Antichrist Superstar

With their 1995 EP Smells Like Children already having achieved platinum status, Marilyn Manson now marches further into the world of sado-masochistic cabaret. Produced by Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) and Dave Ogilvie, their latest full-length release is a knee-jerk "love/hate" fest, featuring tracks such as "Irresponsible Hate Anthem," "Dried Up, Tied And Dead to the World," "Wormboy," and "Tourniquet."

Marilyn Manson initially emerged as a depraved, marginally talented group of freaks, playing a caustic but undeveloped brand of metallic industrial noise. However, with Trent Reznor's seven-month involvement in the studio, Manson has since transformed, delivering the most intense, visceral, and mechanical metal album since The Downward Spiral. Antichrist Superstar is a horror-house of grisly atrocities, staining the listener's psyche as indelibly as a bathful of warm blood.

The album's brooding rhythms collide with corrosive samples and buzzsaw guitar riffs, while vocalist Marilyn croons irresistible melodies in the voice of a vagrant regurgitating broken light-bulb shards. Essential listening, regardless of the extent of Reznor's input, Antichrist Superstar stands as a testament to Marilyn Manson's evolution from a marginally talented group of freaks to a force to be reckoned with in the world of industrial metal. The album's graphic imagery and uncompromising sound have cemented Manson's reputation as one of the most provocative and influential artists in the genre.

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