Ever wonder who'd come out on top if Glenn Danzig got into a brawl with Henry Rollins? Let's meet the contenders: angsty, angry Rollins (and his neck) oozes tough, but with a not-very-well-hidden, maybe-I'm-faking-it poseur aura that hasn't diminished with time; Danzig, on the other hand, gives the impression that he's a cool, calm, only somewhat unhappy mofo who won't bend for anyone and would just as soon make you his bitch as look at you.
The winnah? Definitely the buffed-out Danzig, who'd finish off Hank the Neck with a vicious body-slam tattoo and a stab to the groin with his pointy devil's tail.
Danzig—Mr.Danzig to you—is an intimidator, and you don't have to see a picture of him and his schoolyard bully pecs to know this. While he sure ain't no Sinatra, he boasts a scary set of pipes that bellow anguished melodies, echoing out from the very blackest part of the bottomless pit of either hell or Irvine.
On his current record, Danzig 6:66-Satan's Child, he mixes old and new styles, proving that he's not shackled to the chains of the punk/metal machine he was born into—this time, there's even a little techno in his mix. The opening track, “Five Finger Crawl,” is a short mix of woeful intensity and trance-like guitar riffs, exactly what we've been hurting for in the four years since his last release, Blackacidevil—different and new, yet distinctly Danzig. “Lilin” is more familiar, akin to “Godless” from How the Gods Kill, on which he falls back into his patented routine of wrapping creepy, talking-cadaver vocals around a melancholy blues tune.
Danzig's music feels maturer now, the sound of a dark, lonely Goth boy as he approaches middle age. And while maybe not quite the Misfits, Satan's Child still has a great sound to it, full of arching, throbbing, hardcore arias. Whether you think his image is a gimmick or figure he really does felch Satan while coated in a heavy layer of lamb's blood, the man has soul—he keeps it in the dark, tormented rock where his heart ought to be.
Danzig performs with Disturbed and Six Feet Under at the Sun Theatre, 2200 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim, (714) 712-2700. Sun., 7 p.m. $24-$25.
