Glenn Danzig

From his tenure with the seminal hardcore band the Misfits to his later work with the heavy metal outfit which bears his name, Glenn Danzig remained one of the preeminent cult figures in rock, forging a dark, chillingly atmospheric brand of goth metal considerably more literate and compelling than the music of his contemporaries. Born Glenn Anzalone on June 23, 1955, in Lodi, NJ, he fronted the little-known cover bands Talus and Wodat & Bojang before founding the Misfits in 1977. Although the group's brutal hardcore punk sound and psycho-tronic lyrical imagery appealed only to a tiny but fiercely devoted cult following during its own lifespan, following their 1983 demise the Misfits' cult following swelled exponentially, and their music was cited as a major influence by the likes of Metallica and Guns n' Roses. Danzig next helmed Samhain; much darker and more brooding than the Misfits, the group's records pushed him closer to heavy metal, and reflected an increasingly mature songwriting approach. In 1987, he formed the band Danzig, his most visible project yet; reaching their commercial peak with 1992's Danzig III: How the Gods Kill, the group also scored a left-field hit with the live "Mother," a favorite of MTV tastemakers Beavis and Butt-Head. In addition to his musical pursuits, Danzig also founded his own comic book publishing imprint, Verotik, writing a series of titles including Grub Girl, Satanika, and Jaguar God.