ALBUM REVIEW

DANZIG

“4”

American

* * * 1/2

Though Danzig the entity swaggers boldly, swathed in a dark mystique, it is the stark musical vision of Glenn Danzig the man that lures you into the gloom. His group’s new album finds the foreboding foursome in top form, executing its leader’s directives with burly grace.

“Going Down to Die” smolders at the crossroads where the raw emotion of blues meets the steely stylization of Goth rock. In “Domination,” Danzig’s vocals flex and coil in a reverberating box of sound. “Little Whip” canters along with a touch of Western twang. “I Don’t Mind the Pain” mingles the twang with a Middle Eastern lilt and sinister, seductive groove.

Underpinning all the hardness is a soft, albeit creepy, romanticism that emerges in the occasional calms. New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (excellent).