Music and Recording
Lucifuge has a pronounced blues influence that adds a sinister edge akin to records by Howlin' Wolf or Robert Johnson, who have both been accused of playing the "Devil's music".
Glenn Danzig said that the song "Killer Wolf" is “my version of an old blues song about a guy who wolfs around the door of every girl in town.”
Glenn Danzig has described "I'm the One" as “another blues song...about a guy realizing his destiny.” "I'm the One" was originally recorded for Danzig's debut album, as John Christ explained: “We actually recorded "I'm the One" for the first record, but we decided to save it for this record. It fit the mood of the second album much better. Glenn wanted to do that song for a long time - he even knew what kind of video he wanted it to have long before we did it. It's a cool song: just some guitar and vocals and little a hi-hat in the background.”
The introduction to "Long Way Back from Hell" begins with the use of the dive bomb guitar technique. Guitarist John Christ explained: “We worked on the beginning of that song for a long time before we finally got it right - it always sounded too empty. But when Eerie came in with that galloping bass-line, it all kind of fell into place. It has a lot of energy to it and was probably one of the best songs on that album.”
Glenn Danzig spoke about the challenge of writing the song "Her Black Wings": “I always know beforehand what kind of record I want to make. Those ideas dictate how the songs will sound. And sometimes it's not always easy to execute the ideas. For example, writing "Her Black Wings" was a laborious and tedious experience - but that's the way it had to be for the song to come out right.”
"777" is a song about "Armageddon" and includes the use of slide guitar.
"Blood and Tears" is a Roy Orbison-like ballad about “a girl's failed relationship and her subsequent torment”, and is one of Glenn Danzig's personal favorites from the album.
The lyrics to "Snakes of Christ" tell of Glenn Danzig's view that the teachings of Christ have been perverted by religious groups. Glenn Danzig has mentioned in interviews the very noticeable similarity between the main riff from "Snakes of Christ" and that of the later Stone Temple Pilots song "Sex Type Thing".
John Christ provided backup vocal harmonies on the song "Tired of Being Alive". Christ has suggested that “Lyrically, I think the words are about the way Glenn was feeling at the time.” The remaining songs feature subjects including love, sex, evil and religious themes.
A song titled "The Other Side" was finished but not released on the album.
Prior to the album release, Glenn Danzig noted how the band had improved in the interim between the debut recording and the recording of Lucifuge: “Everybody's much more comfortable with each other now. We've toured with each other, hung with each other. The rhythm section is much tighter. It's just a much better band, and that comes through on the album.”
Read more about this topic: Danzig II: Lucifuge
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