Initium | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1984 | |||
Recorded | 1981; August 1983 – May 1984 | |||
Genre | Deathrock, horror punk | |||
Length | 29:01 | |||
Label | Plan 9 | |||
Producer | Glenn Danzig | |||
Samhain chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Punknews.org | [2] |
Initium is the 1984 debut album by American deathrock band Samhain, released on lead singer Glenn Danzig's independent record label Plan 9. In various interviews, Danzig stated that the album's title, which translates from Latin to English as "beginning", represents his new start after disbanding his prior band, Misfits, in 1983. Most of the final track, "Archangel", was actually recorded in March 1981, and was originally meant to either be a Misfits song featuring Dave Vanian (who never did vocals for the song) or a track for the band the Damned. The track "Horror Biz" likewise dates to Danzig's Misfits era, as it is a new version of "Horror Business" with different musical arrangements. The album was recorded at Reel Platinum studio in Lodi, New Jersey, excluding the introduction which was recorded at Eerie Von's home on a four track cassette. [3]
Also appearing on this recording are Lyle Preslar, guitarist for the influential D.C. band Minor Threat (CD tracks 2, 4, 6, and 7), and Al Pike, bassist for Reagan Youth (CD track 9).
The 1986 cassette release features Initium plus the entire original version of the band's follow-up record, the Unholy Passion EP , and is highly prized by collectors. Also much sought is the initial 1987 CD release of Initium, which featured the album plus the re-recorded/remixed version of the EP. (In 1989, these extra tracks were removed from all future CD pressings, and were instead included on the original 1990 Final Descent album). A very rare pressing exists, which contains the full Initium album and only the remixed title track from the EP. Likewise, some copies of the 2001 Initium reissue also feature the song "Unholy Passion" as an unlisted bonus track.
All songs written and composed by Glenn Danzig.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Initium / Samhain" | 3:39 |
2. | "Black Dream" | 2:00 |
3. | "All Murder All Guts All Fun" | 2:44 |
4. | "Macabre" | 2:12 |
5. | "He-Who-Can-Not-Be-Named" | 1:38 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
6. | "Horror Biz" | 2:41 |
7. | "The Shift" | 3:08 |
8. | "The Howl" | 2:50 |
9. | "Archangel" | 5:12 |
10. | "Unholy Passion" (*) | 3:10 |
* Unlisted bonus track only on 1989 2nd press CD and on some copies of 2001 reissue
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Initium / Samhain" (**) | 3:39 |
2. | "Black Dream" | 2:00 |
3. | "All Murder All Guts All Fun" | 2:44 |
4. | "Macabre" | 2:12 |
5. | "He-Who-Can-Not-Be-Named" | 1:38 |
6. | "Horror Biz" | 2:41 |
7. | "The Shift" | 3:08 |
8. | "The Howl" | 2:50 |
9. | "Archangel" | 5:12 |
10. | "Unholy Passion" | 3:10 |
11. | "All Hell" | 2:19 |
12. | "Moribund" | 1:43 |
13. | "The Hungry End" | 3:06 |
14. | "Misery Tomb" (***) | 3:24 |
15. | "I Am Misery" | 3:40 |
** "Initium" and "Samhain" appear as a single track on all CD releases of the album.
*** This song only appears on the CD version as part of the 1987 remix of Unholy Passion.
Danzig is an American heavy metal band led by former Samhain and Misfits singer Glenn Danzig. Formed in 1987 in Lodi, New Jersey, the group early on became a unique voice in the rock scene, playing a bluesy, doom-laden metal with Glenn Danzig crooning in the style of Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley. Danzig's openly satanic lyrics and image stirred controversy. After a major hit with a live version of its 1988 song "Mother", the band experimented with industrial music but later returned to heavy metal. To date, Danzig has released 12 studio albums, two EPs, one live album, and one compilation album.
Glenn Allen Anzalone, better known by his stage name Glenn Danzig, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is the founder of the rock bands Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig. He owns the Evilive record label as well as Verotik, an adult-oriented comic book publishing company.
Danzig is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Danzig, released in August 1988. The album was the first release on producer Rick Rubin's new label Def American Recordings. Def American's successor, American Recordings, reissued the album in the United States and United Kingdom in 1998. It remains the band's best-selling album having been certified gold in the U.S. in 1994, and has since been certified platinum. Danzig promoted the album with a successful world tour in 1988–1989.
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Thrall-Demonsweatlive is an EP by American heavy metal band Danzig. It was released in 1993 on Def American Recordings and has been certified Gold.
Samhain was an American rock band formed by singer Glenn Danzig in 1983, immediately following his departure from Misfits. Glenn Danzig originally planned Samhain as a side project with Eerie Von. After the Misfits' contentious 1983 dissolution, Samhain became Danzig's full-time band.
Unholy Passion is the first EP and second overall release by American deathrock band Samhain, Glenn Danzig's band after the disbanding of the Misfits. According to bassist Eerie Von in his photographic book Misery Obscura, the album was "a departure from our first release: more underground, more tribal. A step back further into the darkness". The song "All Hell" is a re-recorded version of the Misfits' "All Hell Breaks Loose".
Final Descent is an album by American deathrock band Samhain, first released in 1990, more than three years after lead singer Glenn Danzig and bassist Eerie Von had recruited guitarist John Christ and drummer Chuck Biscuits to form Danzig.
The self-titled box set of American deathrock band Samhain was released in 2000, more than 13 years after the band effectively ceased recording and performing. The set's five CDs and one VHS tape compile nearly all of the band's original catalog, newly remastered from the original master tapes, as well as previously unreleased material, the latter of which includes a live CD and a VHS video cassette of live footage.
Danzig 4, also titled Danzig 4P, is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Danzig. Released in 1994, it was the band's final album on 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 EP and singer Glenn Danzig's 1992 instrumental solo effort, Black Aria.
Danzig 5: Blackacidevil is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Danzig. It was released in 1996 on Hollywood Records, and was reissued through E-Magine Records in 2000 with three extra tracks.
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