The latest volley in industrial music's invasion of the mainstream, shock-rock band Marilyn Manson revels in the perverse, the unpleasant and the grotesque, championing hate, alienation and negativity with the same fervor with which happy-face troubadours of the '70s promoted sunshine, peace and happiness. The band's music owes a great deal to labelmates Nine Inch Nails, incorporating processed vocals, screeching electronics and enough bad attitude to bring even Norman Vincent Peale down. But rather than follow Trent Reznor down the path of sonic experimentation, Marilyn Manson establishes an unrelenting, grungy, guitar-driven attack that makes Ministry and The Butthole Surfers sound "unplugged."
ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR is not an album for everyone. It is the aural equivalent of root canal without novocaine. Marilyn Manson creates a harsh, nightmarish soundscape to symbolize all that is evil and corrupt in contemporary society. There can be no such thing as a casual listen to ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR's 16 scabrous tracks, and no listener will come away unscathed.