Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar UPDATE v2 6/10/03
Written: Oct 25 '99 (Updated Jun 10 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Helped bring metal back to the mainstream, song good tunes.
Cons: Not quite as powerfully raw as previous releases, some fluff.
The Bottom Line: This album will stand out to be more important to Manson's career than to music in general, but it still is a decent release.
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| Mr_D's Full Review: Antichrist Superstar [PA] by Marilyn Manson |
Quick Facts:
Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar. Released Sep 1996, Rock/Metal genre. Trent Reznor did some producing. 2nd Full Length release from the band. Contains "hit" songs - Beautiful People, and Tourniquet. 16 total songs, plus a hidden track, though not a song.
Full Review:
Really, there was a great deal of pressure on Manson to release a strong follow up album. Their first release, Smells Like Children - had gotten a huge cult following, and then the EP Smells Like Children - brought the group into the mainstream eye with their remake of Sweet Dreams. Before wars, Lewinskies and presidential elections - Marilyn Manson at one point was the most controversial entity in the country. So people that did or did not like him were going to talk about him, and this album - And if it fizzled and he had simply faded away, the "system" as it were, would have one. This long awaited follow up would be released Sep 8th, 1996.
With a little help from producer Trent Reznor, Antichrist Superstar delivered on many levels. While not perfect, it was technically superior in sound quality to the previous releases, and it also brought on two more alt-radio hits, the fast paced Sabbathesque "The Beautiful People", and the slower "Tourniquet".
There are 16 cuts altogether on this concept album, chronicling the career of the Antichrist Superstar.
Here's the track listing:
1. Irresponsible Hate Anthem
2. The Beautiful People
3. Dried up, Tied and Dead to the World
4. Tourniquet
5. Little Horn
6. Cryptorchild
7. Deformography
8. Wormboy
9. Mister Superstar
10. Angel With the Scabbed Wings
11. Kinderfeld
12. Antichrist Superstar
13. 1996
14. Minute of Decay
15. The Reflecting God
16. Man That You Fear
Part I: The Heirophant
The "birth" of the superstar, this section contains three of the more known songs from the album. The album starts off with Irresponsible Hate Anthem - which very loudly stands out as one of the better songs on the release. It kicks out fast and hard - and then goes into The Beautiful People - which is trademark Manson catchiness. This will conclude the very heavy part of the album though, things get decidedly slower and gloomier from here on out.
Dried Up, Tied and Dead to the World is a mostly forgettable track sandwhiched in between The Beautiful People and Tourniquet. Though truth be told, as popular as Tourniquet was, and is - The song never really did much for me. It always struck me as a little too whiney.
Part II: Inauguration of the Worm
The meat of this album, but also where the album is at its weakest. Little Horn kicks off the main part of the superstar - and while has a heavy and hard riff and chorus, the main sections of the song seem a tad weak compared to Hate Anthem. Not terrible, but not quite what it could have been. "The World Spreads its legs for another Star" is what you need to know from this one. This leads into Cryptorchid, which is quietly one of my favorite tunes on the disc. It's dark, it's spooky, and it's slightly less whiney and repetitive than the more popular Tourniquet.
Deformography and Wormboy follow, and both have some interesting moments, but again - mostly fail to be very memorable. The vocals in Wormboy are interesting, but it lacks a good song behind it, and the lyrics themselves are fair. Mr. Superstar is the same old, "You don't want to be like me" type of song, and is a tad repetitive.
Angel with the Scabbed Wings is probably the best tune from Part II, again chronicling the pain of the rockstar, but it does so with a crunching guitar riff and a good chorus, with solid lyrics to boot. Again, one of the better tracks on the song.
Kinderfeld finishes up Part II, and I think the only thing I really like about this song is that it reeks, musically anyway, of groups like Ministry and early NIN. The electronic effects pull me in to an otherwise mediocre offering...
Part III: Disintigrator Rising
The title track leads off Part III, and Antichrist Superstar itself is an enigma. I think the song was good and palettable enough where it could have gotten some radio play, but it did not. Solid beat, decent lyrics, cool effects - nice guitars. I think the especially low growl of Manson's lyrics may have kept it off the airwaves, but make no mistake - this is one of the better songs on the disc.
1996 follows, and this is one of the more interesting songs. It really feels like this could have been a second part of Antichrist Superstar itself, but was separated. I don't know if this was actually done or not, but I think it would have been more interesting if was simply one song. However, it is not - and by itself the song has a bit too much of a punk influence for my tastes, this song just is kind of an excuse to say "I hate everything, everything hates me".
Minute of Decay and The Reflecting God follow, Minute of Decay is forgettable, and Reflecting God packs a butt-kicking chorus around not so butt-kicking song. Which leads us to the finale, Man That You Fear. Musically, this song isn't all that incredible, but it contains most of the best lyrics on the album. "The boy that you loved is the man that you fear" is one of them... And while not actually a lyric, the song kind of fades into a very cool interesting sound byte - which is what I will remember most about this entire album, if not Manson himself:
"When all of your wishes are granted
Many of your dreams will be destroyed"
All in all, this album is an interesting and valiant effort that offers some good tunes. There is also a lot of fluff and obviously pretentious material. I think with later releases of Manson being better, the overall quality and lasting impact of this album decrease - but it is impossible to deny the effect this second offering had on his career, and the world of music in general. Manson fans will own it, casual metal fans may as well - I wouldn't call it a "MUST HAVE" - but it is a solid addition to a collection.
RANDOM SIDE COMPLAINT: I really like lyrics inside cd jackets. But do I really need to quest for them by having the songs listed NOT in track order? What a pain.
Mr_D
NOTE: This Epinion was revised 6/10/03. The original follows for comparison purposes.
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We all know Marilyn is a showman, and is an expert at getting shock value, and this album is no different. Although I feel not as good a release as "Portrait...", this could be Manson's breakthrough album because it brought him a little more into the forefront of mainstream music. Besides the popular tracks like "Tourniquet" and the heavily Black Sabbath influenced song "The Beautiful People", this album really is well rounded, with tracks such as "1996" and "Cryptorchid" helping to round out the sound. Manson has changed styles basically each album he has released, and this one is somewhere in the middle of first first and latest release musically. Not as raw as the debut, and not as refined as the latest "Mechanical Animals". However, if you want the heavy edgy alternative metal sound that Manson has been known for, this is the album for you.
Mr_D
***
Recommended:
Yes
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Mr_D
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