Danzig: 4p

Danzig’s fourth installment has a rather strange status in the group’s legacy. It’s the last album to feature the original lineup but whether it can be grouped in with their classic era seems to depend on who you ask. It had a notable hit with “Cantspeak” though its more atypical sound makes for less enduring appeal in the mainstream than something like “Mother.” The fact that it’s also the only Danzig album after the debut to not include some Satanic word salad along with its number reinforces a sort of afterthought attitude behind it.

If How the Gods Kill was a raging tempest, then 4 is more like the calm yet still ominous aftermath. The band retains many of the over-the-top tendencies seen on the last couple albums but sets them to a more melancholic overcast with slower pacing and bleaker lyrics. They also experiment with some different styles as their blues backdrop is given a more gothic sheen, the riffs take on a more doom metal makeup, and they even dabble with industrial on the strange “Sadistikal. Fortunately, the musicianship retains the balanced chemistry that keeps this from being the drastic departure it could’ve been.

Though with that said, go figure that the album kicks off with its most arguably out of place track. “Brand New God” is certainly an interesting number, immediately starting off with held out chords and Danzig briefly offering his usual boasts before going into the punkiest riff set that he’s howled over since the days of Samhain, ultimately closing out on the slow brooding sludge that defines the subsequent tracks. It isn’t anywhere near the epic declaration of “Godless” but manages to be enjoyable once you get used to its disjointed structure.

Once things get properly settled, there are several stellar tracks to work with. “Little Whip” does well to ease into a depressive mood that is then pushed to its most mournful extents on the awesomely melodramatic “Going Down to Die.” “Bringer of Death” and “Son of the Morning Star” are among the album’s strongest doom exercises, the former injecting warped vocal distortion and piano chords for some extra substance to its pummeling riffs while “Son of the Morning Star” is a more methodical slow burn with its gradually intensifying verses and catchy recurring riff making the most of that Sabbath tradition.

However, an hour-ish runtime results in Danzig’s longest album to date and some tracks that admittedly run together. “Cantspeak” is the most literal instance of this in action as its guitar lines are a studio-induced reversal of those on “Let It Be Captured” and both tracks ride on a similar mix of haunting drones and minimalist rhythms. “Dominion” and “I Don’t Mind the Pain” are both driven by somber yet upbeat post-punk pacing with eerily similar introductions, but they manage to divert thanks to the former’s explosive chorus and the latter’s building urgency. It’s strong enough quality for me to enjoy every song, but it’s easy to see why some folks might not stick around for the ritual drones that make up the closing hidden track “Invocation.”

While Danzig 4 has proven to be the most divisive album of the classic era, I find it to be a strong dark horse. Its gradual shift toward an industrial-tinged gothic doom style not only does well to follow up the trajectory of its predecessors but manages to offer its own unique sound. It becomes especially impactful when you consider its place in hindsight, as the unified musicianship and depressive mood take on an even heavier connotation. It’s not the sort of album to recommend for first-time listeners, which makes the minor hit status of “Cantspeak” a little funnier, but it’s in the top three for Danzig as far as I’m concerned. It’s a strong display of majestic sadness just before everything completely unravels…

4P was the final call of Danzig. A last „hooray!“ before the tremendous and yet undisputed fall and death of Danzig as a band and as an artist. 4P already shows signs of the decline, the recession of high-tier blues-steered heavy metal writing. Upon closer inspection and against expectations, a seemingly sudden lack of confidence in their craft - likely caused by the influx of predominantly inapt, jarring experimentation - troubles and hurts this record.

And yet there is absolutely no doubt about that Danzig was driven and kept alive by the classic lineup, featuring John Christ on guitars, Eerie Von on bass and Chuck Biscuits on drums. As soon as they left the building, Glenn fell flat on his face. Hard. It took him about a decade to realize that, but the later so-called return to the “roots” album in form of Circle of Snakes was not quite up to par - too little, too late. The spirit that had been absent since the stillborn wreck that was Danzig 5: Blackaciddevil has not returned to this day and considering the advanced age and the – rumor has it – rather “special” character of the mastermind, it's not very likely to return ever again.

But lets head back to 4P now, for many things were still in place in 1994. Glenn's vocals continued to be as unique and powerful as ever. “Evil Elvis” truly deserves his nickname here, conjuring up a strangely captivating mixture of the 50/60s icon and the late Jim Morrison. Add the howling of a big, bad wolf with gargantuan testicles into the sonic stew and Glenn Danzig is the result.

Focusing on riffs and licks, one can't get past the fact that the deadly guitar grooves from the band's magnum opus (that is of course Danzig III – How the Gods Kill) are not nearly as prominent and striking as they'd been previously. The killer groove of Do You Wear the Mark? or the title track of said magnificent predecessor is sorely missed many times on 4P and replaced by too much repetition and some slags of absolute hogwash. Sure, if you are looking for manic sound structures and awkward time signatures you should not really be reading this, since Danzig was never about all that, but hell - Cantspeak is horseshit. It's lazy, it's amateurish and lame, but worst of all - it evokes absolutely zero emotions. It's like Glenn discovered industrial music a day earlier and decided to fool around with a few buttons and distort his voice in the most annoying manner. Sadistikal stems from the same root, but at least it is dark as fuck so one tends to be a little more forgiving when there's actually a palpable atmosphere to be felt...

Things are a lot better here when they're kept traditional. Bringer of Death has a skull-banging swagger of a punkish main riff and the distortion on Glenn's voice is actually beneficial this time. Flourished with some simple, but effective piano hits and chord pronunciations, as well as sitar-licks that reek of pot-consumption, you've got yourself a winner. The award for the best chorus on the album goes to I Don't Mind the Pain - it wins because even though it is repeated many times, Glenn sings it in a variety of timbres and with different levels of aggression, granting a perfectly menacing singalong. To some extend, these attributes also apply to Until You Call on the Dark, but this one suffers from the previously mentioned repetition a lot more because it's basically one goddamn guitar riff all throughout four and a half minutes of music, accompanied by nothing but feedback noise and guitar-string scratches. Sometimes it seems as if Glenn thought it would be a good idea to stop writing even remotely ambitious songs. Standard fare is too challenging, so lets cut down on bridges, pre-/post-choruses, solo sections...or on any other intriguing parts that could make the album more interesting. Good job!

Eerie Von's part on here is still worth mentioning, but the way this album was produced does not exactly favor the bass levels too much. Some gripping bass lines to be found here – (again - Bringer of Death!) but they've been robbed of their power since the heaviness and the natural “thump” of the bass guitar are not really up to par. Until 4P arrived, Danzig had never sounded this treble-y and mid range-stressed, with some crackling and clipping-hiss popping up now and then - a gloomy foreshadowing of the ill-fated production jobs swallowing this album's weaker successors, killing off even the slightest bits of potential that could have peeked through the niffy mud that was thrown at their fan-base later in their career.

Mr. Biscuits' (that name is still cracking me up!) heavy skin-bashing remains a constant, not overly technical or excessively flashy but incredibly forceful – especially on that poor snare drum - and it's easy to hear why his and Mr. Christ's departure caused such a dreadful shift in sound. Contrary to the rather weak bass guitar treatment, the drums sit very well in the mix and they're possessing a highly organic, natural sound, further augmenting their important role in pushing the tracks forward.

All things considered, the drive and the metal is still mostly there, the rambling about sex and whipping remains present and even our old friend Satan rears his head once in a while, but some of the golden riffcraft is covered in filth and excrement - the consistently high quality standard is not quite there anymore and sometimes you have to suffer through moments of absolute bollocks, just to be rewarded with the exact opposite a mere three minutes later. My comparatively low rating is the result of this exhausting ambivalence.

So here we are after all, standing right on the brink of disaster, looking down at the overwhelming amount of failure that would follow...this is the valley in which Glenn would end up soon afterwards. You better enjoy your stay here, DO NOT tread upon old Glenn's shoddy path and better start your next Danzig run with the self-titled debut, since the best thing one can do is pretend that the musical journey of Danzig ended with 4P.

Highlights: Little Whip, Going Down to Die, Bringer of Death, I Don't Mind the Pain

originally written for http://antichristmagazine.com

Danzig’s fourth release is often overlooked by fans of the first three albums. What’s worse, it is also much underrated. This is due in great part to the fact that this is the slowest of Danzig’s albums. With the first album, fans were offered heavy rock songs with a consistent level of volume and intensity. The following albums, Lucifuge and How the Gods Kill, took the sound to the next level by introducing blues inspired riffs coupled with further delving into the satanic. The consistent element here is heavy riffs and fast drumming (especially on songs like “Godless” and the chorus of “777”). The big difference here is that the fourth album contains more of the slower style tracks found lightly peppered in the previous works. Unlike How the Gods Kill, which had two slower songs (“How the Gods Kill” and “Sestinas”), and Lucifuge, which had the slower “777” that picked up with great bluesy momentum, the fourth album is comprised mainly of slower paced soulful tracks. In fact, that is pretty much the sum of the album; it is Danzig’s attempt at soulful metal without delving into that horrid arena of sappy-pap hair band ballad trash.

The songs may be a little less epic than on previous albums, but the excellence remains. “Going Down to Die” is a prime example of slow and soulful metal done with grim excellence. In a simple synopsis, this is a song about a man who is going to die. Beyond that, it’s a well-crafted lament style song played with a traditional slow swing-rock rhythm. It reflects the musical exploration found with “Sestinas” in which Danzig pays homage to the bygone styles that inspired his own work and with his own morbid twist of death and devil worship. “Domination” also bears a swing-rock rhythm, though mostly through the drumming. This song is a build-up that begins slowly and gets heavier and faster, much like “Anything You Want” from How the God’s Kill; however, the tone of the melody is darker, creating a foreboding atmosphere consistent with the other tracks on this album. “Cantspeak” is less traditional in its style. While the song remains slow, it picks up in heavy distortion both with the guitars and vocals which adds levels of depth to the darkness of the song’s suicidal theme. For this reason, it is one of the album’s darkest and most unique songs.

The second track, “Little Whip,” is a more traditional Danzig tune. It begins slowly but gains in heaviness and rhythm as it progresses through the verses and choruses. The fifth track, “Until You Call on the Dark” is also a familiar sounding style. While it is slower than “Little Whip,” it contains hat familiar heaviness heard on the previous albums. This one comes from the blues of the second and third albums and serves as the link between this and the previous three releases.

The closing song, “Let It Be Captured,” is a musical and vocal build-up (much like “Domination) that is the gloomiest of the album’s songs. The tone of the song is similar to that of the theme to the movie Twenty-Eight Weeks Later, though this album came out several years before the movie. It is not until three plus minutes into the five minute, seventeen second long ballad that the song picks up momentum. Nevertheless, the song is never dull. It’s that rarest of amazingly excellent songs: a slow song that absolutely must be played—demands to be played—as loud as possible.

After this album, Danzig departed from his known style and explored more industrial sounding melodies and rhythms. As a part of the original four, the further album feels like a requiem to this stage of Danzig’s career, especially when one considers the heavy references to death made throughout the album. That may be the very reason for the slower atmosphere. It is a departure, or rather, a point of departure that signals and end (though, not the end). When listened to back to back, these four albums work together as a progression of style and theme. The first album is just that: the introduction. It is the birth and youth of Danzig. The second album is a maturation that sees a greater emphasis on the embracement of evil and a growing interest in personal philosophy. From there, the third album introduces a realization of self, much as one’s adulthood, in which religious faiths are questioned and self-realization is established (“Left Hand Black”). Finally, the fourth album is death. The slower tempo provides the requiem to a chapter in a band’s life that is not continued. It is a fitting addition to the band’s catalogue and an outstanding finale to the band’s initial growth.

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. You’re wrinkling up your nose at an imagined and unpleasant smell. “Danzig sucks,” you say. Well, that may be true now. But it wasn’t always the case. The little Judo champ and his boys put out four great metal albums before sinking into an oblivion of industrial-influenced dying vocal chorded failure. This is the fourth and final stand Danzo took against mediocrity before being consumed by it.

Seriously, I saw the guy a few years ago, and his voice is gone. If he sold his soul to the Devil for his vocal abilities, he should have gotten a lifetime warrantee as well. The audience knew the material so they were basically carrying him throughout the show. I feel like I could have gone up there and done a better job belting out “Mother,” which I heard was played during the Superbowl. Way to go Danzilla – that probably pays for boots with big heels and black fishnet shirts for a year.

But let’s not dwell in the negative. This album is a great example of traditional, blues based metal with a progressive, sometimes a bit industrial edge. Mr. Biscuits, Mr. Christ, and Eerie all work hard to bring the drummage, riffage, and bassage that makes this one of the classic ‘zig albums. The songwriting has matured quite a bit since their early days, and the incorporation of some electronic elements (courtesy of The Impious Imp I guess) actually gives the songs a depth that was missing all the way through “How the gods kill”. The production is quite spiffy indeed.

On the lyrics front, Glenny has come a long way from a “twist of Cain-o, yeah, inside by brain-o”. Not poetic by anyone’s standards but still stuff about black futures and bleeding emissaries is way cooler than shit about the “love gun”. Kudos to Tony Danzella for taking time out from being KO’ed to step up the writing game.

The material that is good is really good – tracks like “Until you call on the dark,” and “Bringer of death” are about as great as being anorexic and realizing you forgot to buy groceries. And “Son of the morning star” is a perfect example of Hellvis crooning away over some acoustic guitar before the big riff comes in and commands thee to bang thy mulleted head. However, like all of Mr. Anzalone’s albums, some turds float up in the bowl after a big satisfying flush. “I don’t mind the pain” (but I do) and “Let it be captured” are like being anorexic and going to IHOP – a bloated and miserable feeling pervades.

Plus there’s some shit that isn’t really good or bad, but just plain weird. Like “Sadistikal,” which is just Danny Boy trying to speak in a menacing manner over the sounds of a whip. Funny at first, skippable every time afterward. And then there’s a hidden track about some demon coming and going and staying and shit. If we’re supposed to take this seriously, I am sad to report this mission was a failure.

As for the artwork and layout, well, I got this as some sort of digipack type deal. The cover has some symbols on it that only Anton LaVey and Glenny understand, and LaVey is dead. So I guess it’s just Glenny. And then there’s some darkness and light shit chasing each other around in a circle, which reminds me of a Metallica shirt I once saw. Very mysterious indeed – the title and band name isn’t on the cover. Spooky as hell.

So I’ll leave you with a bit of trivia: according to Metal Archives this is one of the most stolen albums of all time due to the packaging. I actually remember stealing the Misfits’ “Collection II,” but I think I bought this fucker used. Maybe some heroin addict stole it and then had the genius idea to get some money by trading it in. Anyway, I guess that fact probably increases Glenn’s ego, but decreases his bank account. Hopefully that Superbowl check was big enough to pay off the mortgage on his New Jersey duplex.

7 checks that are bigger than he is out of 10.

Originally posted on: www.globaldomination.se

The fourth and final album recorded with the classic Danzig line up, although it does not garner as much attention as the first three, it stands alone as a formidable Danzig cornerstone and a remarkable swan song offering of the late great Glenn, John, Eerie and Chuck incarnation.

I am not overly familiar with what comes after this album apart from the at times magnificent 'Lost Tracks' collection. The bits and pieces I've heard of Danzig post Danzig 4 have not sufficiently hooked me to investigate further and I believe that it is evident that the unique atmosphere of these first four releases significantly diluted after the split of the formidable original Danzig band of Eerie, John and Chuck.

It is also the final album recorded for Def American and it has been noted that around the time of recording, Danzig's relationship with Rubin had cooled off somewhat which left a majority of production responsibilities in Glenn's hands.

Glenn has claimed that he always intended that Danzig should have an actively rotating line up and the original line up only remained as it worked so well both on stage and in the studio. Indeed this is evident not only in sound but appearance as well. Had this line up not remained for four albums and Rubin's involvement not been so instrumental, we would be looking at an entirely different catalogue of work which may or may not have been better. I've always thought it was a shame this line up did not go the distance as this album exhibits a still enormous musical potential and is their most diverse. Better to burn out as they say......

Much has been said also of the changing qualities of Glenn's voice. It has certainly mellowed somewhat over the years and in my opinion Danzig 4 has captured a zenith point of it's commanding strength, power and subtlety. I have always loved Glenn's voice and always will and I believe it's unfair to attribute a lessening in musical potency to the aging of his voice. I feel it's more to do with the musicians he has worked with post Danzig 4.

I've always felt that he should have follow a more blues/traditional rock n roll driven path after the parting of ways of the Danzig 1-4 line up and focused on music which would compliment the changing qualities of his great voice, it's venerable comparisons of Jim Morrison, Elvis and Howlin' Wolf and his idols Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash. More like his Power and Fury offering to the Less Than Zero soundtrack. I'm still holding out for that Cantrell/Danzig blues album...

This disc contains some of Glenn's greatest vocal performances, Little Whip, Going Down to Die, Dominion, the sublime Let It Be Captured in which exists the fullest range of power, potency and dynamics which have graced any Danzig composition before or since and the masterfully ritualistic 'hidden track' Invocation. All this combined with the album's unique 'dark night of the soul' melancholy which could only been have been executed by musicians with great focus, musical chemistry and intuition. This is a truly essential and exceptional piece in the great Danzig dynasty.

The album also contains some more experimental productions compared to the first three albums, such as the single Cantspeak and the fantastically dark and malevolent sleazy electronics of Sadistikal. They are both great stand alone songs and do not detract but contribute very well to the flow of the album.

Danzig 4 is something of a departure from the previous three albums. Yes, the blues are still there but the anthemic and stylised attributes are toned down to make way for a distinctly more eerie, brooding, vital and personal feel. The atmosphere evokes Samhain and earlier Danzig which is no great coincidence considering Glenn's deeper production involvement. This brings a vitality and seriousness that arguably had not shown through as much on previous or indeed releases after this dark jewel.



'The demon comes but must be called
Comes to all the sleeping homes
He breaks the night and lifts their drones
Demon comes but must be called'

The last classic album from Danzig, also the last album with the original line-up. As most know after this album pretty much everyone in the band was gone (aside from Glenn of course) by the end of the 4p tour.

4p is probably the darkest album Danzig has released, the atmosphere in many of the songs is just so dark and the production sounds so airy that it lets all the instruments breathe. Musically the album sounds a bit less like the riff heavy Danzig of prior albums and maybe even a bit like prior Danzig band, Samhain with its dark and sinister tone. The album isn't angry, it's more thoughtful and introspective.

Brand New God starts off slow but soon explodes with drums and guitar, the guitar riff not being the Twist of Cain or even How the Gods Kill but more of a punky style. Little Whip is a builder with lots of character and atmosphere. The song is minimalism at its best with Glenn's voice, a slow, steady bass drum beat and a not very pronounced guitar piece. Only coming up rocking during the chorus and even that just seems to have the less is more mentality with the drums and guitar pretty much following each other.

Cantspeak is Danzig's first brush with an industrial style, not that it's an electronic song but the guitar effects are rather weird and play to the background with Glenn's voice and the drums overtaking the song and driving it somewhere that seems more thoughtful than anything else Glenn has ever done. It's not even until track 5 that we hear something that's a bit more typical of Danzig that has it's very Sabbath styled chorus riff.

The whole album is just an entirely different mood for this band, not a shocking album in that it's entirely different than what came before but lyrically and mood wise this album is just more heady, more intelligent and seems to look more at the darkness within ourselves than at the evil that lurks in hell, the devil, or any other symbol of demonic rebellion.

While the first three Danzig records get all the praise this is the favorite record of many wall crawling weirdos all over the world. It's trancelike and wicked, the vocals are raw and without hope. Classic blues grind like "Going Down to Die" and the mystical "Dominion" are not entirely new to Danzig but sound entirely new due to his more pensive disposition. This record is hardly angry, it's more thoughtful than anything. This is Danzig's epitah record if anything and it's full of grimace and grief. Not the swaggering Danzig than before, but a more intricate and dare I say, intelligent one.

Riff wise this is more powerful in it's use of subtle caress on the guitar. No overpowering "Twist of Cain" here. This record is more about the slither and slide with much blues work beind done and lesser emphasis on the weight of the guitar. "Stalker Song" even has a track that is screaming like the guitar itself is being tortured. The layers and moods are more important to this record than the overt riffery. This record bears well on many repeat listens due to it's multilayered expression.

This is not the exciting blues drive of his first, the epic second or the life shattering third. This record is far more bleak than that. In fact it's probably one of the few records I heard that captures the feeling of a "Dirty Black Summer." Buy or die assholes. You have no other choice.