More diverse and dramatic than its predecessor, Danzig’s second solo album finds him and Rick Rubin expanding upon the template of Danzig. Lucifuge (Latin for “shun the light”) delves deeper into the blues than ever before, turning a folk song into predatory fantasy with “Killer Wolf” and even incorporating a shuffling acoustic guitar into the slinky “I’m the One.” The power ballad “Devil’s Plaything” is about as close as Danzig ever got to the stadium riffs of late '80s metal, while “Long Way Back From Hell” and “Snakes of Christ” are fundamentalist, four-on-the-floor rockers that can stand alongside anything by AC/DC or Motorhead. Best of all is the disarming “Blood and Tears,” a break-up song done in the style of a 1950s R&B song, complete with sweltering organ. As a singer, Lucifuge finds Danzig in the best form of his career, filling out every note with his rich, barrel-chested baritone. After more than ten years in the music business Danzig was still exploring the parameters of his persona, and Lucifuge proved that there were more possibilities lurking in Danzig’s soul than anyone had previously thought possible.