Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson's second album refines his frightening vision, with the help of his then-mentor/producer Trent Reznor and Skinny Puppy's Dave Ogilvie at the helm. This twisted, roiling offering is a haunted house of disembodied voices, alarming autobiography and punishing guitar honks, but it is essential listening not only because it marks Manson's baptism as the next regent prince of darkness, but also because this wry, caustic concept album hammers the final nail in the coffin of grunge, replacing almost a decade of solemnity in rock with humor, irony and skewed wit.

The rise of Marilyn Manson marks the end of the reign of punk realism in rock & roll. This
ill-behaved Florida-based quintet, a visual and aural shake 'n' bake of mutilation theatrics,
Alice Cooperesque camp and metal-scraping-metal tonality, is a volatile reaction to five
years of earnest, post-Nirvana rock. As ghoulishly animated as the Tales From the Crypt
comic strip and gory enough for today's discriminating ambulance chaser, Marily... More >