than the common plastic CD [[jewel case]]. Since this initial release of the album, its cardboard packaging has been replaced by the jewel case.

Like Danzig's previous three albums, ''Danzig 4'' has been labeled with a [[Parental Advisory]] (originally in the form of a sticker until the repackaging in the jewel case) since its initial pressings, despite the absence of common profanity.

==Reception==
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="Allmusic">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r204080|pure_url=yes}}|title=Danzig 4|last=Huey|first=Steve|website=[[Allmusic]]|access-date=August 30, 2010}}</ref>
| rev2 = [[College Music Journal]]
| rev2Score = (favorable)<ref>http://prod1.cmj.com/articles/display_article.php?id=5723{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
| rev3 = [[Entertainment Weekly]]
| rev3Score = A−<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://ew.com/article/1994/10/14/album-review-4/ | magazine=Entertainment Weekly | title=Music Review: Album Review: '4', by Glenn Danzig | date=October 14, 1994 | access-date=August 2, 2010 | archive-date=September 11, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911215204/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,304052,00.html | url-status=live }}</ref>
| rev4 = [[Q (magazine)|Q]]
| rev4Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="Q">{{cite magazine |date=January 1995|title=Danzig 4|magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|issue=January 1995|pages=250}}</ref>
| rev5 = Request Magazine
| rev5Score = (favorable)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.misfitscentral.com/display.php?t=darticle&f=request.94|title=Look At This! :: MisfitsCentral.com|website=www.misfitscentral.com}}</ref>
| rev6 = [[Rock Hard (magazine)|Rock Hard]]
| rev6Score = {{Rating|9|10}}<ref>http://www.rockhard.de/index.php?smod=p209MJ56rKOyMTyuWz1iMUIfo2qAo2D9pz9wn2uupzDhpzI2nJI3pl5xMKEunJkJnJI3Wzqlo3IjFHD9pzuspzI2nJI3WzAioaEyoaEWEQ0kAGLlBFL%3D{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
| rev7 = [[Rolling Stone]]
| rev7Score = (favorable)<ref name="Rolling Stone">{{cite magazine |date=December 1994|title=Danzig 4|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|issue=December 1994|pages=173}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[Spin Alternative Record Guide]]''
| rev8score = 6/10<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Misfits|first=Eric|last=Weisbard|title=Spin Alternative Record Guide|title-link=Spin Alternative Record Guide|editor1-first=Eric|editor1-last=Weisbard|editor2-first=Craig|editor2-last=Marks|publisher=[[Vintage Books]]|year=1995|isbn=0-679-75574-8|pages=254–255}}</ref>
}}

* ''[[AllMusic]]'' - "Danzig's experiments with using texture and atmosphere to evoke their trademark mood of darkness and evil come to the forefront on their fourth full-length album...the music here comes the closest to reflecting the darkness of Glenn Danzig's lyrics. Some, however, may miss their more energetic earlier albums."<ref name="Allmusic" />
* ''[[College Music Journal]]'' - "Maintaining a mysterious, dark and primal attitude seems to come easy to Danzig, as the group proves itself once again on ''Danzig 4''. ''Danzig 4'' is definitely not for the meek."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://prod1.cmj.com/articles/display_article.php?id=5723|title=Danzig: Danzig 4|date=November 10, 2000|publisher=[[College Music Journal]]|access-date=August 30, 2010}}{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' - "A little more diversity and a significant tightening up of the songwriting quality has resulted in a dark, moody, and at times powerfully evocative album."<ref name="Q" />
* ''Request Magazine'' - "The brooding melancholy of ''4'' never lets up, aided by the stripped-down coproduction of [[Rick Rubin]]. The guitar and vocal distortion adds a psychedelic otherworldly touch while bringing the music back to the rawness of Danzig's garage-punk roots. A Danzig album is always fascinating because the band sounds like no other in hard rock today."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.misfitscentral.com/display.php?t=darticle&f=request.94|title=Danzig 4|last=Kaye|first=Don|date=December 1994|publisher=Request Magazine|access-date=November 13, 2011}}</ref>
* ''[[Trouser Press]]'' - "Dark, sinister, violent, theatrically overstated...Danzig sounds a personal note amid the usual fictional depictions ("Bringer of Death," "Stalker Song"). "I Don't Mind the Pain," "Son of the Morning Star," "Let It Be Captured" and "Cantspeak" disguise what appear to be mundane feelings of loneliness in grandiose imagery, although that doesn't explain the sexual violence of "Little Whip." Elsewhere, he indulges in a little garden-variety self-deification ("Brand New God," "Until You Call on the Dark"). The dynamic variety of the long, ambitious record is better than ever, but it's an audibly strenuous effort. Too self-conscious by half and sonically thick-skinned where previous albums ripped away flesh, ''4'' is pure, but not prime, Danzig."<ref name="TrouserPress">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=danzig|title=DANZIG|magazine=[[Trouser Press]]|access-date=October 8, 2013}}</ref>

"Until You Call on the Dark" appears on the 1996 compilation album ''[[Big Ones of Alternative Rock vol. 1]]''. The [[black metal]] band [[Behemoth (band)|Behemoth]] recorded a cover version of "Until You Call on the Dark" for their 2005 EP ''[[Slaves Shall Serve]]''.

==Touring and promotion==
Music videos were released for the songs "Until You Call on the Dark", "I Don't Mind the Pain", "Cantspeak" and "Sadistikal".

"Cantspeak" was produced by the underground director Fred Stuhr, known for his work with the band [[Tool (band)|Tool]], and uses a mixture of live-action performance and computer-assisted animation.<ref name="Billboard">{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ugsEAAAAMBAJ&q=glenn%20danzig&pg=PA33|title=Danzig's 'Cantspeak' Far from Muted|last=Russell|first=Deborah|date=January 7, 1995|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|accessdate=July 21, 2010}}</ref> Discussing the video, Stuhr explained "I wanted to create a sense of someone being trapped, someone who can't speak. He's not alive or dead. He's just an ideal, a soul, an existence floating in and out of this time, this reality."<ref name="Billboard" /> The "Cantspeak" music video appeared on ''[[Beavis and Butt-head]]'', in the episode "[[List of Beavis and Butt-head episodes#Season 5: 1994–1995|Animation Sucks]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beavis-butthead.ru/yellow_articles_episode.html|title=Beavis and Butt-head: The Episode Guide|year=1998|publisher=Beavis-Butthead.ru|accessdate=December 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001206031400/http://www.beavis-butthead.ru/yellow_articles_episode.html|archive-date=December 6, 2000|url-status=dead}}</ref>

"Until You Call on the Dark" marked Chuck Biscuits' final music video appearance with Danzig. The music video was initially rejected by MTV's [[Standards and Practices]] department due to its lyrical content.<ref name="EW">{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1994/10/14/glenn-danzigs-sympathy-devil/|title=Sympathy for the Devil|date=October 14, 1994|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date=August 3, 2010|archive-date=June 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613150029/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,304064,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Joey Castillo appears in Biscuits' place in the music videos for "Cantspeak" and "I Don't Mind the Pain".

All music videos from the album are featured on Danzig's ''[[Il Demonio Nera]]'' DVD.

Shortly after the album had been recorded, Biscuits left the band, returned, and was finally fired. Just prior to the album's release he was replaced by [[Joey Castillo]]. Eerie Von and Christ also intended to leave the band, but decided to stay for the remainder of the tour supporting the album and left the band on July 5 the following year.

==Track listing==
{{Track listing
| total_length    = 
| all_writing     = [[Glenn Danzig]]
| title1          = Brand New God
| length1         = 4:29
| title2          = Little Whip
| length2         = 5:10
| title3          = Cantspeak
| length3         = 4:06
| title4          = Going Down to Die
| length4         = 4:59
| title5          = Until You Call on the Dark
| length5         = 4:24
| title6          = Dominion
| length6         = 4:13
| title7          = Bringer of Death
| length7         = 4:40
| title8          = Sadistikal
| length8         = 5:07
| title9          = Son of the Morning Star
| length9         = 5:04
| title10          = I Don't Mind the Pain
| length10         = 4:45
| title11          = Stalker Song
| length11         = 5:48
| title12          = Let It Be Captured
| length12         = 5:16
| title66          = Invocation
| length66         = 2:59
}}

==Personnel==
===Danzig===
*[[Glenn Danzig]] – vocals, guitar, piano
*[[John Christ]] – guitar
*[[Eerie Von]] – bass
*[[Chuck Biscuits]] – drums

===Production===
*Producers – Glenn Danzig, [[Rick Rubin]]
*Engineers – Jim Scott, Ken Lomas
*Mastering – Stephen Marcussen
*Artwork – Glenn Danzig (cover art), [[Michael William Kaluta]] (interior art)
*Photography – Dirk Walter

==Charts==
'''Album'''
{| class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top"|Year
!align="left" valign="top"|Chart
!align="left" valign="top"|Position
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1994
|align="left" valign="top"| Australian Albums ([[ARIA Charts]])<ref name="ARIA">{{cite Ryan|page=74}}</ref>
|align="left" valign="top"| 95
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1994
|align="left" valign="top"|[[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]
|align="left" valign="top"|29<ref name="Allmusic" />
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1994
|align="left" valign="top"|[[Sverigetopplistan]]
|align="left" valign="top"|36<ref>{{cite web |url=http://swedishcharts.com/search.asp?search%3DDanzig%26cat%3Da |title=Archived copy |access-date=July 4, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505201248/http://swedishcharts.com/search.asp?search=danzig&cat=a |archive-date=May 5, 2009 }}</ref>
|-
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Danzig}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Danzig (band) albums]]
[[Category:1994 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Rick Rubin]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Glenn Danzig]]