There is this weird quirk that people have that if you like some particular thing they believe you will get into anything having to do with it. This is the circumstances that lead me to owning "
Danzig III". Since it was a well known fact that I liked metal, a relative decided to buy this for me for Christmas because obviously if I was into Manowar,
Bon Jovi and
Dio I must instantly like
Danzig too simply because the album was in the metal section of the record store and well. if you like one metal band you like them all right? Well admittedly I was a bit taken aback, this wasn't exactly the kind of thing I was into, the cover all creepy and devilish. But after a few spins, I was in love, and never looked back.
Glenn
Danzig seems to take the whole demonic thing a bit too seriously but the music is more honest for it. And those expecting to have their brains grinded into sonic pulp will also be surprised, for this is a really solid hard rock album with some lovely ballads that have a sinister underbelly running underneath the surface. The man himself is a great singer, and unique in this day and age while retaining a familiar quality. The guy sounds like evil Elvis crossed with some of that classic wailing a'la Jim Morrsion from the Doors. Slap this down with some dirty devil rock, a bluesy twist, and uncluttered compositions and you have a strange and varied winner on your hands that manages to explore darkness with a oftentimes creepy vibe and goth-like self loathing, devil worshipping moodiness, but can also turn that right around for a feel-good rocker on the very next cut.
Usually personal preferences lead my tastes towards the more intricate, but the song simplicity here is often part of their strengths surprisingly. Take the album's pride cut and creepy ballad
"Sistinas" for example, it relies more on the building of vocals, from wistful darkness to deep throaty emoting, a plodding dirge-like pace til the very end, the music is but a backdrop, yet an effective one at that. A solemn moodiness wrapped up in a terrible softness. This one cuts to the soul and could have a variety of meanings lyrically...just pick one that suits you best.
"Godless" is one freakin' weird song, it begins life as a blues encrusted rocker that has a thick bottom end and flying guitars reminiscent of 1970s UFO, then the bottom drops out for this slow, doomed section with wailing vocals and this metallic sound effect that reminds me of chains clanking in hell perhaps? After some wailing the guitars kick in again, forceful and rocking with an edgy melodic vibe hidden within, that seduces the song and possesses it ultimately, as it rocks out even harder with a rhythmic swing carried by a thickened melody and drums that drive. The twists, turns, time changes and haunting overall feel is creeped out but fantastic at the same time, right down to the ending where Glenn gets on the pulpit like a know-it-all scholar and gets all preachy on our asses. It's pompous but delightful.
"How the Gods Kill" starts out as a moody ballad, stark acoustic guitar slinking behind the voice, and then it suddenly just takes a dive into doom laden hard rock, guitar riffs dancing like demons, drums pounding out the rhythm of the damned, vocals wailing like the cries of the dead. John Christ gave perhaps his best performance on this discs and it shows with the slick riffing here, sometimes just simple power chords, but the electric guitar fits the music and adds quite a bit to the already strange and foreboding atmosphere. It comes on with such swiftness that it can cause the heart to skip a beat in surprise. and like any good gothic tinged song, it slinks back into somberness a couple more times of varying degrees before piercing the lull with electric bliss again. The song is like a good love making session. an almost gentle touch, followed by a hard, good pounding, another transition of a caress, then an explosive climax that is topped off by an closing that beckons you to relax and just soak in the entire experience.
And who can forget the most addictive and radio friendly track of the disc, the lovable
"Dirty Black Summer" with its skull pounding yet hip shaking rhythm that grinds and rocks down a treacherous path. It has a heavy bottom end, yet this addictive head-banging feel that gets into the blood and just boils. This thing is so crazily groovy that you could break out and dance to it almost. Not that a hardcore headbanger would be caught dancin' like a fool to any music, but hey, if you wanted to, the possibilities are there.
"Left Hand Black" follows
"Dirty Black" and keeps that gritty, downright nasty blues entrusted groove pulsating through this portion of the disc.
"Heart of the Devil" rips it with Glenn howling a capella, so you can hear every sharp raw bit of his howling vocal style. It's more like filler, for when the instuments kick in it kinda rolls with an average rock sound, nothing exceptional.
"Do You Wear the Mark" has grit and emotional grind, a slick track that melds that darkened bluesy bottom end with the sharp, cutting vocals and powerful guitar chords. The plodding pace will surely have you questioning whether you are wearing the mark yourself by song's end.
This album is bleak and gothic, a terrifying trip into the heart of many horrors including earthly (or perhaps quite unearthly temptation), tinkering with the known existance of evil in the world, and doubts of higher powers and spirtuality itself. This album is consumed with ominous doom, and this comes across in the blatantly depressive tracks such as the mystifying ballad-esque
"Anything". The rockers have bite and potentially dangerous venom, like a cobra coiled that has already struck and released its poison into the songs, and some even elevate themselves to appropriately pretentious levels. As a musician and a composer, Glenn shows that he has grown up and expanded his repretoir quite alot over the years and with his talent and ambition, managed to come up with a suitably Prozac nation loving album that leaves alot of questions brewing and doesn't give many answers.
If you were into
Danzig before he went solo or already have the first in what I consider the Holy
Danzig Trilogy, "
Danzig" and "
Danzig II: Lucifuge", then this is an absolute must-have to complete the trio. There's alot of evil afoot, but it is balanced out with some depression and real downer atmospheres. The bluesy touches in the gloomy, sinister metallic world that is created here is not only catchy but leaves an imprint of sorrow in that glaze of darkness. Alot of people have complained about the various evolutions of
Danzig in the past and of course present, and while all his albums have a certain charm, from The
Misfits to Samhain to the various solo incarnations and back, I believe that "How the Gods Kill" is perhaps the most consistent and friendly of the bunch. Even if you think you might not like it, give it a try, for you might become just as enchanted as I was when first introduced to this gem. Yes, it feels like you are walking in the pitch black with Satan on your shoulder and a devil angel whispering behind, but it is still an experience worth.... experiencing.
Written by
Alanna Tuesday, April 12, 2005
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