Cleopatra 2023
Compromised with a dancefloor intent, murky musings of Lucifer’s flock shimmer and shimmy into bliss.
When Glenn Danzig’s sidekick is luring the listener into the darkness of his and his old friend’s souls, the last thing the audience might expect would be neon lights coloring their gloom, as neither DANZIG nor SAMHAIN have ever been glorified for their glamor. So though “Love And Anger” – the 2016 debut of Steve Zing and Daniel Tracey’s ensemble – careened more to the punk aspect of sonic assault, its 2023 successor will find glitter plastered over most of the platter’s licks, and though “the waiting is the hardest part,” as a popular piece once stated, the American pair, scratching a seven-year-itch, finally deliver on their original promise here. And while one of the band’s fresh cuts suggests “I Am Screaming (But Nobody Hears)” – without a lot of screech attached to a muffled riff and acoustic strum – ignoring this album should amount to a loss on a metal lover’s part – a mental forfeiture.
Full of humor and vague on concept – an idea hinted at by the tentative link between the unhurried titular track “The Waiting (A Token Of Your Death)” and the hellishly dramatic “Waiting For The Sun To Go Down” – the band bristle with reserved vigor and groove from catchy opener “Blackout” onwards. They offer an enviable cache of tunes which shine so bright as to contextualize a couple of blackened covers, both featuring Jyrki 69 as Zing’s vocal foil: THE HOLLIES’ “Long Cool Woman” and THE KINKS’ “Destroyer” where another pair of old pals, Tommy Victor and Johnny Kelly lay down, respectively a guitar solo and heavy beat. Not that any notion is required to enjoy the sheer abandon of “Of Love Of Hate Of Pain” or “Go Go Little One” with Tracey’s bass rumbling under the blistering six-string layer, and to savor “Don’t Mind The Pain” with its histrionically sinister rock ‘n’ rolling. After all, there’s no reason to wait when music’s as instantly gratifying as this.
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