Danzig – 777: I Luciferi
Glenn Danzig is a person who can adapt with the times. Unlike bands who completely change their sound every time a new trend comes along, Danzig has a way of remaining modern and cutting edge without selling out or straying too far from his roots.
Such is the case with Danzig’s seventh album, titled 777: I Luciferi. For those who have been out of the Danzig loop, Danzig’s 5th album was panned by critics and fans alike as being “too industrial”. The dark one answered back with 6:66 Satan’s Child, a really good album that didn’t get nearly the amount of press it deserved.
Danzig’s seventh album picks up where number 6 left off, but delivers more. A whole lot more. In fact, 777: I Luciferi may be Danzig’s heaviest and best album. Ever.
Each Danzig album has something that sets it apart from the rest. The word that sums this album up is “guitars”. Raw, catchy riffs with evil dripping from every hook on the disc. The majority of the album keeps a pretty rapid pace, with big open chords during choruses and lots of palm muting and bends during verse riffs. The album still has that patented heavy Danzig guitar sound, but it’s been modernized this time around.
Danzig albums have always been about vocals first, guitars and drums second, and bass last. Album #7 makes no attempt to reinvent this formula — Glenn’s voice is thick and right up front. The songs are all guitar oriented, with the drums blasting through and the bass following behind. The bass is best noticed when the guitars are turned off, mostly in the slower, moodier, darker passages (few and far between). I didn’t notice any keyboards or synths on this disc at all — Danzig 7 is a straight forward rock album, and an aggressive one at that.
Danzig tackles such topics as child abuse and world hunger on this album … hahaha, who are you kidding? This is Danzig, baby! With songs like “Black Mass”, “Dead Inside”, “Kiss The Skull”, and “Naked Witch”, you can rest assured that Evil Elvis hasn’t strayed too far from his original path to Hell. Fans of Danzig albums #1 and #6 will take an immediate liking to this disc, while fans of some of his slower, keyboard based music (#2 through #4) may have to let #7 grow on them. There are no fans of #5, face it. I honestly believe that this is some of Danzig’s strongest material ever. The only slow point comes in “Without Light I Am”, the closing track of the disc, and even it is crammed full of emotion and explosions of energy. Those of us who have been waiting for a complete album of rocking Danzig tunes finally got our wish.
It looks like it may turn out to be a “Dirty Black Summer” after all.