Antichrist Superstar
Reviewed by:
Emenius Sleepus, on february 23, 2006 5 of 5 people found this review helpful
Sound: Antichrist Superstar was the third offering from Marilyn Manson since the deletion of "The Spooky Kids" from the band's title. Featuring a heavy industrial and almost punk rock influence, the album was designed, in mr Manson's words, "to bring about the Apocalypse through music," which is corroborated by the artwork and the lyrics. The record was indeed a punch in the face to the conservative right wing, parents and religious groups, featuring a grazing sound and provocative themes that provoked no less than death and bomb threats and numerous protests. Regardless, the record is not only regarded by many as a groundbreaking masterpiece for the band, but is also considered one of the best albums around.
Produced, recorded and written by MM and with quite substantial amount of assistance from Trent Reznor and Chris Vrenna (NIN and ex-NIN respectively), the album sounds dirty and raw, yet when you listen carefully, it becomes clear that everything is indeed a lot more complex than it seems, and every overdub has been calculated to be precisely where it should be. Kicking in with andrenaline-charged "Irresponsible Hate Anthem", the cd takes off at 100 miles an hour and only rarely slows down. There are relatively quiet moments though - The Man That You Fear, the pain-laden ending track, The Minute Of Decay - a sludgy anthem to decadence, and Torniquet, written by and hated most by Daisy Berkowitz, the original guitarist for the band. Manson states in interview: "Daisy always hated that song, although we always thought it was his best work." Daisy's influence there is immediately obvious, if one listens to Portrait Of An American Family - the style comes right through. However, Daisy left during the recording, and so Twiggy was left to finish off the majority of the guitar parts. The Beautiful People is a standing testament to his playing - the rhythm section was done with no noise gate, just pure skill.
A cd that is meant to provoke a reaction, and provoke people into action would be no good without a military march - and Angel With The Scabbed Wings is the song to do it. Strictly militant, Ginger Fish (and later Vrenna) ensured that if one was to go to war, the troops would march just on the strength of the song. The album is probably the best example of Ginger's drumming - the insane fast pace of Irresponsible Hate Anthem and 1996, laid-back Minute Of Decay, the above-mentioned militant and evil Angel With The Scabbed Wings and the electronic Chryptochid and Kinderfeld. Of course Chris Vrenna, as been said before, contributed quite a lot to the drum parts, but only as a contributor, and Ginger's abilities aren't to be underestimated.
Eerie keyboards, punchy guitars, throbbing basslines, flashy drumming and banshee vocals characterise Antichrist Superstar. The album will graze you like gravel if you happen to fall on it. The production is perfect, and paved the way to some unconventional recording methods - at one point Trent's Porsche was miked up and the sound recorded. All in all, great stuff - raw, and uncompromising. // 10
Lyrics and Singing: Besides the whole apocalypse thing, the lyrics are inspired by a range of things. At this point the band was living in New Orleans, and recording at the Sharon Tate house. Now, New Orleans, besides being a birthplace for a lot of music legends, can also be quite a hellhole (refer to Long Hard Road Out Of Hell - the Manson autobiography with Neil Strauss). The decadent nature as well as the insane amount of drugs and other experimentation have inspired the album, and you can hear the bones creaking almost literally - the album comes up tense and aggressive. While the initial attempts to bring Antichrist Superstar to life almost disintegrated the band before it had a chance to make an impact - and that was to be the first falling out between Trent and Marilyn - the band managed to get the creative force back. The subsequent experiments with drug abuse, sleep deprivation and other pain-conjuring practices, as well as strong occult and religious influences have brought about a scathing lyrical content, filled throughout with references, backwards-masking, but also stories of pain and despair. As Manson himself puts, "we were trying to create painful experiences, because I was so numb that I couldn't feel anymore - I had to go to extremes and put myself into painful situations just to feel". And the lyrics are a reflection of that. "I'm on my way down, I'd like to take you with me." Themes of destruction and death are closely tied with themes of rebirth and resurrection, setting the mood that "the angel will spread its wings", that something grand is about to unveil. The caterpillar dies, but turns into a butterfly - and the lyrics seem to latch on to that idea as one of the underlying themes of the album.
Of course not all of the album is purely this serious. Thematically it's quite diverse. Using religion and magic as a theme on some songs, some are really specific, while others are a lot broader in appeal, such as Irresponsible Hate Anthem, more of just a "punch in the face" song rather than something containing specific meanings. Tourniquet, on the other hand is about one of the dreams and nightmares Manson was having at the time. This album is probably the most versatile when it comes to vocals. While Manson's voice is quite specific, he is adept at a lot of techniques, and manages quite a lot of styles within the limitations of his voice. Whispers, normal singing and banshee shrieks all make an appearance, and here we get to see him at his most dynamic moments. And of course, the music and the lyrics go hand in hand - such is the nature of Manson. // 10
Impression: Dark and mysterious, raw and aggressive, tense and painful, Antichrist Superstar is certainly an album to be proud of, not only for its musical and lyrical qualities, but also for the amount of controversy it caused when it was released. It cost Manson greatly in lost friends, lost relationships, pain and scarring, and almost the band itself, but the final product is definitely something special. // 10
Antichrist Superstar
Reviewed by:
XxJohn-5xX, on january 23, 2004 3 of 4 people found this review helpful
Sound: This album is great. The sound of Zim Zum's Guitar is complemented by the voice of Marilyn Manson. Ginger Fish's Drums always excellent. Twiggy Is quite possibly the best bassist. well he ties with Flea from Red hot chillie Peppers. Pogo is amazing with the errie sounds that he overlaps with the rest of the band. Man This is a hardcore album. The 2 hardest songs on the Cd are Angle With the Scabbed Wings And Antichrist Superstar. All and all this album has Great sound. // 10
Lyrics and Singing: Marilyn is quite possibly one of the most skilled singers. He manages to Piss of anybody he wants to. This album mainly talks about religion. I am sure you could already tell by the name of it anyways. Lyrically Manson could do better but still he does an excellent job on Antichrist Superstar. // 10
Impression: Nothing Bad to say about this Cd. It Kicks Ass. If it was stolen I would buy it immideatly. It is completely worth buying. I can't really say what song is the best they are all good. Go Buy This Cd. // 10
Antichrist Superstar
Reviewed by:
DispossableTeen, on june 19, 2008 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: Only one word comes to mind when trying to explain the sound of this album, terrifying! this album is a hellish joyride thru the inner evil that is "Marilyn Manson" From Mansons haunting vocals in man that you fear, to the amazing riffs and beats in the beautiful people this is an album people wont forget anytime soon. // 10
Lyrics and Singing: Marilyn Manson has his best work on this album, with lyrics like "There's no time to discriminate, hate every mother f--ker that's in your way! to the haunting track titled "Cryptorchid, "Each time I make my mother cry an angel dies and falls from heaven" this album proves why he is at the top of the shock rock mountain, and even today, isn't going anywhere for a long time. // 10
Impression: Antichrist superstar is easily one of the best metal album's ever made, it's the album that shot Marilyn Manson into the mainstream, and is the album that got people everyone screaming "We Hate Love! We Love Hate!" This album is so good, I got one that I listen to, and one still in the plastic just to show off. If you love manson and don't already have this album, or your looking for something heavy, Antichrist Superstar is the album for you. // 10
Antichrist Superstar
Reviewed by:
Squidge, on july 18, 2007 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: Marilyn Manson's second album hits hard from the begining track "Irresponsible Hate Anthem", to the finale of "The Reflecting God" not counting the other 4 second long tracks at the end that add up to 99. The album is noisy but it still sounds great and really shows off Mansons musical ability. Trent Reznor produced it and helped contribute some of the sound heard on Antichrist Superstar. The great overlaping vocals of Manson and almost random sounds of the instrements blend to create some really fantastic music that is worth hearing. // 10
Lyrics and Singing: Manson has his own way of singing and defenintly has a great voice that makes his lyrics really his own. As you can tell by the albums name, there is a lot of religous overtones and blatent blasphomy stirred into great melodic singing and screaming, which Manson can sound like no other. The great song titles are a mere taste of what are some of the best lines in hard rock and metal. Songs like "Little Horn", "Deformography", and "Minute Of Decay" really show of Manson's writing ability. // 10
Impression: Antichrist Superstar is the best Marilyn Manson has to offer, creating a grand view of the christian relegion and makes you think, not many rock albums make you think these days. So even though it is over ten years old now, it is still one of the best. With hits like "The Beautiful People", and "Tourniquet" you can't go wrong with this album, unless you are a devout christian. If I ever lost this I would cry and then go buy it again defenitly. I've almost bought it more than once because I think of how good it is! // 10
Antichrist Superstar
Reviewed by:
VidGamer870, on june 22, 2007 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: Musically, the sound is rather weird, from the odd sounding guitar in "Minute of Decay" to the keyboard in "Cryptorchid". It's very good, if not a bit creepy. Some of the songs do sound a bit flat though, such as "Dried Up, Tied and Dead to the World" and "Angel with the Scabbed Wings" (the latter, however, sounds fantastic when played live). The rest of the songs more than make up for those that do sound weak. // 7
Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics are mainly religious in nature, though not strictly in the Satanic sense. They are also very poetic at times. Even so, they don't always rhyme, which is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. Manson also isn't the best singer in this album, though the quality of his voice varies from song to song. "Tourniquet" is for me the high point vocally for him, while "Kinderfeld" is the low point. // 7
Impression: Though not Manson's best work (that distiction belongs to "Mechanical Animals"), "Antichrist Superstar" is a very good album. It's very dark in nature, so it's not for everyone. Those who can stomach it's darkness will be rewarded greatly. Even though "The Beautiful People", "Tourniquet", and "The Reflecting God" are the most famous songs from the album (perhaps rightfully), my personal favorites are "Wormboy", "Minute of Decay", and "Man That You Fear". If I were to lose this album, I would buy it again undoubtedly. // 8
I'm not quite sure why people keep quoting Zim Zum as a big songwriting force, on Mechanical Animals and ESPECIALLY on ACSS... on this album he only ever did one song, and that was Irresponsible Hate Anthem. Twiggy and Daisy did 99.9% of the guitarwork on this record
Undoubtedly, if you are a real manson fan, and not a new one, this or mechanical animals would be the best albums. The ones after Mechanical Animals PALE in comparison to this album of raw power and passion.
This album is about empowering yourself after all.
Anti People you have gone too far
Here is your
Antichrist
Superstar!
YOU CAN TELL MANSON'S MAKING STATEMENTS IN THIS ALBUM.YOU CAN TELL HE FEELS VERY STRONGLY ABOUT THINGS.THIS IS AN EXCELLENT ALBUM!THESE SONGS ARE INTENSE.HIS EMOTIONS ARE INTENSE,AND YOU CAN TELL HE'S DEFINITELY MAKING A POINT ON ISSUES!
i got this album at the weekend and i love it i was nearly not allowed to get it because my mam dosnt really approve of himand i am only 12.. but eventually was allowed =D and i love it, its amazing! i really want to get a marilyn manson tshirt but my mam AGAIN dosnt want me 'promoting' him ..=[ she annoys me.....=P ='[
This album was my first CD by him, and it was breath-taking. got it about 2-3 years ago and it still holds alot over me as well as influences me.
The first review was really helpful on incite (way to go)
the others were just regurgitation of what had already been said. I could really appreciate it if these reviews came with some more incite on the gear used and the such. but hopefully in the future.
as far as Manson's BEST work, that's pretty tricky...it certainly is a masterpiece, of course, but it was also a mile stone for him to go on making the bad ass records of Mechanical Animals and Holy Wood, too bad the band kind of changed directions when Twiggy departed though...
speaking of twiggy...I wouldn't be able to compare him with Flea. Flea is a completely different genre and playing style. Zim-Zum did wonderful touring with Manson for this, but doesn't deserve credit as far as the actual songs.
Drugs of course being a big influence as Dried up seems to fit like a glove
Reflecting god was more a testament to the REAL satanism beliefs (if any of you even know the difference between fakes and true satanists) and is perfectly demonstrated with the chorus of "I went to god just to see. and I was looking at me."
honestly simply couldn't believe that Daisy despised Tourniquet though...
Zim Zum in my opinion was horrible. I saw a Live Vid where he was playing, and his guitar over powerd everything, and it seemed like he was trying to play the songs to his likeing. AntiChrist was a good cd but i have to say that Portrait was his best, that and the spookykid years. M Animals was really good, and Holly Wood was great, but his new stuff has gone down hill. I've not herd High End of Low yet but I hope it's not shit like Eat ME Drink ME was.
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