If you know me outside my contributions to 50Thirdand3rd, you already know how much the works of Glenn Danzig mean to me. Well, if you only know me from my contributions to 50Thirdand3rd, you also know much the works of Glenn Danzig mean to me because I rarely ever shut up about him! Misfits, Samhain, Danzig, you name it. If Glenn was involved, I’m all about it! Front row for the OG Misfits reunions, championed his Elvis covers record. I was even invited to the world premiere of his directorial film debut Verotika! I’m a super fan. With that said, you’d think I’d be pretty apprehensive about someone covering one of his songs, right? “How The Gods Kill” no less!? I would be if it were by anyone else than Transylvania Stud!
As one of my favorite modern hard rock acts, I’ve been singing the praises of Transylvania Stud since his first release, Red Queen back in 2016. In fact, I believe my interview at this very publication was one of his first under the band name. Since then, Andrew Godfrey has become not only a close friend but a fixture here at 50Thirdand3rd. That doesn’t mean I have any bias and I’m willing to blindly talk of his greatness without hearing the product though. But with each of his releases, I’ve yet to find a single track I don’t like. Transylvania Stud is legitimately the real deal.
With only a couple of albums under his belt, Red Queen and White Witch (both available from Transcending Records), Godrey has made a name for himself by crafting hard rock with a slightly darker edge. Growling guitars, spacey vocals, and thunderous percussion are not only the normal but the expected at this point. So when he told me he was covering the title track from Danzig’s legendary third album, it was a no-brainer. I knew he could more than handle the melancholy aesthetic that makes “How The Gods Kill” one of the greatest songs in Danzig’s repertoire.
How does it hold up? Amazing. Honest to God amazing. The ominous ambiance, heart-shattering, bluesy guitar riff, and spacious production are all completely intact. Vocally, Godfrey nails the soulfulness and subtle emotion of Glenn Danzig. That’s a tall order too. There aren’t many people out there who could pull off a Danzig cover these days. I saw Glenn play Danzig III: How The Gods Kill live in its entirety at Riot Fest 2017 and even he had trouble hitting some of the notes of this song! Once again proving Transylvania Stud isn’t some fluke. He has the chops and this cover has them taking center stage.
If you’re a fan of all things Danzig like me, or just like hard rock with a healthy dose of soulful blues, do yourself a favor and check out Transylvania Stud’s cover of “How The Gods Kill” today. It’s currently available on Bandcamp as a name your price download. I’m willing to bet Glenn himself would be quite impressed. I know I am!
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