Album Review: Danzig – Black Laden Crown (AFM Records)

The 11th album from Danzig is also the first album of original material since 2010’s Deth Red Sabaoth. It was released on May 26th 2017 via AFM Records.

The importance of Glenn Danzig in rock & metal can’t be under-stated. From the Misfits through to his solo work, his vocal performances have wowed fans for years. Unfortunately Black Laden Crown doesn’t wow in the slightest. Sounding tired & bored, it’s 9 tracks of insipid sounding vocals with occasional bursts of energetic guitar work.

The title track, Black Laden Crown opens things poorly. Danzig’s vocal performance is near cringe-worthy, the gothic tone sounding completely misplaced. It only improves when the vocals drop out leaving the guitar riffing to pick up the pieces.

This is a common issue throughout the album. Danzig just sounds awful. Only on occasion, when he adds a bit of fire do they sound like a man with passion.

Eyes Ripping Fire & Devil on Hwy 9 are memorable thanks to some decent guitar riffs with the latter of two having some serious gothic groove. While Last Ride is the best of a bad bunch with a really dark & moody beat.

Any hope for an upswing in quality is lost with The Witching Hour & But A Nightmare. The former will convince most that Danzig isn’t even trying. It’s slow & boring while the latter is near unlistenable thanks to whiny vocals. It’s horrible & overly loud, so much so that the decent riffing in the background is completely lost.

There is really very little to enjoy here. It’s an incredibly boring album. It lacks energy or effort with the last song hammering the final nail into the coffin. Pull the Sun just caps off the unnecessarily high volume, badly sung vocal pointlessness of it all. It’s an album that just feels useless, utterly forgettable & very disappointing.

The only positives that can be dragged out of it is that occasionally there are some wicked guitar solos, nice riffs & the odd decent melody.

Danzig – Black Laden Crown Full Track Listing:

1. Black Laden Crown
2. Eyes Ripping Fire
3. Devil On Hwy 9
4. Last Ride
5. The Witching Hour
6. But a Nightmare
7. Skulls & Daisies
8. Blackness Falls
9. Pull the Sun

Check it out yourself below on Apple Music.