Danzig 6:66: Satans Child

Coming off the botched misfire that was Blackacidevil, it’s fascinating how the sixth Danzig album simultaneously feels like a course correction and a double-down on the formula. 6:66 Satan’s Child retains the industrial beats and effects of its predecessor but presents them in a much more balanced fashion, bringing the guitars back to the forefront and giving the atmosphere its heaviest makeover in nearly a decade. It’s not exactly a back-to-basics album as we’re still nowhere near blues metal glory, but at least the lineup resembles an actual band again.

However, 6:66 Satan’s Child sounds like a merely okay band as opposed to a thoroughly astounding one. This is where Danzig’s vocals noticeably start losing their power as his howls sound worn down even when they aren’t being drowned out by the other instruments or coated in effects. Unfortunately, the other musicians lack any real identity to compensate for this shortcoming. The performances are serviceable enough but the emphasis on the most rudimentary riffs and rhythms makes it seem like they were afraid to step on anybody’s toes. I’m sure they’re all solid dudes but I can’t imagine them being anybody’s favorite Danzig guitarist or bassist.

Fortunately, the band had the good sense to frontload the album with its catchiest songs. The one-two punch of “Five Finger Crawl” and “Belly of the Beast” is a strong start, the former putting its pushing beats and filtered vocals toward some infectious verse-chorus transitions and the latter having some fun with its boneheaded verse chugs. From there, “Lilin” offers a memorable vocal line to go with its industrial doom build and “Unspeakable” has a certain anthemic appeal even if its production gets a little too noisy.

Even the more atmospheric meanderings end up being decently executed. “Cult Without a Name” applies a more frantic chug to the soft/heavy industrial doom template with some pinch harmonics that dare invoke the classic era. “East Indian Devil (Kali’s Song)” and “Firemass” make for their jumbled mixes with more exotic-sounding textures, and I can get the moody borderline trip hop on “Cold Eternal” and “Into the Mouth of Abandonment.” The revisit of “Thirteen” also makes for a strong closer; redoing a song he wrote for Johnny Cash that actually got recorded could come off a little desperate, but there’s no denying the groove in that simple blues stomp.

I wouldn’t advocate for 6:66 Satan’s Child being some lost classic, but it might be Danzig’s most underrated album. On one hand, it’s easy to understand why folks would be wary of it continuing its predecessor’s industrial formula and there aren’t too many world class performances. On the other, the songs can be well-written enough to circumvent the flaws in the presentation. Satan’s Child was going to be better than Blackacidevil by default, but that album could’ve been significantly improved had it given this album’s treatment. It was also never going to be as great as the classic four but it’s a good effort that could’ve been great had somebody like Tommy Victor been included. For what it’s worth, it sits on the better side of an overall rocky discography.

This is sure as hell not "Blackaciddevil" (thank goodness), I find it a good strong return to form on Danzig's part. The electronica/industrial influences were far more evenly integrated into the music, with the guitar making a welcome comeback into Danzig's sound. And a loud comeback at that; practically every song features prominent, pummeling, downtuned riffing that occasionally has a whiff of nu-metal, but I was relieved to see that this is far from anything of that sort. The riffing is far too strong and musically able to be nu-metal suckage, I am glad to say.

You still get yer weirdo electronic bits here and there, like the intro to "East Indian Devil Song", for example, with its creepy reversed female vocals, and the more subdued trip hop sounding stuff like "Cold Eternal", which is Glenn's most hushed and moving vocal performance on the album. His vocal dynamics come more into play on this album and he uses them well, with his softer vocals on the verses of opener "Five Finger Crawl" alternating with his trademark throaty wail on the chorus as a prime example.

Other than softer songs like "Cold Eternal", the nutbashers are more in evidence than before; "Five Finger Crawl", "Lilin" (his bluesy bawling is in especially fine form on this one), "East Indian Devil Song" post intro, the title track, and "Cult Without a Name" will show you that he still has it and how when it comes to blowing people's hair back. That last one has some more of his soft crooning and is a mindblower, winding down to a whisper in the middle until it nearly dies out altogether--then it roars back to smash you into the wall with bulldozing intent! Excellent production too, I might add, this album features--a sharp and full drum sound with thick guitars and bass.

Give Glenn a chance with this one, he will earn your respect back again if you lost it after hearing "Blackaciddevil", like I did. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I managed to find this album really cheap and in mint condition for I couldn't pass it up. Satan's Child sure isn't a "How The Gods Kill" or "Lucifuge", but underneath the electornica influence Glen is still the same Danzig lyrically and vocally. Die hard Danzig fans will find reconize the style of songs like "Five Finger Crawl", "Cult w/Out a Name", and "Firemass" (which would have fit nicely on 4). Satan's Child doesn't rely entirely on electronica and industrial sounds like "Blackaciddevil" did but there are still songs that use synthethizers and some distorted vocal parts, like "East Indian Devil (Kali's Song)", "Unspeakable", and the title track "Satan's Child". There are also two songs "Into the Mouth of Abandonment" and "Apokalips" that have very different strong bass and drum intros, that have an almost funk or rap influence to them, after the intros both songs again utilize the electronic style, but still blend it in with some guitar work, the songs are in no way rap or hip hop they just have strong bass intros which are common among most african music. Vocally Glenn is still strong as ever despite the few voice distortions, I have often referred to him as the "King of Choruses" and even if the song musically is not exciting Glenn makes up for it with his awesome lyrics and vocal gift, why he would want to distort his voice in the first place is still unclear to me. Underneath the continued electronic experimentation Glenn still has a firm grasp lyrically on what he has always loved and believed in, satan, sacrifice, S&M, and lucifer. My favorites on this album are "Five Finger Crawl", "Unspeakable", "Cult w/Out a Name", "Firemass", and "Satan's Child. Another thing that I really liked about this album was the cover art, the cover is very appealing and compelling with a painting of Glenn being portrayed as a overpowering demon with blood soaked hands, and the cd inlay also features some cool photos and of the band and other female acquiantes in the typical dark manner. If you are a die hard Danzig fan and don't have this album, or have been unsure about purchasing it, my advice to you is to give this album a chance, its much better then 5, but still isn't the classic Danzig fans came to love, just listen to the album with an open mind and you will grow to enjoy it.