Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Danzig - Danzig II: Lucifuge (1990)

I can't say that much of what where my mainstays in 1990 have withstood the test of time all that well.  This was perhaps still my first full year of metal discovery and I had near sensory overload in all honesty as Priest, Slayer, Pantera and Megadeth dropped records all over the place and I desperately attempted to keep up.  Although fully aware of Danzig at the time, I had soon gotten pissed off with hearing Mother and Twist of Cain all the time and was quite unresponsive to testing out a Danzig full length at first.

Thankfully, I soon got the fuck over myself and jumped feet first into his sophomore release, grateful to discover that it contained enough of the catchy riffs that made the aforementioned hits so undeniably memorable without being irritating.  I got more pleasure in all honesty from the true dark cabaret style of the music, with Evil Elvis firmly living up to his nickname on tracks like I'm The One and Blood and Tears.  Fair to say that whilst Cowboys From Hell and Rust in Peace have lost most of their initial sparkle, Danzig's second album still shines its dull majesty even today.

What is the real triumph on this album though is the superb blending of heavy metal with doom and even rock elements (most of Christ's leads are firmly in the rock sound of things).  It doesn't ever sound contrived though.  The album takes on a real character from virtually the opening track and wears that persona all the way through, unapologetic for being over the top in places because this act is near Oscar winning in places.  There's a remarkable simplicity to the overall sound here, I mean whilst this is obvious on the aforementioned I'm The One with Danzig crooning along to an acoustic guitar, this clear and coherent tone and unmuddied sound flows across all tracks.  This tactic helps highlight even the simplest of string bends, making them come across as real nuances that become standout moments on an album that feels like it never really gets out of third gear most of the time.

Interpreting this often rudimentary mid-pace and basic song structure is perhaps a challenge for some.  I find it processes easily enough for an extreme metalhead like me.  I find its bareness adds a real gnarly feel to proceedings which is still the overarching feeling even on the albums more catchy moments.  The consistency of the quality in the track listing does start to lapse as we get towards to the end of the record with Girl and Pain in the World being the main reasons that this record loses a full marks rating.  I think Blood and Tears would have rounded off the record perfectly well but I am denied a pain-free experience overall (but for the record I hated these tracks back in 1990 also).