In an eerie twist of irony, this album, when it was first released, seemed to have a shroud of bleakness that haunted it right from day one.

Danzig's then latest foray into the modern world had absolutely nothing going for it.

The band "Danzig," such as it was, was gone.

"Blackacidevil" was for all intents and purposes a Glenn Danzig solo album-long gone were the likes of John Christ and Eerie Von as well as the trademark AC/DC meets Elvis sound that was responsible for eventual classics as "Mother," "Twist of Cain," and "Dirty Black Summer."

The signs for change were already underway with the release of "Danzig 4" where bits and traces of alternative-based fuzz rumblings and industrial/techno mixes marked that album's commercial hit, "Can't Speak" and also saw the band exploring newer possibilities that fell slightly away from their usual three-chord heavy rock devilstomp.

So Danzig's fifth studio recording "Blackacidevil" was a trip into the unknown that largely fell away from any ties to his past.

The subject matter here remains as dark and sadistikal as ever, and lyrically, "7th House" and the title track clearly reveal right from the start that an album frothing with keyboards and programming would be no less severe than before-only it would take a great deal of internal fortitude to move past these otherwise uncharacteristic external functions that displaced the past with heavy use of industrialization and techno beats.

Similarly unusual, even disconcerting to some, was the fact that for nearly 90% of the record, Danzig's greatest and most recognizable attribute, his voice, was practically masked in a flood of nearly indecipherable effects!

"Sacrifice" was ticketed to be the pick hit from "Blackacidevil" and had this initial release had anything to its promotional advantage, would've opened the door to new fans from what should've been heavy rock radio rotation.

It wasn't but they make up for it in a big way by releasing "Sacrifice" all its own, something we'll be arriving at later.

This album signaled the end of an era for Danzig, or the group formerly known as, displaced now by Danzig, the artist, coupled with two new contributing musicians and the able assistance from Alice in Chains' Jerry Cantrell, lending his skills to the somber yet catchy tones of "See all you Were" and "Come to Silver."

"Power of Darkness" and "Ashes" combined to make an interesting pairing for the initial album's close, as the first borrowed heavily from a typical White Zombie groove and the latter, engulfed in further effectual nuances and unearthly tones.

This newest version of "Blackacidevil" reissued by E-Magine who just recently unleashed "666 Satan's Child," features killer new artwork and three extra tracks that fall conceptually in with the rest, carefully scattered throughout the album, and ending with "Don't Be Afraid," which trudges on deviously, as muffled voices, fugitives harbored within a living state of dementia, provide a restless backdrop.

Bold and challenging, this was the final bell that tolled for Danzig's past as the consummation of a new breed of horror was about to be unleashed…

Released by E-Magine Music

Review By Vinnie Apicella

This extra addition to this newly released trilogy is actually a subdivision of "Blackacidevil" and spotlights one of that record's more pronounced features, "Sacrifice."

The original single is given an overactive degree of remixing molded into a full six different designs again including brand new artwork and three new songs.

"Sacrifice," the original song, is in stark contrast to most of the generally slow and sauntering feel of creeping evil and dimly set textural ambient patterns from its point of origin and comes across like a streak of fire that erupts out of the darkness.

Originally, this song should have made enough of an impact to shoot the album out from the dark resources of subsequent obscurity it quickly fell into, but unfortunately was not to be.

Strong on the able-bodied features that characterized what a Danzig song should be albeit done up with heightened technological features and rave flavored underground beats, Danzig's expected vocal delivery is in fearlessly fine form.

Embodying the deep croon familiar to the slower work developed throughout his career, this one scorches upon reaching the chorus and the tried and true wail floods the extremities and recalls the kindred spirit that epitomized many of the band's louder moments.

Featured in a wealth of mixes that blaze through the speakers, a full six in all, the undaunted energy and limitless programming capability rises up and fries your brain before departing with the regular album mix that concludes before giving way with the three new tracks that close out the final third of this unholy creation.

"Deepest" appears first, in its "Kennedy Acid Death Mix" and again places its finger firmly on the pulse of modern technology in a subtle twist of slow moving effects and descending darkness.

"Deeper Still" in complete contrast is a fast moving electronically bred stimulus that places its faith strictly on darkwave programming and pulsating beats as Danzig remains hidden in the background, an omniscient echo in the distance.

Finally, "Serpentia" appears in its "Winter Mix," where again the vocals are shrouded in a thick layer of fog centered and background moans as the dominant theme soon reaches skin crawling proportions.

This is undoubtedly Danzig at his most extreme and one for the underground club circuit.

Released by E-Magine Music

Review By Vinnie Apicella

This rare and long out of print commodity may well have been Danzig's most impressive achievement.

Going totally against the grain of all that Danzig, the band, had produced up to that point, Glenn sought to break away briefly from the hard and heavy and move toward a more spiritual direction.

With "Black Aria," which surfaced originally somewhere between the release of Danzig's third album "How the Gods Kill" and the live EP in the early 90's, he proved not only was he a gifted singer, but underneath the tough guy persona and demonic inclinations, there also lurked a talented composer.

Fans of one of today's better known classically-inspired composers, the ghoulish Mortiis, we'll draw immediate comparisons with what for all intents and purposes here is Danzig's initial solo offering.

Conceptually, "Black Aria" moves in and out of biblical referendum suggestively aimed at the darker side raised from conflicting issues or matters that Christian hypocrisy specialists are wont to ignore in favor of goodness and glamour.

This is merely an uneducated guess for the most part as there exists no lyrics and therefore no vocals that lay forth the tales within this compelling adventure in perceived sacrilege.

Yet titles and the surrounding audio images tell much of the story which first unfolds with the "Overture of the Rebel Angels."

Here signals the beginning of this formidable new power Danzig effortlessly manages to release, leading successively, even thematically into "Conspiracy Dirge," "Battle for Heaven," "Retreat and Descend" and on down the line.

As has usually been the case, the interpretation here seems to lie in the fallen one who's been so eloquently documented throughout the Danzig musical journey, delivered from a viewpoint that neither condemns or condones but rather acknowledges… and something that in and of itself is known to release the fear of those who've never taken the time to understand.

"Black Aria," is a well arranged creation that actually symbolizes more of the Danzig image than the music would indicate.

Frightfully revealing, this one shows Glenn's ability to create outside of the context of his own band while retaining those symbolic elements that make up the nature of evil, in a slow, alluring, at times disturbing yet wholly majestic composition!

Released by E-Magine Music

Review By Vinnie Apicella