Danzig 777: I Luciferi (/ˌ ˌlsɪˈfɛr/) is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Danzig. It was released on May 21, 2002 by Glenn Danzig's Evilive label and distributed by Spitfire Records. Danzig stated that this album was the last in a series of seven numbered albums, each with its own general concept.

Danzig 777: I Luciferi
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 21, 2002
RecordedJune 2001–January 2002[1]
Studio
  • Grandmaster
  • Rumbo
  • Glenwood Place
  • The Hook
  • Hollywood Sound
Genre
Length54:28
LabelEvilive/Spitfire
ProducerGlenn Danzig
Danzig chronology
Live on the Black Hand Side
(2001)
Danzig 777: I Luciferi
(2002)
Circle of Snakes
(2004)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [2]
Blistering(favorable)[3]
Brave Words [4]
College Music Journal(favorable) [5]
Exclaim!(favorable) [6]
LA Weekly(favorable)[7]
Punknews.org [8]
Rock Hard [9]

Over the months following the tour for this album, each of the other band members left to pursue other projects. Most notably, Joey Castillo joined Queens of the Stone Age; he appeared on Danzig's eleventh studio album Black Laden Crown (2017), but did not officially rejoin Danzig.

Music and recording

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The song "Angel Blake" is named after the witch in the film The Blood on Satan's Claw.

The track "Wicked Pussycat" served as the album's first single.[10]

The original track listing, as reported by KNAC on December 22, 2001, featured several tracks that did not appear on the final album. These included the songs "Dying Seraph", "Soul Eater", and "Malefical Bride of Hell", all of which were released in 2007 on The Lost Tracks of Danzig, with "Malefical Bride of Hell" having its title shortened to "Malefical". An additional track titled "Dark Secret Side" has never been released.

Album title

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In a 2002 interview with Juliya Chernetsky on Fuse TV's Uranium show, Glenn Danzig said that the pronunciation of the album title is /ˌ lsɪˈfɛr/ EE-loo-si-FERR-eye. This corresponds to Danzig's pronunciation of the word in the chorus of the title track. Early press releases for the album reveal that its working title was Danzig 7: Kiss the Skull.

Artwork and packaging

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The CD booklet contains a quotation from Celsus, a second-century AD opponent of Christianity: "They worship neither a god nor even a demon, but a dead man!"

Porn star Devon appears in the CD booklet and on the back of the CD jacket.

The lyric sheet for the song "Black Mass" contains a misprint: "Asan un Nefer". The correct lyric is "Asar-un-Nefer" ("Myself Made Perfect"), an epithet of the Egyptian god Osiris used especially in the Thelemic "Bornless Ritual".[11] Earlier in the song, Danzig's lyrics refer to "the Bornless One".

The lyrics for "Wicked Pussycat" contain an omission. The correct missing lyric is "five-pointed star-tail": as the lyric is repeated at one point in the video for the song, the camera focuses on the tail/chain of a girl's cat costume; at the end of the chain is a pentagram.

Reception

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  • Allmusic – "Uneven as I Luciferi is, it's a quite listenable and welcome return to truly metallic form for Glenn Danzig...Sure, his best years are most likely behind him at this point, but I Luciferi proves that this old snake still has some venom left in his fangs."[12]
  • Punknews.org – "This album is extremely dark and heavy, as you might expect...The best thing about this album is that it is devoid of filler, the hard smacks just keep coming and don't stop 'till the end."[10]
  • LA Weekly – "Controlled, relentless darkness and passion. Great song after great song. Forget the muscles and skulls, this is hard-rock music."[13]
  • Blistering – "The effect-laden focus of the previous two albums is long gone, with only hints of the old industrial sound remaining...There isn’t a weak moment on the album. This one has got it all. If you have left the Danzig circle, it’s time to return."[14]

Music videos

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Music videos were released for the songs "Kiss the Skull" and "Wicked Pussycat".

The video for "Kiss the Skull" was directed by Thomas Mignone,[15] who has also directed live action videos for Verotik.[16] The "devil fetus" that appears in the video was designed by Glenn Danzig.[15]

Track listing

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  1. "Unendlich" – 1:51
  2. "Black Mass" – 4:58
  3. "Wicked Pussycat" – 4:03
  4. "God of Light" – 3:39
  5. "Liberskull" – 5:45
  6. "Dead Inside" – 5:16
  7. "Kiss the Skull" – 4:11
  8. "I Luciferi" – 3:15
  9. "Naked Witch" – 3:55
  10. "Angel Blake" – 3:35
  11. "The Coldest Sun" – 3:59
  12. "Halo Goddess Bone" – 4:29
  13. "Without Light, I Am" – 5:32

All songs written by Glenn Danzig

Credits

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Charts

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Chart (2002) Peak
position
Swedish Albums Chart[17] 33

References

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  1. ^ "Danzig Recording Sessions". misfitscentral.com. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  2. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r588643
  3. ^ "Blistering.com Review: Danzig - Danzig 777: I Luciferi". Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
  4. ^ "Splash".
  5. ^ I Luciferi review. CMJ. June 10, 2002. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
  6. ^ "Danzig 7:77 I Luciferi". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
  7. ^ "The Year in Music - Page 2 - Music - Los Angeles - LA Weekly". Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2010-08-26.
  8. ^ "Danzig - 777: I Luciferi". 14 June 2002.
  9. ^ http://www.rockhard.de/index.php?smod=p209MJ56rKOyMTyuWz1iMUIfo2qAo2D9pz9wn2uupzDhpzI2nJI3pl5xMKEunJkJnJI3Wzqlo3IjFHD9pzuspzI2nJI3WzAioaEyoaEWEQ0lAmV3ZvL%3D [dead link]
  10. ^ a b Sideleau, Brandon (June 14, 2002). "Danzig 777: I Luciferi". Punknews.org. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
  11. ^ The Bornless Ritual Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Serba, John. "I Luciferi". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
  13. ^ Burk, Greg (January 2, 2003). "The Year in Music – Danzig, 777: I Luciferi (Spitfire)". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
  14. ^ Alisoglu, Scott. "Danzig – Danzig 777: I Luciferi". Blistering. Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
  15. ^ a b Burk, Greg (August 29, 2002). "Fetus Don't Fail Me Now". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2010-08-26.
  16. ^ "Satanika Movie in Pre Production". Danzig-Verotik.com. January 9, 2009. Archived from the original on February 14, 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-26.
  17. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2010-07-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  • [1] The Bornless Ritual