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By Trevor ‘Krash’ Knight
keeperofthe7key@aol.com

Welcome to another review with me, Trevor ‘Krash’ Knight, as we delve into a controversial album from the Danzig camp, Blackacidevil.

So, the year is 1996, and metal is undoubtedly in a transition phase, at least mainstream metal is. The grunge movement is starting to phase out, thrash metal hasn’t been “cool” for a few years, industrial metal has been making some waves for a few years now, and Glenn Danzig has his eye on that sub-genre. He even decides to add in a little bit of techno for his next album Blackacidevil, and he’s bringing some new mates. 

The original lineup of Danzig is no more, and a new crew comes in for this album. Leaving is John Christ (guitars), Chuck Biscuits (drums), and Erie Vohn (bass), and we have Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains playing guitar on tracks “See All You Were,” “Hand of Doom,” and “Come to Silver.” 

Also, Blackacidevil was the first Danzig album to feature Joey Castillo and Josh Lazie and the only album to feature contributions by Mark Chaussee and Joseph Bishara. Other than that, Glenn Danzig plays all the instruments on the remainder of the album. So, with all of that being said, let’s jump in.

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We kick off Blackacidevil with “7th House’” and the title track. I feel the same about both songs, so that I can describe them pretty much the same. Right away, this sounds nothing like Danzig from the previous four albums, with many mechanical sounds, including the drums.

These are up-tempo songs, and Glenn is singing quite fast, but his vocals are so layered that I feel like his voice gets pushed to the back, a common theme throughout Blackacidevil. Glenn’s voice is undoubtedly a strength of Danzig, and with this mixing on Blackacidevil, that strength gets undercut. These two tracks are probably the weakest on Blackacidevil and don’t make my iPod cut.

Now to the third track, “See All You Were,” finally, we get to something to sink our teeth into. This is a slower tempo song compared to the first two, with a sinister beat. Its industrial feel brings out something special in this song, which I love.

Now moving on to the single “Sacrifice,” this might be the most controversial song on Blackacidevil. Some love it, and some hate it. I’m in the camp of liking it, but I can see why some don’t. The usual complaint is that it has an intense techno feel along with the industrial DNA, so you get something strange, no doubt, but I think it works. 

Now to the fifth track., “Hint of Her Blood,” which is another slower-paced track. With this track, Glenn lost a layer or two on his vocals, so you get a more natural sound with his vocals. As for the sixth track, “Serpintina,” we’ve got another slower burning cut. This certainly has a crawling-type sound with some backing vocal effects.

Before we get to the seventh track, I need to mention there haven’t been any guitar solos to be found! So, we come to “Come to Silver,” featured in acoustic form on the Lost Tracks of Danzig compilation. Both versions are slow-tempo songs, and I like both versions about the same. This is the first track where you get a bit of a guitar solo, thankfully.

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The next track is “Hand of Doom,” a Black Sabbath cover. I will admit upfront that I like this reimaging better than the original. It stays true to the original other than being heavily industrialized, and those modern touches send it home, at least. You might think differently, though. 

For the ninth track on Blackacidevil, we have “Power of Darkness.” This cut essentially ends up in the same category as the first two tracks of Blackacidevil. It’s not bad, and I listen to it now and again, but nothing too memorable. Not too much to say other than what I said to open the album.

So, we finally make it to our last track, and boy is it worth the wait! The song in question, “Ashes,” is a slow, somber, and moving piece of music. Glenn’s vocals are on point here, with little, if any, layering added to the track. The excellent songwriting makes you feel this song deeply on a cold winter day or night.

All in all, it is a little bit of a mixed bag here with Blackacidevil. While I don’t think Blackacidevil deserves the hate it gets, at the same time, I think it certainly missed the mark. Still, I can appreciate the attempt. What is also disappointing here is that Glenn’s voice remains intact and is not strained as we hear during later records. I’m disappointed that Blackacidevil received the vocal mix it did.

Overall, yeah, Blackacidevil is something of a wasted opportunity. Still, I visit this album more than the casual Danzig, but it certainly doesn’t come close to the albums that came before it. I give Blackacidevil three out of five stars. You get some excellent Danzig songwriting and vocal deliveries, along with some catchy songs you’ll be thinking about after you put the album away. If you’d like to see my full Danzig album rankings, hit the link here, and dive in.

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– Trevor ‘Krash’ Knight (Krash Kourse Metal Show) is a contributor for www.vwmusicrocks.com and may be reached at Keeperofthe7key@aol.com