Danzig 6:66 - Satan's Child

Danzig

Evillive Records / E-magine Entertainment, 1999

http://www.danzig-verotik.com

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 11/11/1999

You've got to hand it to Glenn Danzig: he's an artist who refuses to die. After the critical drubbing his last project Danzig 5: Blackaciddevil took, he could have easily chucked it all in and concentrated on his thriving comic book business. Instead, he took some time after ending his relationship with Hollywood Records, fine-tuned his musical output, and signed a new deal which embraces the technology of the Internet.

The end result of that project, Danzig 6:66 - Satan's Child, is a return to form for Danzing and his band that features some of the most mature sounding work that the singer/guitarist has ever written and performed.

It would have been easy for Danzig, bass guitarist Lazie and drummer Joey C. (as well as guest guitarist Jeff Chambers) to have backpedaled and tried to recapture the magic that was on Danzig's first few releases. Instead, Danzig chose to merge his entire past, including some aspects of electronic music, in with his new vision for the next century. In the process, he created some songs that could well lead the charge of metal's return to commercial popularity.my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

From the opening track "Five Finger Crawl," you can tell that this is going to be a sensory bloodbath to enjoy. Danzig's singing sounds more controlled and blues-like, though he occasionally does go back to the higher-octave wail he's become known for. But it's a balance in the vocal styles that really helps to shape the music into something unique and special.

Tracks like "Unspeakable," "Belly Of The Beast," "Satan's Child" and "East Indian Devil (Kali's Song)" all continue the gloom-and-doom style of Danzig's music that has beena part of his history since the start. However, Danzig seems to want to balance the darkness out with a little more light than he's usually willing to shed. So while these songs all have ominous undertones, you can't help but believe that even Danzig himself holds out an olive branch of hope for mankind.

His choice to close the album with his own version of "Thirteen," a song he originally wrote for Johnny Cash, is interesting -- and while he works hard to make sure he doesn't do the original recording any injustice, he adds enough of his own signature to the song to stake a claim of ownership for himself.

Regrets? I can't think of any on Danzig 6:66 - Satan's Child. Even though there is still demonic imagery throughout the music, at least it doesn't seem like Danzig is hitting you over the head with it this time around. If anything, this trip into his world is kind of fun, in an other-worldly sort of way. And somehow, if Danzig himself were to read this review, I think he'd laugh at that statement and agree with it.

Danzig 6:66 - Satan's Child is a nice welcome back from one of the few remaining innovators in heavy metal, and could well be one of the best releases of the year.

Rating: A

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


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© 1999 Christopher Thelen and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Evillive Records / E-magine Entertainment, and is used for informational purposes only.