Many long running bands have a notorious streak of critically acclaimed releases which commenced with their debut album. The first six Black Sabbath studio albums set the bar extremely high for all who followed. Even the most stubborn music critics would agree that the first four Danzig studio albums fit the mold of such praise. The fifth studio album BLACKACIDEVIL saw a new direction for Danzig. Though incorporated in DANZIG 4, Glenn and company churned out a full-blown industrial metal release. 1999 bore witness to the sixth Danzig solo release entitled DANZIG 6:66 – SATAN’S CHILD that continued down the industrial metal path.

The album begins with two strong tracks in “Five Finger Crawl” and “Belly Of The Beast.” Both tracks feature the vocal pattern of many successful industrial metal artists where the singing is low in the verse and then explodes in the chorus. This vocal delivery is supported with a driving guitar riff and pounding drum hits. The next track “Lilin” follows the same pattern but in a slower doomier classic Danzig style. The softer “Unspeakable” features Glenn’s amazing ability to effectively talk through the lyrics instead of screaming. The pace picks up immensely on “Cult Without a Name.” This is one of the heavier tracks on the album which would appeal to most fans of the first four albums. “Cold Eternal” is a slow to mid-paced rocker that reminds you of other classic 90’s industrial bands blaring out of speakers everywhere. “Satan’s Child” is another hard rocker that makes for a solid title track. This one bears the catchiest chorus on the album. The final standout track to note on this release would be “Apokalips” which is the most Samhain sounding track on the album. The vocals start very low and then gradually pick up in volume and pitch up to the blasting chorus.

Glenn Danzig has had a fruitful career leading up to 1999’s SATAN’S CHILD. He was never afraid to experiment. First perfecting horror punk with the Misfits. Next perfecting goth punk with Samhain. Finally, then perfecting doom metal initially with his solo band. This was a turning point in incorporating industrial metal into the mix. At first, this was not necessarily universally accepted amongst existing fans. Playing this back 20 years later results in a differing of opinion. SATAN’S CHILD is an underrated gem within the Danzig catalog. It takes the listener back to a time when many commercial bands were selling millions of albums playing a similar style.