Part 1: The Standard Release.
This is eventually going to be a 2-part review (UPDATE: Part 2 is here http://www.epinions.com/content_152080453252). This part will tell you everything I know about the regular version. I will review the Special Edition in the future and tell you about everything that makes it special.

The next thing you need to know is that this is by far my favorite Alice Cooper album ever! In fact, it’s made it to my top 10 of all time. Ever since I heard “Poison” back when I was in school I kind of liked Alice. Over the years I picked up a few LP’s (School’s Out, Billion Dollar Babies, etc.) and a few songs on compilation CD’s. When Alice took a turn towards religion and released The Last Temptation I became a true fan. Brutal Planet was more in tune from a spiritual perspective, and I loved the heavy sound. However, it lacked from a lyrical standpoint (I guess now I’ll have to write an actual review to expound on that). Dragontown has an even stronger if sometimes veiled spiritual message, that same heavy sound that I loved from Brutal Planet, as well as some of the best songwriting and musical variations I’ve ever heard from Alice.

What’s all this spiritual stuff I’m talking about? Every indication is that Alice Cooper is now a genuine, born-again, Church-going follower of Jesus Christ. He has even said (though I can’t remember the source to cite it) that he would give up his rock-and-roll career if it ever conflicted with his faith because while music is his job Christian is who he IS. He’s still dark, he’s still gritty, he’s still fun. He’s not shoving religion down anyone’s throat so even if you have a bias against Christians, that probably won’t cause you to dislike the album (unless you’re so biased that just knowing he is a Christian will kill your enjoyment in which case you probably quit reading 2 sentences ago… ‘Course, that begs the question of why I’m still talking to you… Moving on…)

Alice is the king of concept albums, and this is continuing proof of it. It’s the sequel to Brutal Planet in numerous ways the first of which I’ve already mentioned - the musical style. However, not only in that way, but as a concept as well. BP centered around Earth, the realm in which we live. DT is allegorical for Hell. We journey to and through Hell learning about the way it operates and the people that inhabit it. One of my favorite things about the album is that it explains why these people went to Hell instead of Heaven. We’ll look at that more in depth later.

One of Alice’s shortcomings is that his lyrical style overuses slow-tempo couplets with weak and reused rhyming and repetitiveness. Once into the bridges and choruses or even the second stanzas those songs often improve, but I end up skipping the majority of those types in favor of the more uniquely written lyrics. That isn’t quite as prevalent on DT which is probably one reason I like it the most, but it does weaken a few of the tunes. I’ll point out some examples as I go talk about the individual songs. While I may criticize some of his lyrics I must say I am also impressed with the wit and insight he displays. Concept albums are hard to make work, and no one has had as much success with them as Alice.

The tunes are often catchy which is one reason Alice gained popularity in the first place. If you haven’t heard Brutal Planet and don’t have that as a reference you should know that this music is much heavier than almost anything he’s ever done (the first exception that comes to mind is “In the Hands of Death” with Rob Zombie). The guitars are louder, the bass thicker, the distortion more… uh, distorted. Alice has always been rock, but this stuff is hard rock with elements of metal and industrial. You will hear some pop, goth, and classic rock influences as well. This sound might not appeal to all traditional Alice fans, but if you like White Zombie and other dark, heavy bands, too, you will probably like this stuff.

As far as the printed materials go I love the theme of Oriental weapons throughout the artwork - most notably the sai on the front cover. There are some good images of Alice and Dragontown graffiti fitting with the dark mood of the music. My primary complaint about the packaging is that the lyrics are hard to read. The small size combined with the font and format require a lot of concentration to follow along in time with the music.

Overall it’s a fun ride while also being thought-provoking if you choose to delve into that aspect. If you like hard rock and especially if you liked Brutal Planet you should listen to a few clips, see what you think of the sound. You can use the following guide to help.

1) Triggerman – A solid rock tune with a catchy chorus. I don’t like the opening stanza very much. The grammar is particularly bad (double negatives and such) and the lyrics aren’t particularly well written. It’s just talking about the Triggerman not having eyes, DNA, etc. Alice’s vocals are mixed too low sounding overpowered by the music. Parts of it remind me a little too much of “It’s The Little Things” from the previous album. It sounds like I hate this song doesn’t it? I didn’t at first, but it grew on me. I got over all the negatives in favor of the great music and better writing in the chorus and bridge. Triggerman seems to be our tour guide of Dragontown – Satan maybe. After all, Satan would have you believe that he doesn’t exist if that keeps you from believing in God, too. “I’m pure non-entity/ Don’t even look for me.” It could also be the nature of sin in every man, the separation from God that Satan has already caused without having to be actively present, rather than a being, but the nature of the personification make me think more of a conscious intelligence.

2) Deeper – This is one of my least favorite tracks on the album. It’s a slower but driving rock with a really catchy goth influence. However, everything that I said was weak about Alice’s lyrical style shows through here. The couplets are choppy, the rhymes unimpressive, and there is too much repetitiveness “down and down and down we go.” There’s also nothing as far as imagery or message that strikes me. This one seems to be the actual journey to Dragontown. “It’s time to take a trip…” “The elevator broke/ It went right through the floor.” I get the idea that we’re going deep into the Earth to a realm not commonly revealed to man.

3) Dragontown – This one slows down even further but keeps the intensity. It has a dark sound haunted by Oriental influences with spooky imagery. Though it isn’t the fast-paced fun of some other tunes, the mood and better lyrical style (by that I mean less choppy, less repetitive except for “come on,” and more clever rhymes) make this one of my favorites from the album. This is our first glimpse at Dragontown kind of like arriving at a new place and getting the lay of the land. It’s full of pain and disgust yet the Devil is trying to make it inviting in a twisted sort of way. We also visit some characters we met in Brutal Planet trapped in their eternal torment.

4) Sex Death And Money – This is a somewhat industrial styled tune reminiscent of his Zombie collaboration I mentioned earlier. The grinding guitars cut in and out of a drum-machine sounding percussion. Music-wise it’s not among my favorites; it’s just not very catchy. However, the lyrics are some of the most clever and make up for the music. “The name of the game/ Is to titillate the brain stimulate the immorality.” It’s full of dark humor with a dual message. These are the policies of Dragontown, it’s how they operate. Sin is the gospel here. Some have said that it’s Alice poking fun at those that criticize dirty movies and strip joints. I say they missed the point. It’s poking fun at the hypocrites that sit in front of such movies for hours on end or go get a lap dance then condemn such things to appease their conscience. Alice is also poking at the industry that pushes the morally corrupt and unfulfilling evil for empty gains.

5) Fantasy Man – Back to the more standard hard rock sound. It has a solid sound and humorous lyrics. It’s the point of view of a guy who thinks everything around him is trying to “squeeze my masculinity.” Some of the chords, particularly in the bridge, sound a lot like past songs, but if that doesn’t bug you it’s a pretty good song. I haven’t figured out how it fits into the theme of Dragontown yet.

6) Somewhere In The Jungle – This is one of the darkest tunes. The music sounds deep and heavy, the vocals slow and creepy, and the images disturbing all building to the chorus of “Somewhere in the jungle/ You can hear the Devil laughing.” We’re back to choppy, slow-tempo verses. This could have been one of the best songs if the verses were written with a better flow. The music and strong mood keep it from being a bad song; it’s just not as good as it could have been. We have gotten to the goriest parts of Dragontown, and Satan is taking delight in the pain here.

7) Disgraceland – This one might be described as Rock-A-Billy. It’s upbeat with an Elvis-style rock influence (since that’s who it’s about). In fact, Alice imitates Elvis for the portions of the song that are from his point of view. Besides being extremely catchy, it’s full of dark humor, vivid imagery, and creative lyrics. This is one of my favorite tracks on the album for all those reasons plus the message: you can’t get into Heaven by being famous. “Went to the Pearly gates/ Said ‘I’m here to sing’/ And Peter said ‘Well, son, you see, we’ve already got ourselves a King.’” This is our first meeting with a denizen of Dragontown. Elvis had it all on Earth, but he let drugs and gluttony kill him. Then when he got to the gates of Heaven without knowing God, his Earthly fame didn’t matter and was actually a source of ridicule from the Devil once he was condemned to Hell.

8) Sister Sara – A slower, ominous, but still heavy tune laced occasionally with hauntingly sweet female vocals. It’s solid musically and one of the most powerful in its message particularly for religious-minded folks. Sara was a nun, how can she be a citizen of Dragontown? Because even though she claimed Heaven, she lived like Hell. It’s a reminder that even the Demons know God, but they choose not to serve Him. We can do the same thing. Knowing God isn’t enough to get you into Heaven, only crowning him Lord over your life does that.

9) Every Woman Has A Name – The obligatory slow-tempo acoustic song. I have yet to like any of these even though there’s one on every album (at least since The Last Temptation). It doesn’t fit the mood or the theme of the rest of the album. It’s got a good message, don’t get me wrong - women are not objects for the amusement of men – but what does that have to do with Dragontown?

10) I Just Wanna Be God – I like the sound of this one, it’s a heavy-hitter; its downfall is the repetitive chorus. This inhabitant of Dragontown is no surprise. He’s a megalomaniac who, in the footsteps of Lucifer, wants to be God almighty.

11) It’s Much Too Late – Another of my favorites for its melody and powerful message. This is more of a light rock feel dominated by a lead guitar without so much of the dark, low tones. The vocals feel light with the air of a young, naive singer. It’s more of a pop sounding song, but with enough rock elements for me to still like it. The verses are a little choppy, but less so the more you get into it. The message is the flip side of Sister Sara. This guy is a nice, moral fellow, but he doesn’t know who God is. When he gets to Hell he thinks there has to be some mistake because he doesn’t know what god he could have offended. In other words you can’t get to Heaven just by being good, you HAVE to know God.

12) The Sentinel – A heavy rock tune closes the album. The music isn’t quite as good, and the repetition of the word “hate” is a little annoying. It’s still a worthy tune, though. My biggest complaint is that it doesn’t feel like an adequate cap for the Dragontown concept. It’s the last of the inhabitants where a summary and departure would have been a more fitting closure. From a spiritual perspective I would like to have seen the idea of “you don’t have to go to Dragontown if you will accept God’s gift of life” as the finale. As it is we meet the Sentinel who is a bomb-toting maniac. He likes to hurt people. It’s no great insight to see where he’s headed.

Hope that gives you enough to go on. It’s a great album overall and the best concept album I’ve ever heard, a solid 5*! I’d love to hear from anyone that has different views on the song meanings.


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving