Danzig 4P and 5: Blackacidevil - Thoughts by Hydro

It would appear I am continuing this great epic week of Danzig related material with my thoughts on Danzig 4P and V: Blackacidevil. This is all in anticipation of the newest release from Glenn. Every single time a new Danzig album comes out we see a flurry of activity. The pro-Glenn era Misfits team starts bashing his metal ways. The 7th house Glenn worshippers wax their lips to kiss his ass more. The rest of us become very weary of what is about to be released. The man makes great music, don’t get me wrong. However, for years he has been low balling his fans with sub-par material, ill mixed music, and release dates that are about as reliable as the prospects of finding a sasquatch in downtown L.A. Already the new record entitled “Red Deth Saboth” has been pushed back a month. It was to be expected in light of who we are dealing with. Being the music aficionado that I am, I can look past the poor mixes, unreliable release dates, and gratuitous exploitation of the Danzig fan base. The lyrics are generally quite deep and the music 8.5 times out of 10 is damned good. So I was asked by a friend what my general thoughts on these two records are. I was aghast at the thought of reviewing a couple of albums I actually like, but then again this is metal and I always have time to talk about the cheese factor. Luckily with Danzig we will not find much of the blatant metal excess; especially with 4P and Blackacidevil.

I’m sure any fan-boy worth his weight has heard the bi-polar reviews of these two records. 4P is arguably the pinnacle of Glenn’s solo material. In the other direction Danzig 5 has been said to be his largest mistake. I will still shout from here to my grave that Danzig 7 was the largest mistake in the whole of his library, but I am just a lowly critic. These albums are so amazingly opposite one another that they compliment each other nicely. I feel that they are both his most spiritual albums. Yes…I said BOTH are his most spiritual albums. They are different areas of what is spirituality. 4P is the mystical and philosophical occult side of the spectrum. Then Blackacidevil is the primal animalistic feral side of spirituality. I think he address the whole idea of evil as a natural force in this album (more than others…har har) as a theme. Musically these albums are completely different. One can hear the basic progression between the two. 4P has a very rock base to it with little bits of experimentalism. In contrast, Blackacidevil is one of the most experimental albums the man has ever recorded. However, I can guarantee I know what happened. Who here knows of Rick Rubin? Back in the early 90’s Rubin was known for pulling the raw elements of a band to the forefront of a record. He has worked with Slayer, Counting Crowes, Danzig, Beastie Boys, and many more. He has fucked over most of those bands as well. From what I’ve heard Glenn say about the recording of the first 3 Danzig albums Rubin would get really pissed off if Glenn tried to experiment on them. By the time 4P came around I’m sure Glenn was getting really irate with how Rubin wanted no experimental elements to an album. We all know Glenn loves his echo boxes. Anyway, once Danzig left American records Blackacidevil was the first album to be put out. It was like a giant blue ball release of experimental insanity. I dig some pretty weird music (Skinny Puppy and FLA being two of my favorite bands) and I even had to give this album a couple spins before I began digging it. The final large change between these two records came from the line up change. 4P was the last album that showcased the original line up of Danzig/Von/Christ/Biscuits. Blackacidevil had a completely new band of men…all with J names: Joey Costillo, Joseoph Bishara, and Josh Lazie. Jerry Cantrell makes a few guest appearances as well. I wonder if Glenn planned that out or not, having guys with names that started with J.

I think 4P is more than just Glenn’s most spiritual record, well one half of the spiritual duo, but it has a little bit of everything Danzig was known for up to that point. One thing Glenn never liked was being pigeon holed into one sound. Go and listen to “Static Age” and then “Earth A.D.” I’m sure the contrast is apparent. Then if you compare “November Coming Fire” to “Danzig 1” the contrast is, again, striking. The one constant between all of these albums are the lyrical content. Ok granted much of the Misfits material is pretty straight forward and far from deep (I could argue that about Static Age), but my point is that the poetry is top notch. With 4P the lyrics get deep into the soul of Glenn. If anything he bares his self a bit more than normal on this album. Sex is a primal human urge that is apparent in ALL of Glenn’s work. This album is no exception. Songs like “Little Whip” have an air of sensual sexy theme. I think many of the songs that have this vibe are more about love of some kind. To take that thought one farther; this album is almost a lyrical love hymn. Almost like Glenn is saying to the world that his is sad and needs a hug…well maybe not. This could be a giant ode to Lucifer falling and his thoughts toward god and how betrayed he feels. That seems a bit more likely. It is hard to tell apart which parts of this is Glenn’s soul speaking and which part is Luciferian narrative. It is a beautiful album and one of my favorites.

Suddenly the disc changes and the tribal experimentalism is unleashed. I really like this album, but I can see why the average Danzig fan thinks it is horrible. Most people don’t give it a chance. I would like to see the ratio of industrial fans that actually like this album. It is still an acquired taste. The track “Sacrifice” is probably the most accessible to most fans, and it still has a major industrial edge to it. Personally, I would kill to see more Danzig material in this very experimental vein. I think it is the raw primal nature of this record that I love. I like music that is gritty and back to the earth. A record that makes you want to pick up a fallen tree branch and bang on a log. A record that makes you want to fuck on the floor and break shit. Blackacidevil makes me want to do just that. We have said goodbye to Rick Rubin with this album and Danzig has blown a big experimental load. I think he really had some revelations between albums. This album is just so raw and sexual. This is, as I stated, the polar opposite to 4P. The rock back bone is under a swash of distortion, tribal drums, and vocal processing. I find it odd that there is no talk of Lucifer or hint of him on this record. I think Glenn went deeper with his spiritual search. My guess is he was reading topics on the anthropology of evil and watching a lot of porn. This whole album is the base side of humanity. This album addresses root of why we go to war and why we have odd fetishes. This record attacks the physical beast and the primal urge.

So in finality we have 4P addressing the metaphysical aspects of love and loose (probably of Glenn and Lucifer); an album of mystical soul searching and spiritual purging. Then Danzig 5: Blackacidevil counters with a raw and feral look at evil, lust, and the human condition. These two albums could easily be a double album, and at the same time should never be. I feel that they compliment each other rather well if listened to back to back. As long as the mind is open and willing, then a journey toward some odd kind of enlightenment can be started. I think I should get the second printing of Danzig 5, because I don’t have all the neat extra tracks. That could take the journey even farther. At this point I think I’m finished and am going to read something. Go out and listen to these albums and take the journey.

^^^^Can't Speak - single from 4P^^^^

^^^^^Sacrifice - single Danzig 5^^^^^

~~ Hydro