Danzig was one of the main reasons for me visiting Sweden Rock this year; however, although looking very much forward to the concert, I was a bit ambivalent about what to expect.
He has been around for a very long time, and my favourite era is definitely what he did in the start, up to and including IV, so I figured it would either an amazing show with loads of this material, or it would be a complete disaster with a tired band only performing newer songs, of which I’m not that well acquainted.

As I was walking away from the Festival Stage after Slayer’s gig, and I saw the great skull backdrop looking out over the festival area from the back of the Rock Stage, it finally dawned on me; “Shit, I’m actually going to see Danzig in just a few short minutes!” I must confess I haven’t felt this way about a concert in a long time, but Danzig was just one of those artists I had written off as something I probably wouldn’t get to experience.
Luckily for me, Glenn Danzig himself, and the rest of the band for that sake, proved to be in a great mood for the show, and lively as ever. Danzig himself was all over the stage, climbing the monitors and visiting Johnny Kelly at the drums, and the rest of the performers weren’t far behind.
The crowd gathered in front of the stage was also massive, proving that I was not the only one looking forward to this dark meeting...

Danzig gave us a well-mixed set of songs, which mainly focused on the swinging bluesy rock style for which the band is famous. There were also a few special treats in there for us; Thirteen, which was said never to have been played live before appeared with a dedication to Johnny Cash, and two songs from the then not yet released album Deth Red Sabaoth were also played, Hammer Of The Gods and The Revengeful.
Still, it was classics such as Twist Of Cain, Her Black Wings and of course the ending track Mother which garnered the most appreciation from the crowd.
Actually, the band was so much appreciated, they were called back for an encore in which they performed two more songs; and I’m talking about a real encore here, not the planned ones where you can see the songs already printed on the setlist!

For me, this was one of the top concerts of the entire festival.
It gave me all the parts which a proper festival gig should; an easily recognisable setlist, a strong performance from the band, and just a great party-vibe running through it all!

Setlist:

SkinCarver
Twist Of Cain
Hammer Of The Gods
Her Black Wings
Tired Of Being Alive
How The Gods Kill
Do You Wear The Mark
Wicked Pussycat
It’s Coming Down
Thirteen
Unspeakable
The Revengeful
Bringer Of Death
Black Angel, White Angel
Mother
Encore:
Dirty Black Summer
Long Way Back From Hell