I have a soft spot for Danzig. How soft you ask? So soft that I can sit through at least half of Blackaciddevil and actually enjoy it. That being said Danzig 7:77 was by far his best album since parting ways with the original Danzig band. For a brief instant it seemed like Danzig had his most stable line up since 4p but it wasn't meant to be. Little by little his band ditched him to pursue other projects. So now Danzig is back with an 8th album and a completely new band that features Mr. Prong himself Tommy Victor on lead guitar.

Circle of Snakes has all the ingredients you come to expect in a good Danzig album: the Dark doomy heavy riffs, Evil Elvis vocals and songs full of satanic sexual imagery but it still isn't as good as Danzig 7. Part of the problem is that the raw sound Danzig is trying to go for clashes with Tommy Victor's trademark crunch. His style would have been a better fit on Danzig 5 and 6 than it is on Circle of Snakes. The other problem is that the new drummer sucks. Correction, he doesn't suck, he's an adequate drummer he's just not great. He lacks the reckless abandon of Chuck Buicuits and he doesn't hit as hard as Joey C (not to be confused with Kid Rock's old midget). Me thinks, Joey C's drumming would have made Hellmask a much better song.

That being said Circle of Snakes still has plenty of good dark rock songs like "1000 Devils Reign" and the title track. Circle of Snakes is a solid Danzig album. It's far from being his best but it's a hell of a lot better than "BlackAcidDevil" and has less filler material than Satan's Child. Circle Of Snakes is recommended for those who can't get enough songs about Demon Women and snakes and skulls and other forms of sexually satanic imagery.