Review Summary: A course correction and a double-down
Coming off the botched misfire that was Blackacidevil, it’s fascinating how the sixth Danzig album simultaneously feels like a course correction and a double-down on the formula. 6:66 Satan’s Child retains the industrial beats and effects of its predecessor but presents them in a much more balanced fashion, bringing the guitars back to the forefront and giving the atmosphere its heaviest makeover in nearly a decade. It’s not exactly a back-to-basics album as we’re still nowhere near blues metal glory, but at least the lineup resembles an actual band again.
However, 6:66 Satan’s Child sounds like a merely okay band as opposed to a thoroughly astounding one. This is where Danzig’s vocals noticeably start losing their power as his howls sound worn down even when they aren’t being drowned out by the other instruments or coated in effects. Unfortunately, the other musicians lack any real identity to compensate for this shortcoming. The performances are serviceable enough but the emphasis on the most rudimentary riffs and rhythms makes it seem like they were afraid to step on anybody’s toes. I’m sure they’re all solid dudes but I can’t imagine them being anybody’s favorite Danzig guitarist or bassist.
Fortunately, the band had the good sense to frontload the album with its catchiest songs. The one-two punch of “Five Finger Crawl” and “Belly of the Beast” is a strong start, the former putting its pushing beats and filtered vocals toward some infectious verse-chorus transitions and the latter having some fun with its boneheaded verse chugs. From there, “Lilin” offers a memorable vocal line to go with its industrial doom build and “Unspeakable” has a certain anthemic appeal even if its production gets a little too noisy.
Even the more atmospheric meanderings end up being decently executed. “Cult Without a Name” applies a more frantic chug to the soft/heavy industrial doom template with some pinch harmonics that dare invoke the classic era. “East Indian Devil (Kali’s Song)” and “Firemass” make for their jumbled mixes with more exotic-sounding textures, and I can get the moody borderline trip hop on “Cold Eternal” and “Into the Mouth of Abandonment.” The revisit of “Thirteen” also makes for a strong closer; redoing a song he wrote for Johnny Cash that actually got recorded could come off a little desperate, but there’s no denying the groove in that simple blues stomp.
I wouldn’t advocate for 6:66 Satan’s Child being some lost classic, but it might be Danzig’s most underrated album. On one hand, it’s easy to understand why folks would be wary of it continuing its predecessor’s industrial formula and there aren’t too many world class performances. On the other, the songs can be well-written enough to circumvent the flaws in the presentation. Satan’s Child was going to be better than Blackacidevil by default, but that album could’ve been significantly improved had it given this album’s treatment. It was also never going to be as great as the classic four but it’s a good effort that could’ve been great had somebody like Tommy Victor been included. For what it’s worth, it sits on the better side of an overall rocky discography.
