Jan 13, 2005 03:18 PM
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(Updated Jan 13, 2005 03:18 PM)
When the band's third album hit the shelves, I was ready and waiting. I was taken aback by the price tag. I bought it and rushed home to enjoy Manson's latest work of art.
I can sum up the experience quite briefly - I was blown away.
In more detail, and after a couple of listenings, the story within the album begins to unfold. From the album back cover, the tracks are divided into three cycles (before, during, and the end of the life of the anti-christ superstar). The titles give nothing away as to what you can expect to be hearing, but you know that none of them will be about a cute guy or gal you met on your summer holiday.
The three main pillars of the Manson family (Marilyn, Twiggy and Madonna) are represented in all their bleak and frighntening glory in the sleeve of the album. It is worth looking into the esoteric / Tetragrammatron references in the lyrics and pictures of the sleeve - I was fascinated by what I found on the internet, and you begin to realise the work that has gone into this album.
Anyway, back to the music. We are immediately thrown into the fury of Irresponsible Hate Anthem, and the first track to use a multitude of distortions on Manson's, and the uneasy feeling only touched upon in 'Smells Like Children' takes fulls grip. Eventually, we are thrown into the military-style beat of 'The Beautiful People', and Manson preaching a Darwinian / political rant. The video gives a good visual representation to the tune, I think, and the dance floor always beckoned when it was played. In the third track, as Manson spits out the words, you get fleeting images of Twiggy, and wonder what the song is really about as Manson whores himself to his listeners.
Finally, we come to Tourniquet, possibly the closest we get to a love song and feelings of rejection. Manson does a good job of appearing to expose a vulnerable part of himself as he gradually works himself up into a screaming and sobbing state. Again, the video adds another dimension to the tune.
The second cycle is possibly the most disturbing part of the album (apart from Track 99), from the musical beauty of Cryptorchid to the gut churning understanding in Kinderfeld. I once read that you miss a big chunk of this album if you don't listen without earphones. Believe me, this is so true and I urge you to do it. Manson is portrayed in Mister Superstar and Angel with the Scabbed Wings, yet you can not fail to feel the acidic sting to his words and the scorn in his voice - things are not going well.
Lastly, in the third cycle, we see the anti-christ losing his grip on his empire. We hear the chanting of the zealous masses and the bitter consequences of calling on the anti-christ, who then launches into a paranoid rant in 1996 (it always make me remember how old this album is!!), and the ever-so tempting taunts in The Reflecting God. Finally, when we are worn out and feeling pretty damn torn apart, we are treated to the Man That you Fear. Manson lays himself bare again in this slightly dischordant piece of sour melancholy, yet you can not help but feel the pain and the sense that everything has fallen through.
The album ends with the message 'When you are suffering, know that I have betrayed you.' The phrase lives with you for a while after listening and you know that you have not listened to some piece of sold-out Linkin Park or Limp Bizkit rubbish. The album honestly is timeless as it doesn't represent any bandwagon movement. Manson has quite clearly invested a lot of time in the album, and it has to be appreciated. The music is perfect and cleverly written and we can still hear traces of Daisy's guitar style in the faster tracks. Manson and his band need to be taken seriously as musicians and artists following this effort - they are not just out to shock (see Slipknot), and they truly do care about what they do.
One final note - listen to Track 99 and see what you think.
