Marilyn Manson
Antichrist Superstar

THE REVIEW

Marilyn Manson 
Antichrist Superstar 
(Nothing/Interscope - 1996) 
Album, Heavy Metal 

The album of consecration, and probably their highest point of expression. Yes, their, because behind the name Marilyn Manson, there's the whole band, always evolving due to the many line-up changes over the years. The music production of this album is entrusted to Twiggy Ramirez, bassist and friend of Manson, who also writes guitar parts, due to the "in-progress" departure of Daisy Berkowitz, who still participates partly.
Besides the contribution of Madonna Wayne Gacy, keyboardist and member of the band since its inception, the music production is also curated by Trent Reznor, who discovered and launched the group, and acts here as a sort of spiritual guide. The contribution of the musician behind the Nine Inch Nails signature is very strong, inspired: his masterpiece of a few years before, The Downward Spiral (1994), is evident, from which Antichrist Superstar takes some cues, especially when moving into industrial territory. The entirety of the lyrics is entrusted to Marilyn Manson himself (real name Brian Warner), who delivers lyrics dense with hate, frustrations, provocations, and imaginary characters (Angel With The Scabbed Wings), from which emerges a concept album about the transformation of a worm-man into an angel. An album steeped in symbolism, numerology, satanism, all recurring elements in certain productions. But here there’s something different: the lyrics, always over the top but never trivial; and the apocalyptic and mystical atmosphere, created especially when the industrial veins of the record are emphasized.
It starts with "Irresponsible Hate Anthem", a true hate anthem that bursts with force, in which the beloved/hated reverend blatantly tells everyone to go to hell, without sparing jabs and provocations (a characteristic that will always dominate his discography and persona). After this frontal attack comes "The Beautiful People", one of the group's most famous tracks, upon which numerous other successes will be built, most notably "Disposable Teens" and "Doll Dagga Buzz buzz ziggety zag", thanks also to its vaguely swing-like rhythm. In "Dried up, tied, and dead to the world", the lyrics take on a primary role, supported by good distorted guitar riffs, filtered, with keyboards to support and fill everything.
The following "Tourniquet" is one of the flagship songs, a very catchy piece in which Manson showcases his vocal qualities.
"Little Horn" draws attention back to provocations and straightforward rock, while the next "Cryptorchid" is a sort of experimentation, in which Brian Warner seems to recite a sort of macabre nursery rhyme, abandoning guitars in favor of keyboards and dark, apocalyptic atmospheres. "Deformography" and "Wormboy" can pass somewhat unnoticed, as can "Mister Superstar", if not for the initial guitar riff.
"Angel With The Scabbed Wings" is one of the album's heaviest pieces, and it's immediately apparent from its incisive and sharp attack. "Kinderfeld", although not one of the best tracks, is somewhat a summary of this entire album, where all the various elements heard so far are fused.
With "Antichrist Superstar", we're in the realm of stadium rock if you can call it that, with crowd chants marking the rhythmic pace of the track, nonetheless, these rather grotesque characteristics, the piece is one of the best. "1996" is a piece, like Little Horn, very direct and fast, but supported by always very effective lyrics. "Minute Of Decay" shows us the sad and broken side of Marilyn, the only track entirely written by him.
"The Reflecting God" revisits the "classic" riffs already present, for example in "1996" and "Irresponsible Hate Anthem", although here the alternation between musical fullness and void is much more marked. The last track, closing the album, is "Man that you fear" (although the album has 99 tracks, of which only the first 16 are music, the rest are empty tracks, except the 99th, composed of overlapping and sometimes incomprehensible voices, aimed at maintaining this sort of mystique and unease in the listener). This last track can be considered a ballad, with piano and much more relaxed atmospheres compared to the rest of the production, where Manson sings reaching melodies and vocal clarity never heard before.
In the year it was released, it divided critics, and even sparked discussions amongst politicians and American parents. Power that the Reverend has lost today, for various reasons.
This album is Marilyn Manson. For those wanting to approach his music, I believe it's mandatory to start here, leaving aside the latest productions, increasingly devoid of soul and inspiration.

Line up:

Marilyn Manson: vocals and flute
Twiggy Ramirez: bass and guitars
Madonna Wayne Gacy: keyboards
Ginger Fish: drums
Daisy Berkowitz: guitars
Zim Zum: live guitarist during the world tour of the album


Track list:

CYCLE 1: THE HEIROPHANT

Irresponsible hate anthem
The beautiful people
Dried up, tied, and dead to the world
Tourniquet

CYCLE 2: THE INAUGURATION OF THE WORM

Little horn
Cryptorchid
Deformography
Wormboy
Mister superstar
Angel with the scabbed wings
Kinderfeld

CYCLE 3: DISINTEGRATOR RISING

Antichrist superstar
1996
Minute of decay
The reflecting god
Man that you fear