Dazig is one of those bands I didn't get into until their/his height of popularity was over. However, since most bands I listen to, and love started in the sixties, I guess that's par for the course for me.
Twist Of Cain opens the album, with raw power and a mix of different paced riffs. Unlike later albums you can clearly still hear The Misfits and Samhain year hanging around, especially on this track. However, with a time of 4:18 and a slower more Goth like edge, this song is not the Punk that Glenn Danzig used to help write and perform.
Twist Of Cain pretty much flows straight into Not Of This World. This flow is so fluid that most of the time if I'm not really paying attention to the tracks, but just have the tunes playing in the back ground, I think it's just one long and extended track.
This album contains a few Danzig tracks I love, but my favourite on this album is She Rides. It's slow, Bluesy, dark, and just so sexy sounding. This song was written for little Goth strippers, but is a warning to all those that would feast their eyes, and souls upon such a dark creature. "She rides / Let loose upon the world / She is the night / And my loneliness in bondage / She's black / And sin runds down her back / She rides / From the daylight in chains / She rides the night / She rides the night / She slides / Down inside your skin / In time / She will make you scream / She's death / In a ghoul white dress / She rides / In the night of your mind / She rides the night / She rides the night / Yea / She'll take you down / She'll take you / She'll take you around / She'll take you down / She'll take you / She'll take you around / She rides / Let loose upon the world / She is the night / And my loneliness n bondage / She's black / And sin runs down her back / She rides / From the daylight in chains / She rides the night / She rides the night / Ooh yea / She'll take you down / She'll take you / She'll take you around / She'll take you down / She'll take you / She'll take you around / She'll take you down / She'll take you / She'll take you around / She'll take you down / She'll take you / She'll take you / around". Although a bit repetative, which I don't mind, this song totally reminds me of The Doors.
By the time track four starts up, I'm reminded about how sexy I find Glenn Danzig's voice. The way he croons all over Soul On Fire, is just fantastic. If I were a woman, or homosexual, I would have it bad for Glenn, just based on his voice.
Am I Demon is one of the tracks on this album that I could go either way on. I find this a pretty typical Metal track. But it gives me the chance to point out that I don't care for the way Eerie Von's bass is pushed too far down into the low end, and is lost a bit in the mix with Chuck Biscuits' drums. You can hear the bass on this song like all the others, but it's more like a like a low end filler, and less like the actual instrument. However, this is a Rick Rubin produced album, and if you compare it to other albums he's done, that's kind of normal for him.
Next up is Danzig's most famous track. MOTHER!!! Because you can't simply write or say mother, it must be done with attitude and aggression. It has to be MOTHER!!! However, my favourite part about this song is listening to John Christ open up on the guitar and drive this bitch home.
Possession is a great album cut. It's yet another song that's the perfect blend of where they have come from, and where they would go. Some would say this is a bit of a filler, but those people aren't seeing all the influences that are wrapped up in this track. Once again, I hear a lot of The Doors, and even some Iron Butteryfly.
To me End Of Time is a bit of a filler, but only because it sounds like a little mix of everything that's on this album. I think if this song had been looser in feeling, because I find it way too ridged and tight, it may have been better. It's like someone was trying to force this song into something it wasn't. Rick Rubin is a fantatsic producer, but he does have a tendancy to cause this effect on at least one track per album that he works on.
The Hunter is the exact opposite. It feels like a well broken in leather jacket. It's form fitting, loose where it needs to be, and hard where it counts. This is one of those tracks that I really enjoy on this album.
One of my favourite things about Danzig, the band, is how they let the music breathe. Sure the drums tend to be pretty steady and continuous, but other than that, the guitar is allowed to just ring out, and Glenn takes his time with the vocals. It's not all about speed and quick delivery. Like I said I love how the man croons.
The album ends with Evil Thing. I don't think this was a good choice for an album closer, but then again there isn't a track on this album that I think would cap it off right. Evil Thing though, is a track that is a filler at the end of the album, and that's something I always dislike.
I don't think this is Danzig's best album, but I do think it was a great start to his solo career. Also while I do complain about Rubin's production on this album, I should mention that the over all sound is fantastic. The clarity of everything, except for the bass, is pretty much perfect. It's nice, crisp, and clear.
7/10 - content
7/10 - production
7/10 - personal bias
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