Danzig Album: “Circle of Snakes”

First off, artists tend to re-cycle things. Danzig has yoked two other songs out of Twist of Cain's mold. First on Lucifuge he had "Snakes of Christ" with the same bluesy descending type of riff with the auto-harmonics tweaked in for effect, and now the title song for his new album. But, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, the chorus riff from Killer Wolf had been around (albeit in a different key) since All Murder All Guts All Fun.

That is generally the tone of this album. Danzig claims it doesn't have a theme, but the theme seems to be an updated nostalgia. Not that all the songs sound like things he has done before, just a general feel. There is something from almost every stage of his songwriting career.

At different points while listening to this, I felt a twinge of Samhain, or a little bit of Misfits - not really the song structure or the sound, but a general feel. Skull Forrest, done with a more punky delivery could have been a Misfits song for it's message. It's like the collection has grown since "Skulls" and now there's a whole forrest of them. In style and feel certain songs have an almost elegiac tone to them (Netherbound, When We Were Dead)

I only have two complaints with this cd. Some of the lyrics seem a bit "bottom of the barrell". "I want to creepy-crawl across your town" and "Come down and lay in the danger"....and then the "Blackrock, spirals down this reptile highway..." = Honestly, if any other singer besides Danzig was delivering some of these lines, I wouldn't be able to tolerate it too long. My other complaint is the length of this cd, but that complaint rides for most of his stuff. Danzig 1 only had ten tracks, and Lucifuge only had 11...I guess I was a bit spoiled by I Luciferi's track count.

All the songs are well put together, and Glenn's voice sounds alot stronger then it has for a while. Hellmask stands out for me, because I've wanted a song like that for a while. Something with riffs you would expect to hear a some stereotypical metal grunting and growling over, but instead getting to hear Danzig going all out. The whispered part in the middle is one of my favorite parts of the whole disc.

Bottom line, not once was I really dissapointed with this CD. Personally this one has a higher replay value for me then 6 or 7 because the main draw for me is Danzig's voice, which sounds so much better here. Yes, it reminds me of some of his older stuff in places but there is more then enough "new" here. Buy it, and unless you absolutely hate the way Danzig sings, or you hate heavy guitar rock/metal you'll get more then your money's worth out of it.

Danzig has done it again. I am a huge huge fan and have been since the begining, and this album is amazing. Since blackacidevil, the tone has changed a bit...Satan's Child was great and again was different, then Danzig 7 was again brilliant, but changing still. Then comes Circle of Snakes and wow this disk blew me away. This is the best album since 4 easily. The whole disc is mind blowing, not a bad track...great crunch on guitar and Glenn is back to the great vocals we all love! My personal fav is Hellmask and the haunting sound of Black angel white angel! Buy this!!

This is a very Decent album, its not his best, but it still rocks and is worth listening to a lot, It pretty much has the same feel as 7 (I Luciferi), which is good, as a long time Danzig fan (as well as Misfits & Samhain) I am happy with the direction Danzig has gone on "7" and "Circle of Snakes", I was not a fan of "Blackacidevil" or "Satans Child", though each of those albums had its share of great songs, personally I prefer 1-4, but I know he cant keep making the same record over and over again so its gotta change somehow, and the style hes got now (and with 7) is great, it reminds me of Samhains "Final Decent".

I've only listened to it 2 times so far but right now the songs "1000 devils reign", "Hellmask", "When we were dead", and "Black angel, White Angel" really stand out for me.

"Black Angel, White Angel" sounds like classic Danzig and is probably the best on the album,

there were no songs that I didn't like, some were better than others, The Lyrics are FINE, despite what others say. and I read some people saying that the pictures in the booklet were stupid, well to me there is nothing wrong with half-naked chicks, especially on a Danzig album.

The only thing I have a problem with is some of the production and mixing, on one hand its great because its raw, and unpolished, but on the other hand theres too much bass in the mix, when I crank it up the lows just rumble a little too much and take away from the songs, like some of the double-bass parts of the drums and especially the guitar solos could use some more definition, or just be clearer, they kind of get lost in the mix, and the vocals on "Hellmask" sound like they could have been mixed better. BUT those aren't that big of a deal, the album still rocks.

If you like 7, you will definetly like this one, take it from a real Danzig fan, don't listen to the people who say "1-3 are the only good albums", those are the same people that say 4 is techno, when anybody who's ever heard 4 could tell you that its not one bit techno. don't listen to them. this is a good album and any fan of Danzig will not be disapointed.

First off I dont usually write reviews but I am so tired of hearing review after review saying "Danzigs newer records (5-8) dont sound the same as 1-4".Danzig tries very hard to keep things fresh for his fans as well as himself and all they do is wine because he dont live in the past.If you people want an artist/band who releases the same record over and over and over and over..go buy an AC/DC record!(not that theres anything wrong with AC/DC)--If Danzig were to have kept his records sounding the same as 1-4 then everyone would be saying "why dont he try something new?"I really dont think muscians on a whole can win (not just Danzig)If they do the same stuff then people say they aint got no ideas left and they need to try something new and if they do try something new then they have people saying that they either sold out or they just aint no good no more as people are saying here with Danzig.So basically Im saying if you have an open mind and like to here some new ideas and styles of music with each record go with Danzig and if you like the same stuff over and over give AC/DC a try and stay clear of Danzig.

Circle of Snakes is simply amazing. Definitely one of Danzig's best of his entire career. I love the atmosphere in this album - very dark, and some songs have a somber and eerie feel - there's still the traditional heavy riffs of course. My favorite tracks are Netherbound, and Black Angel, White Angel.