Danzig Album: “Danzig 5 Blackacidevil”

Blackacidevil is easily the most controversial album of Glenn Danzig's career. Danzig had done experimentation before. Samhain was one big experiment following the Misfits, a simple structured band that also wasn't afraid to take chances. There was Black Aria in the man's past, and ballads such as "Sistinas" and "Blood and Tears" that were a completely different sound than what fans had been used to up to that point. And a lot of these experiments were huge successes from an artistic standpoint. Perhaps it was this success that convinced Glenn Danzig that he could pull-off industrial.

When Danzig 5 dropped there was little that could prepare listeners for its sound. 4p had more experimentation on it than any previous effort but the only semi-industrial track was the quasi-intermission "Sadistikal," which most did not really take seriously. Of course, for those who wanted to look a little deeper perhaps there was some writing on the wall. Danzig was ending its relationship with Rick Rubin's Def American label and Glenn dismissed half the band, with the third member departing of his own free will (though allegedly John Christ was going to quit, but that's beside the point). And while Rubin wasn't in the studio night and day with Danzig, he still had to sign off on everything before it went out the door and I have to believe Rubin, who favored the stripped-down approach of the first Danzig record, would never have financed this project. Hollywood Records was willing to give Glenn Danzig total control, and he for what ever reason, chose to go in this direction.

The result was a radical departure from everything Glenn Danzig had ever done before. Some argue that this is a spiritual follow-up to Samhain but I disagree. While Samhain made use of ambiance and mild distortion, the direction it was heading in was Danzig 3 or 4, just go back and listen to the blues-influenced Final Descent. Some credit the sound of Blackacidevil to the success of Nine Inch Nails, and to a lesser extent, White Zombie but that just seems lazy. The only NIN sounding track is "Sacrifice" and that is largely due to that simple, and over-used in the genre, drum pattern.

Most of this record is just noise with little melody, such as the opener "7th House", or a song that just goes no where, such as the title track. There's very little musicianship. Most of the drums sound like they came from a computer and are extremely banal. Outside of Jerry Cantrell's work on "Come to Silver," there's little in the way of standout guitar riffs and the bass is basic. That could be excused if there were some traditional Danzig hooks and vocal melodies but Danzig's voice is burried under a thick tapestry of fuzz and is barely recognizable.

That's not to say the album is a total loss. Despite the distortion, there is a melody on "See All You Were" that I find pleasing, though I really wish I could hear the vocal track without it. "Come to Silver" is the one track universally praised off of this album and one of the only ones where I think the vocal distortion actually works. "Ashes" is a very simple song but one that works if you like that slow, depressing kind of stuff. It's also one of the only tracks that features no distorted vocals. The rest is mostly throw-away or ho-hum. "Hint of Her Blood" is the kind of song that Danzig has done numerous times, only now it has some distortion. "Serpentia" is perhaps my all-time least favorite Glenn Danzig track for it's obnoxious melody (or lack there of) and "Hand of Doom" contains some of Danzig's worst lyrics, if you can decipher them.

I reject the notion that to be a true fan you must love all of an artist's works, that just displays an absence of thought and the kind of sheep-herding Danzig has railed against his whole career. I love Danzig, and Glenn Danzig is my favorite recording artist, but unfortunately here he made a bad album. I cannot recommend this to anyone, especially in today's day and age when you can purchase a single song off of an album. I commend Glenn Danzig for being his own man and doing what he wants. An artist should always make music for him or herself and not for a label, or for fans. This is the album Glenn Danzig wanted to make in 1996 and he went ahead and did it. Though he'll never admit it, the album is a failure. He may not regret it but I'm sure he knows this as just two years ago when the band was celebrating 20 years by playing a chronological set-list, Blackacidevil was curiously omitted. Even the lackluster Satan's Child managed to sneak a song into the set-list, and that's probably the closest thing to an admission of failure that we'll ever get from Glenn Danzig.

As for some technical specs on this release, if you order this from Amazon you are receiving the 1998 fan club edition. It features a new cover by Martin Emond (displayed above) and an embossed slipcase with the tribal skull logo. The track-list is the same as the 1996 version and not the updated Emagine release from 2000, of which nothing worthwhile was added. Apparently the fan club did not sell-through this edition (of which I believe there were 10,000 made) and it is being re-distributed. I have heard that about 3,000 were left over. It is, if nothing else, an attractive looking release when compared with the original and if you're a collector of all things Danzig you may have some additional interest for that reason alone.

I am an enormous fan of Danzig's work. I am impatiently awaiting Like a ravenous, blood thirsty, wolf of demonic origin, for Danzig Se7en. Glenn Danzig is and will be the only artist which deserves and receives my undivided respect for his originality and uniqueness. His unmistakable voice and musical talents have only gotten better with time. If you were to ask me, I would say that he is at his best at the present time.

There is nothing that compares to his boundless talent (music, lyrics, visual arts, story lines, etc.) and his views regarding the existence that we are all aware of; in our own ways. I respect him for his straight-forward "no bull**it" attitude. I enjoy every last song from the beginning of his artistic journey with the Misfits up to the very last song on his Satans Child effort.

BlackAciDevil was very different, but different does not mean that it is bad. I personally think that it is one of his most creative and intuitively modern efforts. I can't stand to hear people speak with disgust, and say that they used to be fans (up until that album), when it is mentioned. It seems that they are not true fans of the Man's artistic talents. It's like they selfishly want him to stay stuck in the past and produce the sound he had produced in the first 2 albums.

It's amazing that they don't realize how the technology for the production of music has changed so dramatically and has offered endless options that cannot be ignored. I believe he took full advantage of this fact in the production of BlackAciDevil. That album is a perfect example of his straight-forward "I don't give a sh**" attitude that I admire. Just because others don't agree is no reason to not do what he wants.

He stands STRONG about his beliefs and attitude toward life and HIS music. We are fortunate to have such a man sharing his take on reality with us on the planet. I Thank Glenn Danzig for all of the incredible contributions to my life by means of his music and related arts over the years.

^(-_-)^ EvilAlivE ^(-_-)^

Smage, the Godless Agnostic.

For the five years I've been reviewing products and two years before amazon.com changed to the "Registered User" format, we still don't have half-star options and likely won't see them. While Danzig took his music in an industrial-laced direction for his fifth solo release, the loss of his original lineup hits this album hard. Gone is John Christ's soulful guitar, and while Jerry Cantrell is an excellent replacement, he appears only on a handful of songs. Perhaps driven as much by production as outright musicianship, Blackacidevil comes across as both uneven and forced. Far heavier than any previous Danzig release, the industrial influence detracts from the overall effort by mixing Danzig's vocals to the back, leaving them faint in most cases and downright unlistenable on the title track. Joey Castillo's frantic drumming takes center stage on most occasions and while he fulfills his duties seemingly as well as Chuck Biscuits, the fact that he even has to is a testament to how badly this album needed a boost. Despite the over-production and inconsistent songwriting, Blackacidevil still has a few standouts, such as the hard-driving "7th House," the Blood-and-Tears-esque "Ashes," and the brilliant "Come to Silver," featuring the aforementioned Jerry Cantrell. Blackacidevil is not a good starting point for the novice Danzig fan, but long-time listeners and die-hards should find enough on this album to satisfy their hunger for more sex-and-Satan imagery.

This album was bound to anger longtime Danzig fans; Glenn had dropped his power trio of Christ, Von and Biscuits and instead took on much of the instrumental and production duties for this CD. It would be easy to claim that Danzig was merely jumping on the industrial bandwagon made popular by Nine Inch Nails and Ministry, and there's an undeniable Reznor influence on the track "Sacrifice," among others. But the truth is that Danzig's penchant for hooks and catchy melodies is only taking a backseat here; the focus on "Blackacidevil" is experimentation, though the result is an album that inevitably is impressive to listen to but emotionally empty. Bright spots: "Hint of Her Blood," a slow-paced number that sounds like it might have been an unused track from "4p"; "Come to Silver," a folk-tinged ballad that had been submitted (though rejected) for inclusion on Johnny Cash's "American Recordings" album; and "Ashes," which continues the melancholic course already charted on earlier Danzig tunes like "Let It Be Captured" and "Sistinas." "Blackacidevil" is best enjoyed by longtime fans of Glenn Danzig who want to marvel at how well their idol can change his stripes with such ease; newcomers had better stick with the earlier albums.

I am constantly being reminded of just how versatile and disciplined Glenn Danzig really is. Since his days as front man for The Misfits, I became very interested in his theatrically dark subject matter. If you enjoy a good science fiction story you will most certainly enjoy the fantasy of Glenns' lyrics. If a good story teller in itself is not enough you also have the power of instruments both organic and electronic to support the emotions that he so eloquently wants to inculcate into your soul. This collection of poetic genius and conduction of electrical sound will definitely have a tremendous impact on your attitude and outlook of music in general. I have followed his musical efforts for many years and I believe BlackAciDevil to be one of his best.