Danzig II: Lucifuge
by Danzig
1990
This is a perfect album. Every song is essential, every song is perfectly done. Recorded in a New Orleans studio, right in the heart of the French Quarter, the whole album is seeped in the swampy air of New Orleans, a major word on this album is atmosphere. On this album, Danzig stretches out and finds many places to extend their sound. On the last album, their first under the name Danzig, was good, but it was a bit repetitive. No such problem on here, where the band plays everything from blues-based heavy metal (like "Killer Wolf" among many) to straight up blues ("I'm the One"), riff based pure heavy metal ("Her Black Wings", which is my personal favorite), and even a 50's pop-ballad with "Blood and Tears", which is also one of the best on here, with what is perhaps Glenn Danzig's greatest vocal performance. This album has everything any fan of Danzig's would need, a great sound, great songs, and an eclectic song-writing style. However, it is not that eclectic, everything on here fits, but also sounds different, which is important in making a classic record.
The production is better and much more full than on Danzig. Glenn claims that Rick Rubin was barely present during the sessions, leaving most of the production to Glenn himself, which actually makes sense, as this sounds like a production Glenn Danzig would do, with more reverb and a fuller sound. However it features Rick's mixing and mastering talents (the only place in the recording where he apparently was active), with a nice mix, where everything is up front, with a good separation of instruments. It also features Glenn's vocals up front which is very important. Contrary to popular belief, I don't think this is his absolute best, vocally, though it features some of his best moments. The main problem is that he gets a little bit caught up in doing kind of out of focus screams, which, I've found, on certain sound systems make his vocals impossible to hear. However, this only happens from time to time (like of the opener "Long Way Back From Hell") and in general his vocals are perfect for the music.
Perhaps I'm a bit biased: when I first heard this I was something like 14 or 15, and at that age, impressionable, and this made a big impression, the whole sound of the album hit me in a very strong way, and ever since it's been a special album for me, taking its place along with many David Bowie albums and others. Danzig's music was a big thing to me when I was younger, from The Misfits to Samhain to Danzig, all of his music was important, and remains so. This album brings back fond memories of trying to play riffs like on here with my Epiphone SG and sing like Glenn Danzig. I should stop before making this a GTKY node, but I think my feelings for it are similar in a lot of people. The whole album just has that special feel, which even if other Danzig albums may be better, they will never top this one in some ways. I highly suggest this to music fans, or to impressionable youths waiting for something to blow your mind.
Tracklist
- Long Way Back From Hell
- Snakes of Christ
- Killer Wolf
- Tired of Being Alive
- I'm the One
- Her Black Wings
- Devil's Plaything
- 777
- Blood and Tears
- Girl
- Pain in the World