GLENN DANZIG: 'BILL CLINTON Sent The FBI After Me'

Glenn Danzig recently spoke to KNAC.com about Dimebag's murder and DANZIG's upcoming tour, among other topics. Several excerpts from the interview follow:

KNAC.com: [When Dimebag was murdered], you not only had your regular metal press covering the tragedy, but you also had the mainstream writers as well. More than once, it was alluded to that musicians who dabble in this type of music should expect violence and that in some way the shooting was justified because of it.

Glenn Danzig: "That’s ridiculous. It's funny though that you mention that the mainstream press covered it, but Rolling Stone hardly mentioned it at all. There was just a little blurb in there, and that was it. That just lets you know where Rolling Stone is at. That's another one of those magazines that just hates metal.

"However you feel about Dimebag, this is one of the most influential metal guitar players of the '90s. I was just talking to someone that I am hiring to bring on the tour who said that when he was at the funeral that Eddie Van Halen came and put his striped guitar in the coffin. That's a pretty big deal.

"The shooting was totally unnecessary, and it was retarded that it even happened. It was fucked up. That's what I'm saying though is that there is a bias among many of the mainstream music magazines that just don't want to see metal survive. Rolling Stone never even covered punk bands — it was like it was the worst shit in the world."

KNAC.com: Yeah, but now everyone that works there has a RAMONES t-shirt on.

Glen Danzig: "Yeah, but really annoys me though is that they’ll turn around and put GREEN DAY on their cover which has stolen riffs from THE MISFITS to the RAMONES to you name it. It’s bullshit."

KNAC.com: Why do you think metal would be such a big deal though that people would want to shut it out?

Glenn Danzig: "Metal is still pretty rebellious and kind of a middle America 'Fuck you, let's go and have a good time.' It can't be controlled."

KNAC.com: Is it also a class issue or an issue of education as well? Metalheads are generally perceived as mid to low-level economically and poorly versed scholastically, right?

Glenn Danzig: "Of course. There is that perception, but it's retarded because they are probably more well-versed than most. You'd be surprised the type of people who are into metal when you see them. Sometimes I'm even surprised, but it's cool. That's the reason it's still around."

KNAC.com: Is it true that the recordings for "Black Aria 2" are completely finished?

Glenn Danzig: "Yeah, they're done."

KNAC.com: That music has been said to be represent the sounds of Satan falling from heaven. Do you consider that to be the quintessential story of good versus evil or is the devil just an entity that many can identify with?

Glenn Danzig: "I don't see it as good versus evil. Whether or not the devil is really good or evil is something that we don’t really know. Again, you have to really buy into the theology of it. The way I look at it is that that particular role, whether it be in Milton's 'Paradise Lost' or the Bible is that of sympathy. Basically Satan and his army were fighting against the evil. The were standing up to something they thought of as corrupt, and that's how I see it. When someone says, 'You're gonna do it this way, and you're not gonna ask questions.' I'm just like, 'Fuck you.' That’s how I see it. That's pretty much how it is said without reading anything into it. I can really relate to that because it sounds like my life. It sounds like the type of life that many can identify with as well. Obviously, some people don't want to hear that, but a lot of people especially in America do identify with that. It almost sounds like government and people to me."

KNAC.com: That hasn’t gotten any better either, has it? I mean, people can talk all they want about the McCarthyism of the '50s, but we have our own brand right now.

Glenn Danzig: "You know, I had a situation where Bill Clinton sent the F.B.I. after me. They wanted me to turn myself in."

KNAC.com: Because you are a threat to society?

Glenn Danzig: "I guess they thought I was a threat to Bill Clinton or something. It's like, 'Go fuck yourself — come and get me. Talk to my lawyer. Let's go to court on this.'"

KNAC.com: Okay. Turn yourself in for what though?

Glenn Danzig: "Whatever, I don't even know. Supposedly there are supposed to be like five files on me, and two of them can only be accessed by upper echelon government officials."

KNAC.com: Doesn't that seem like a horrifying misuse of resources to you?

Glenn Danzig: "I think it's funny. People always ask me how I can find it funny, and the reason why is because it's fucking stupid. There are people flying planes into buildings, and they're worried about me? A lot of people in power just aren't that learned. Then, you have people like Rolling Stone who don't know what in the fuck they are talking about — they certainly don't know metal or music. That would be like someone being called into court to testify about something, even though they aren't an expert on the subject. Rolling Stone doesn't know anything about metal, yet they'll review a metal record. Usually, if they do review it, they just take the person rather than discussing the music."

Read Glenn Danzig's entire interview with KNAC.com at this location.