Glenn Danzig and company cover songs that shaped a career including the likes of Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, and Elvis.
https://vimeo.com/146813702
Text Review:
Talking about the legacy of Glenn Danzig really can’t be summed up in a few sentences. But After Mr. Danzig’s departure from The Misfits and the formation of his own group in 1987, Danzig has been a consistently producing force in the music world and is now releasing their tenth studio album.
And with that tenth album Skeletons comes music that many people may not expect in that this is a full album consisting of cover songs – with a range of songs from Black Sabbath to Elvis Presley. With a wide variety like that it may sound like a huge undertaking to translate across to new current metal and rock listeners, but according to Danzig, these songs come as second nature. In an interview promoting the album, Glenn Danzig said:
“These are my skeletons,”…”You may or may not know that I dig these songs. You could say that some of this music is the actual basis and skeleton of what I listened to growing up — ultimately informing the kind of music I like. It’s the foundation. If you took Elvis and SABBATH out of my life, I probably wouldn’t be the Glenn Danzig you know! I’m glad both sides are represented on this record.”
When bands do cover songs it can be very hit or miss, especially when making it into a different style. But when you have a backing reason of making cover songs that helped shaped your musical identity, it’s hard to argue why this album shouldn’t be made. Whether it’s paying tribute to your favorite artists or just making a song your own, there have been many times in the past where it has worked well.
The issue with Skeletons however is the WIDE variety of artists and songs that Danzig is recording. That’s not to say that Glenn Danzig isn’t capable of doing it because he has proven that he can stand the test of time with his style, but hearing Danzig perform Elvis is something not many people will expect.
From a vocal standpoint Glenn Danzig puts every Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas to shame. The problem though is that the mixing and leveling in this track are extremely muddied. The guitar work sounds impressive but is hard to get into as it’s all leveled poorly with every other element in the song. The vocals sound like they are being played from another room and it all comes across like an unclean recording in a basement.
And unfortunately, that is the problem for almost every track on Skeletons. In an album filled with covers performed by a legend, you can barely get into the music because of how uneven and unclean the music sounds. You can’t even get the vibe of a concert feeling when listening because even at the most backbar clubs with poor sound equipment you can still hear instruments come out cleaner than in Skeletons.
It’s disappointing to hear, but there are many examples throughout this album where you can tell Danzig is having fun with these songs and there was serious time put into them, but the sound quality is so rough that it prevents you from fully enjoying it.
Danzig’s cover of Aerosmith’s Lord Of The Thighs was the track to help promote Skeletons and show Danzig’s interpretations on other bands songs. The vocals in this song come in a little cleaner and you can hear some good rhythm guitar in the back, but it still feels incredibly unleveled and everything just clashes together – like playing in a room with bad acoustics where you can’t make out an individual element.
The concept of this album, which was a LONG time in the making with Danzig playing these covers on tours for years, is not a bad idea. But it is difficult to enjoy what you are listening to when the sound quality is so poor.
You can tell when listening that there is a passion from Glenn Danzig and that the songs could be done well, but the listening experience is greatly held back by a lack of clarity in the final product. What can be argued as having a live and in person feel, ends up sounding like it was recorded through a smuggled tape recorder at a show.
Overall, Danzig does not disappoint in his attempt of creativity and proves what powered him as an artist, but as for replay value and being able to get behind the music in Skeletons, the experience proves difficult. This album is something that failed on delivery, despite being from a legendary artist.
