Danzig - Deth Red Sabaoth Album Review - Misfit's Blog

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Danzig - Deth Red Sabaoth Album Review

Posted on June 17, 2010 at 10:25 PM.

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I've done one blog entry on Danzig in the past and it was an album review for the 1994 album Danzig 4p. That was the last time anyone could truly say Danzig put out a great album and have a leg to stand on. If you're not a Glenn Danzig fan, a brief history lesson. Danzig was formed in 1988 when Rick Rubin decided to get into the metal business. Glenn Danzig was already a legend of the underground via his work with The Misfits and Samhain so this seemed like a match made in Heaven (or Hell), and it was. The original Danzig lineup, consisting of guitarist John Christ, drummer Chuck Biscuits, and Samhain holdover Eerie Von on base released four albums and one EP over the next six years on Rubin's Def American label. At the expiration of the record deal, Danzig at the height of the band's popularity, jumped shipped to Hollywood Records for Danzig 5: Blackacidevil. Gone were Glenn Danzig's supporting cast beginning a new era of revolving lineups, frequent label changes, and sub-par efforts. Blackacidevil was industrial metal, Danzig's trademark croon burried under layers of distortion, and a commercial flop. Three more albums have been released since, Danzig 6:66 Satan's Child, Danzig 7:77 i Luciferi, and Circle of Snakes. Each album has its moments, some more than others, but in the end were all fairly lackluster. The most notable release from Danzig since '94 was 2007's Lost Tracks of Danzig, a two-disc set of unreleased material that had piled up over the years that served as a sort of alternate reality greatest hits collection.

Circle of Snakes, released in 2004, was the most recent Danzig album until today. The official release date for the new album, titled Deth Red Sabaoth, is June 22nd but the band has been on tour over the past week and you can pick up the album early at the shows. Many are already heralding DRS as a return to form, but truthfully, every album since Danzig 5 has been met with the exact same hype. The unique thing about a Danzig record is that it's its own entity, no two albums sound alike. They're all unified by similar themes and imagery but each takes a different approach. DRS is no different in that regard, but this time it is an album worth getting excited over.

The album opens with the thunderous "Hammer of the Gods" and wastes no time working the listener into a frenzy. Destined to be a staple of live shows from here on out, its a great track for GD to announce his presence over your speakers. The album comes at you with a layered assault from guitarist Tommy Victor (ex Prong). Danzig writes all of the riffs, but its apparent from the start he let Victor have a lot of room to show off with his solos and tasteful fills. The drop C tuning prevalent on many of the recent records is used to minimal effect here in favor of mostly standard or half-step down tuning. The guitar tone is a massive improvement from CoS, which had a muddy, sludge texture that was really off-putting and overpowered GD's vocals. The vocals here are up-front and the 54 year old Danzig can still belt it out with the best of them. His identifiable croons and wails permeate the record. There's no b/s filters or backing tracks. The album really has a live in studio sound to it, which I'll come back to. Johnny Kelly (Type O Negative, Seventh Void) handles the drums flawlessly on all tracks except "Black Candy" (which GD plays on). He particularly shines on "Deth Red Moon" and "Ju Ju Bone." The bass, played by GD for the album but will be handled by Samhain vet Steve Zing on tour, plays a complementary role, which is how bass should be.

Each song tells its own story. "Black Candy" is the off-time oddball with a dirty groove. "Ju Ju Bone" sounds like a song for the Louisiana Bayou and the two-part "Pyre of Souls" represents Danzig's longest song ever and is relentless in its assault. The standout track for me is probably "Deth Red Moon" which just has this really pleasing, almost pop, melody. It's a unique and new sound for Danzig and it's just damn catchy.

There is no real weak spot on this album, though if I have to pick a least favorite song its probably "Night Star Hel," which has an okay verse but the chorus is weak and reminiscent of some of the stuff on Circle of Snakes. The outro is possibly the album's heaviest moment though and some-what redeems the song. "On a Wicked Night," the album's first single, is kind of a low point production wise. It's starts off strong and then gets big but the vocals are too low in the mix and it sounds like Glenn is singing through a layer of fuzz. It also gets pretty repetitive.

Really, the biggest negative I can give the album is the production. Danzig chose to produce it himself, like he has with every post Rick Rubin album, and wanted to achieve an organic sound. To do so he brought in a lot of older equipment and stayed away from Pro Tools and similar software. I applaud the intention, but the end result leaves something to be desired. The guitars, for the most part, sound great, but the drums and vocals are a mixed bag. In some songs, Danzig's vocals are out front and full, but on other songs they're too low and thin. It's not a matter of ability, just poor mixing. The drums sometimes suffer the same fate, and overall the bass is a bit lacking and will have you messing with the settings in your car. The sub-standard production is not a killer, just a mild disappointment .

All in all though, if this is Danzig (the band's) last record this is one Hell of a high note to leave on. Few bands with the longevity of a Danzig can get away with playing a new album heavily at their live shows (just ask Iron Maiden how that went over in 2006) but I would not be the least bit disappointed if I showed up for a Danzig show and the band announced they were going to play this album in its entirety. It's really that good. More rock than metal, it just has a personality and a groove. Every song has a hook, some better than others, and the whole thing just comes together beautifully. All of Danzig's influences are here in some form, the Elvis croons, Morrison howls, Sabbath lows and Zeppelin melodies. And there's little bits of Danzig's previous sounds here as well. It really comes across like the culmination of 30+ years of music making and it's just amazing to me that in 2010, nearly 30 years after the demise of the Misfits and 22 years after the release of the first Danzig record, he could put out an album of such quality. Glenn Danzig will turn 55 the day after the official release of Deth Red Sabaoth and has hinted numerous times that this could be it, so don't miss out!

Danzig - Deth Red Sabaoth

1. Hammer of the Gods
2. The Revengeful
3. Rebel Spirits
4. Black Candy
5. On a Wicked Night
6. Deth Red Moon
7. Ju Ju Bone
8. Night Star Hel
9. Pyre of Souls: Incanticle
10. Pyre of Souls: Seasons of Pain
11. Left Hand Rise Above

Comments

# 1 DJ @ Jun 18

I love the first two Danzig albums. Like you said, after they left Rubin's label, the band seemed to lose focus. I'll check this out on the 22nd, though.