With the release of Black Laden Crown – Danzig as a band comes full circle and Glenn Danzig as an individual artist seems comfortable in his own skin for the first time in a very long time.
It’s been an interesting few years for Glenn Danzig with the much anticipated and highly praised Misfits reunion last year and this year the release of Black Laden Crown – the band’s 11th release but the first collection of all original tunes in a decade. That decade was time well spent though as Black Laden Crown is a hard-hitting, thundering, tight album that is literally a thrill to behold.
Dark, brooding and charged with a power and a tension that I haven’t heard in metal music in quite some time – Danzig takes our hand and leads us through a full throttle reminder of what they are capable of as songwriters and musicians – and it is nothing short of incredible.
From the opening riff of the albums title track – Black Laden Crown – to the last note of – Pull The Sun – these nine tracks represent what just may be the best collection of metal music so far this year.
About 4 years in the making – Glenn, guitarist Tommy Victor, and collection of four different drummers took their time and got just about every riff, note and beat pitch perfect on this one.
So much to love on this collection but for this head bangers buck – metal doesn’t get much better then track two – Eyes Ripping Fire. Glenn’s voice perfectly blends with the slow, searing riffs flying from Tommy Victor’s fingers and when the guitar solo begins – just give up – I can’t come up with enough words of praise that will fully explain the sheer force and power that three men manage to produce.
Honestly, though – there is not a bad track on this collection. Glenn Danzig wrote all the songs. The track listing is as follows:
“Black Laden Crown” – 5:59
“Eyes Ripping Fire” – 4:19
“Devil On Hwy 9” – 3:52
“Last Ride” – 4:59
“The Witching Hour” – 5:59
“But a Nightmare” – 5:04
“Skulls & Daisies” – 3:58
“Blackness Falls” – 5:47
“Pull the Sun” – 5:54
Danzig is heading out on the road to promote the album – as a matter of fact, he’s coming through my neck of the woods in the early fall and you can bet your ass I’ll be standing in that crowd thrashing around with the rest of them.
Black Laden Crown deserves to be in heavy rotation on any metal heads playlist and I think time will prove that this is going to be one of the best albums of they year. Find it, crank it and make your neighbors move.
Danzig’s Black Laden Crown is available now from Nuclear Blast Records and I highly recommend you add it to your collection.
