Mother (3:24)

“Mother” is a song by Danzig that first appeared on their 1988 debut album, Danzig. Thematically, the song is a rhetorical challenge to parents who wish to shield their children from what is believed by Danzig to be the reality represented by heavy metal music. The song showcases Glenn Danzig’s powerful vocals and large vocal range.

The original 1988 music video was banned by MTV for its ending sequence, in which a live chicken is sacrificed and an inverted cross is drawn in its blood. Despite Danzig’s claim that he would not cater his videos to MTV’s standards, a new video was eventually produced five years later with entirely different visuals. The song features mostly Glenn and only few shots of the rest of the band. The video also features the famous part of sacrificing the chicken. The video is shot in black-and-white.

“Mother” became a hit on radio and MTV in 1993–1994, after a music video with live footage was created to promote the band’s new live EP, Thrall: Demonsweatlive. The song peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and 43 on the Hot 100. In the UK, the song peaked at number 62 on the singles chart.

The song appeared in video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, on the station Radio X. It also appeared in Guitar Hero 2 and True Crime: New York City, and in the game Guitar Hero: Smash Hits.