Marilyn Manson

Antichrist Superstar

Marilyn Manson’s latest release on Trent Reznor’s “Nothing” label is shocking, as you might guess.

But I use the word shocking in a good and a bad sense. Musically, Marilyn Manson, who is an ordained satanic minister, has lifted his band’s sound to a new horizon with a lot of character in the music, to go along with some very Reznor-ish sounds.

Hey, what else would you expect from a band whose members have such colorful names as Ginger Fish, Twiggy Ramirez, Zim Zum, Marilyn Manson and, my personal favorite, Madonna Wayne Gacy.

The problem, once again, lies in lyrical content. The lyrics of many of the songs really take away from the innovative industrial movement the band is making.

Such lyrics as “It’s all relative to the size of the steeple/ You can’t see the forest from the trees/ You can’t smell your own shit on your knees.”

Brings the question of why one would want to do such an act?

But there are some definite hot spots on this disk. The radio/MTV friendly “The Beautiful People” leads the charge, while “Dried Up, Tied and Dead to the World,” “Wormboy” and “Angel with the Scabbed Wings” also pack a punch.

“Man That You Fear,” the last track on the album, may surprise listeners. While the lyrics are satanic as usual, the melody, to go along with Mr. Manson’s hair-raising vocals, makes you think about those around you. Such lyrics as “The boy that you loved is the man that you fear.”

The album also has a cheesy track 99 that sounds like a bunch of cattle being tortured with some freaky synthesized sounds running over the top of it. I don’t know? I guess it’s supposed to be satanic. How cool? How stupid!

Overall, the sounds can keep you listening to the disk for a couple of weeks, but the lyrics will ultimately drive you to file the disk away.

** 1/2

— Chad Calek

Michelle Shocked

Kind Hearted Woman

No pain no gain.

How many times have you heard that? Michelle Shocked no doubt heard it her whole life. And now, with the release of Kind Hearted Woman, she has gained. Not just monetarily, but musically, emotionally and hopefully acceptance.

After three and a half years of battling her former record label Mercury, Shocked has regained her creative freedom and penned a deal with Private Music. The first disc to come out of the deal is nothing short of earth shattering.

Shocked said she didn’t want to make this album. She said, rather, she wanted to make an album that grew out of how strong and confident she’s become as a “groovy rhythm electric guitar player and sassy soul singer.”

But, what began as a collaboration with choreographer Mark Morris, turned into an album that “dropped out of me like a dead baby.”

And death it is full of. Death and frustration. It’s not a pick-me-up by any means, but Kind Hearted Woman is a raw, uncensored look into the soul of an artist. An artist that was institutionalized by her mother, raped in Europe and “enslaved” by her record company.

The songs are familiar Shocked: haunting and gut wrenching. Her voice moves through you like a sensation, an earthquake. The lyrics are dark and morbid. But with each vibrato, Shocked leaves a glimmer of hope and resounding optimism.

They demonstrate her struggles but reveal her inner peace as well. “The stories about death, frustration, frustration, death, death, death and death lead to grace, redemption, acceptance and, God willing, peace,” she said of her songs.

Her never ending will and persistence closes out the album with “No Sign of Rain,” a song about picking up and moving on. “Looking to the sky/waiting for a change/ no sign of rain.”

*** 1/2

— Kris Fettkether

Danzig

Blackacidevil

This is Danzig’s fifth release and certainly not its last. Lead singer Glenn Danzig has been making music for over 20 years with bandmates Eerie Von, John Christ and Chuck Biscuits under different band names, among these the Misfits, Samhain and Danzig.

He has played punk, death metal, blues, opera, goth metal and heavy metal. Each type unique in its own right and horrific due to his unnerving talent to call the demons from the abyss. But for those of you who have followed Danzig’s various incarnations throughout the years and had thought you’d seen it all… you haven’t seen anything yet.

What is it that separates this new CD from every other disc in the catalogue? Maybe it’s his new band. Yes, you heard correctly, Glenn Danzig’s bandmates for almost 20 years are conspicuously missing from this recording. Their absence may account for Danzig’s new sound and lack of depth.

“Blackacidevil” takes the listener on an industrial journey through nine new songs and one cover song. The majority of the CD, however, is immediately forgettable and dismissiblc.

There are no songs as anthemic as “Mother” (Danzig I and Demonsweatlive), nothing as melancholically beautiful as “Sistinas” (How the Gods Kill) and nothing as infectiously catchy as “Her Black Wings” (Lucifuge.)

There are three glaring problems with Danzig’s latest release. The lyrics no longer paint an accurate portrait of the darkness which accompanies Danzig’s world.

They seem to lack sophistication and often seem to badly imitate the words of Trent Reznor. To cover for their lyrical lack of inspiration, Danzig’s powerful, bluesy voice is often rendered mute amidst the industrial fuzz that comprises this recording.

In fact, the entire CD would be a whole lot better if the music was crystal clear instead of distorted. After a while, the noise begins to be annoying and repetitious.

“7th House” and “Sacrifice” are industrial fuzz at its worst and reveal the CDs similarity to “Downward Spiral” with zest.

The former contains the lyrics “girl I’m gonna make you come/free your body with my gun,” while the latter weakly cries “I want to peel it back/I want to look inside/l want to see the inscriptions glow/under the downward side.” Is it just me or do these sound hauntingly familiar?

“See All You Were” has a back beat which is reminiscent of Beck’s “Loser” bass line, only much weaker. “Come to Silver” is completely unimpressive and “Hand of Doom” is a watered down cover version of a great Black Sabbath song.

The only thing going for these songs is that they all have guest appearances by Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell. His guitar work is often the only distinguishable thing amidst the fuzz on these songs.

“Hint of Her Blood” begins with guitar riffs that sound almost like a Black Sabbath medley and flows into a blistering sound that is almost similar to their work on “Lucifuge.” Unfortunately, it seems like it is caught in mid-tempo and it never quite takes off. “Serpentia” and “Power of Darkness” sound like studio outtakes that were added to bolster the number of songs.

However, there is one redeeming thing about the CD. “Ashes” is the last song on the disc and definitely the best.

It has a haunting melody which is driven by an evil background of gusting wind and spooky moans. These eerie sounds are augmented by the pounding of an organ. heavy bass riffs and Danzig’s audible, bluesy voice.

This song is powerful in a dark, depressing way and it alone is worth the price of the CD. In fact, the inclusion of this song was enough to garner this CD an additional star.

** 1/2

— Ben Jones