Antichrist Superstar

This is from what I know is one of the biggest industrial albums of the 90s. It has shocking lyrics, a misanthropic outlook on life, buzzing guitars, diverse vocals, rigid/stiff drum beats and music that is fully understandable by outcasts. I have heard it all about how Manson being blamed to Kingdom Come for his songs, and that tale about him removing one of his ribs, but I'd never heard any of his stuff up until now ("The Beautiful People" being the exception.) I really liked Cycle 1 the most, with the other Cycles falling behind a bit. I believe this fits pretty well with the definition of being an album one should hear before dying, I think it's unique enough. It captures that rise of Industrial music in the 90s really well, which I believe should be documented in a list, such as this one. My personal thoughts are definitely not either exceptionally good or bad, but I think a 3.5 star rating best suits this album, and overall wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting. Highlight Song/s: "The Beautiful People" and "Tourniquet"

It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. But the guy creeps me out, and the cases against him add to that. The lyrics feel unnecessarily dark and satanic, it feels like they’re just trying to be as controversial as possible for the sake of it. It lacks creativity.

This album has held up amazingly well.

This is one of those albums that is SO indicative of the time period when it came out. It was culturally relevant and shocking in the 90s, but tame by today's standards. It has a handful of really good songs, but it was also very commercialized and over-produced.

Not for me

Gostei mais do que o que esperava, e puxa sempre aquela nostalgia de ser teenager outra vez. O albúm tem temas estranhamente atuais btw, a leitura da página da wiki é interessante

Boooooo Marilyn Manson

Respect it again, but eh

This might be the album I have the longest personal history with since I remember getting this in the late 90s, when I was 11 or 12 years old. Weirdly enough, I've only realised far later just how wild of an album this actually is, especially for something that was mainstream at the time of its release. Something that could've only happened in the 90s, I suppose. While most of the other material in Manson's catalogue (that I've heard) doesn't really do all that much for me, I've always had a soft spot for this album, particularly because, like said, production-wise this is quite a crazy release. All sorts of drum machines, real drums, samples, everything's distorted in the most 90s industrial way possible, relentless vocals and, on top of it, the CD release doing the good old 99 tracks thing that was all the rage in the 90s. That said, also very 90s is the length of the album as I feel it's a bit too long and they could've easily dropped a few songs to make it a bit better as a whole. This also isn't something I'd pop in regularly, but rather once every five years or so, just for that little nostalgia kick at times. Hence, four stars should be more than enough.

These like lightning rod artists of the Gen x resistance are so interesting. Don't know if counter culture ever was more counter than this time. A rejection of cultural values, like all of them from the start... In the biggest way. Also enjoyed more than i thought i would

No, thanks. I don’t mind abrasive music, but the grinding guitars and snarling vocals here wear me down rather than draw me in. Everything seems determined to sound threatening, and after a while I’m paying more attention to the effort than to the songs. A few riffs catch my ear, but they’re not enough to keep me interested through the whole performance. I can hear how much work went into creating this atmosphere; I just don’t particularly enjoy spending time in it. The album wants to get under my skin. Mostly, it gets on my nerves.

I tried to listen but I felt too gross and turned it off. If only Marilyn Manson had the capacity to do the same thing.

Like if Saw III was a music experience. But not in a good way.

Loud and mostly meh. Top tracks: "The Beautiful People," "Minute of Decay"

--Irresponsible Hate Anthem...it's all so shocking! fun bass chug in here --The Beautiful People...the drums are cool. solid amount of heavy --Dried Up, Tied and Dead to the World...definitely hear Reznor in this --Tourniquet...nice, heavy bass. sounds like the radio-friendly unit shifter --Little Horn...Reznor has a co-writing credit on this one. Nice guitar, lyrics are real Manson-y. --Cryptorchid...lyrics are trying very hard. interesting space sounds happening --Deformography...I get a vision of Sheri Moon Zombie dancing in the background --Wormboy...oh no, he's right, I am in hell --Mister Superstar...he mentions porn in here! I'm clutching my pearls. decent rock build --Angel with the Scabbed Wings...more heaviness, I like the drums. decent guitar chug --Kinderfeld...more NIN stuff Okay, well that was interest--oh god there are 30 minutes left --Antichrist Superstar...didn't like it at first but it eventually settles into a nice groove --1996...zzzzzz --Minute of Decay...decent bass does its best to carry this but no. I wish this were merely a minute but it's almost five --The Reflecting God...the world is an ashtray, y'all. I'm bowled over by the revelation. this track does offer fun dynamics --Man That You Fear...some weird attempt at a ballad? it doesn't hit --Empty Sounds of Hate...I guess we have to fill the entire CD, even if it's horseshit

Not my normal jam, but I don't mind it, there's a tune hiding in there somewhere

Man, listening to this album in 2026 is very different. This is a commentary on fascism and hero worship and we thought that it was a bit of an exaggeration back then.

A despeito de ainda ser um disco caótico e barulhento, este álbum trás alternâncias de ritmos e melodias, o que é bastante incomum para o gênero. Disco excessivamente longo.

Not really one to listen to Marilyn Manson, but I got to admit, this was decent. Great production. The screaming can get old, but when it hits, it fires on all cylinders.

All edge, no point.

Probably the worst album ive ever heard

Pizza cutter music, all edge, no point. He’s at his best when he’s just ripping off NIN, at which point, why not just listen to NIN?

It has its moments, and Cryptorchid offers something more interesting than the rest, but there is so much cartoonish schlock and his vocal tics are just irritating

This album is really hard for me. I've been dreading its arrival since we started this exercise. I knew it would be here, and it should be. In a vacuum this is 5 stars. It is easily one of the best albums of the 90s, quite singular. I bought this CD as soon as I possibly could, and played the snot out of it. I still have it. However, I haven't listened to it since the early 2000s, when all the creepster shit started to come out about him. Listening to it made me feel icky. I am pissed I can no longer enjoy it. I mean, this list (and popular music in general) is chock full of shitty people. But I think this one bugs me more than usual because of how much I loved this album. But my rating rules are there for a reason, and so I am going to reside in this vacuum for a moment, marvel at what it is, and rate it.

yuck rapist

I haven’t listened to this since the 90s, I’m sure! Juvenile, but “Tourniquet” and, particularly, “The Beautiful People” really hold up.

Irresponsible Hate Anthem - 2.5/5 The Beautiful People - 3.5/5 Dried Up, Tied and Dead to the World - 2.5/5 Tourniquet - 3.5/5 Little Horn - 2.5/5 Cryptorchid - 2.5/5 Deformography - 2.5/5 Wormboy - 2/5 Mister Superstar - 2.5/5 Angel With the Scabbed Wings - 3/5 Kinderfeld - 2/5 Antichrist Superstar - 2.5/5 1996 - 2.5/5 Minute of Decay - 2.5/5 The Reflecting God - 2.5/5 Man That You Fear - 2.5/5 Untitled - 2.5/5 You know, If I had been a angst-filled teenager with a mindset of the world being out to get me, then this would have been higher. Unfortunately, I am an adult and this just comes off as grating. Also the guy's a creep so I'm going to leave it at that. Overall: 2/5 Favorites: The Beautiful People

i dont like this man.......music was better than i expected though

Highlights: The Beautiful People Dried Up, Tied and Dead to the World Tourniquet

I'm not really a "separate the art from the artist" type

Even as the resident hard rock/metal enjoyer, I am not a fan of Marilyn Manson (the band or the person). Everyone knows the big hit on here, ‘Beautiful People’, but ‘Tourniquet’ is the better song. All the other tracks are varying degrees of “meh” to “outright bad”. One and a half good songs aren’t enough to elevate this album past a 2/5 for me.

As a 90s kid, I am familiar of course with Marilyn Manson. Never got too into his stuff personally, so listening to a full album will be interesting. Especially such a long one. "The Beautiful People" is one I did listen to quite a bit, mainly because of its use as one of the WWE TV show theme songs for a while back in the early 2000s. That's a fun one. The title track is pretty solid too. I assumed I must have heard it at some point, but it's not ringing any bells as I listen to it. Fine song though. Otherwise I suppose it just kinda feels like music for edgy Hot Topic kiddies. It's hard to break from that association - I was adjacent to this scene but never really got into it myself. So that's kinda the main thing I think of. Not much else here to break out of that association. It's fine, nothing terrible. Nothing all that interesting to me.

Ik ga hier neutraal naar proberen te luisteren, maar heb hier eigenlijk meteen geen zin. Vind Marilyn Manson zo'n ontzettende aansteller, maar goed. Artiest scheiden van de muziek enzo. Beautiful People klinkt opzich wel ok, maar nog steeds de zang is het gewoon totaal niet voor mij. Dit voelt allemaal zo teenage sadboi angsty shit. En tsja, dit is voor mij heel veel van hetzelfde, de muziek begint vaak wat rustiger, Marilyn is vrij rustig en dan KLAPT DE MUZIEK ER OP EN GAAN WE SCHREEEEEUWEN Combineer dat met het feit dat dit album ruim een uur duurt en je snapt waarschijnlijk wel dat ik de muziek steeds een tandje zachter heb gezet. Geen idee welk genre dit is(shock horror ofzo?) Maar dit doet me ontzettend denken aan de formule die Nirvana ook erg toepaste op Nevermind, waarbij de rustige zachte stukken worden afgewisseld met HARD SCHREEUWEN EN RAMMEN OP EEN DRUMSTEL. Klein verschil: Nirvana is gewoon een stuk beter dan dit. Eindstand? Dit was echt een vermoeiend album. Blij dat het over is. FAVO: Beautiful People komt het dicthst bij een favo in de buurt maar is het ook niet..

general aesthetics and scumbaggery aside, the biggest issue i have with this album is the music is lazy and unoriginal. DNF

The most interesting thing about this album is that in the year 2026 it seems so comical that there were politicians that expended real effort to oppose it.

I've always found the whole Manson persona/shtick pretty tiresome, but musically I've always really enjoyed their earlier work, and have a soft spot for the trilogy of Antichrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals, and (especially) Holy Wood. I must say the more recent allegations resulted in a genuine lack of enthusiasm of revisiting this. But I still dig the production and 'The Reflecting God' remains a banger. If Michael Jackson can rape multiple young boys and still get a 4.22/5 on here, I'll separate the art from the artist and give the music the rating it deserves.

Ehhh z dwie dobre piosenki teksty nie powalały na nogi głos mansona jest strasznieee meczacy dla mnie

Not my style. Liked one song, but none of the others....2/5

POSER

p792. 1996. 3 stars. The bastard love child of Motorhead and Alice Cooper. Some surprisingly good stuff here, but there is a lot of filler and it goes on for far too long. Additional point deducted as he's a sexist abusive twat.

Just...no.

First impression I dig the music, sounds very NIN, very industrial. See that Trent is listed as a co-producer, so that’s no surprise. I consider Downward Spiral to be an introspective masterpiece of self-destruction. The lyrics on this one are about destroying everything. They stand for nothing and are anti- everything. I mean that literally, just look at the lyrics for “1996”. I might have given this a higher rating in 1996, but it’s just too much in 2026.

Predator rapist sicko no thanks

Es wirkt wie ein Ritual, das sich selbst verschlingt. Der Industrial‑Metal pulsiert, aber oft eher wie ein Todeskrampf, in dessen Innerem ein Hauch von Musik flackert, bevor er wieder im Lärm erstickt. Manson inszeniert den Abgrund mit großer Geste, doch viele Songs verlieren sich in reiner Pose

The man who removed a rib to suck his own dick. I never had a need for such style that MM gives. It Erie, creepy and a bit strange. But a few songs stood out here and I'll give it to the guy. He has a interesting taste that is very unique

Industrial goth. I didn't really like it. Some of the harder songs were good, but it was mostly slow, gothic, and vocally fried.

Nice maar intens

Not for me 1/5

I'm not trying to be mean, but the thought of someone over the age of 25 cranking this gives me psychic damage.

I don't really know how I feel about this one. I knew and liked his biggest hits as a teenager, but never listened to a full album and it seems too late now. Listening to this actually made me feel a bit queasy in places. I was so disappointed to learn about his abuse allegations, because he always seemed to prove misconceptions about him wrong when he appeared in the media, for ex speaking so eloquently and thoughtfully about the Columbine shooters at the time. Anyway, here's my best attempt at a subjective review after 2 listens: Good in places, but overall feels like a poppier NIN. Tourniquet is a great song, and there are a few others in the middle third of the album I like. But overall it just made me want to do another deep dive into the NIN discog.

An album of the time. Not my cup of tea. There was one so g that was pk

Nah, gonna pass. Lived through this one don’t need to revisit that crap again.

ugh. never was a huge MM fan. This was a time capsule from 1996. I wish I hadn't opened this particular time capsule.....

I get edgier things free in my breakfast cereal.

P.R. Brown designed the album artwork with photography by Dean Karr after pitching an idea to Marilyn. It’s not nice. Not being a fan of the whole Marilyn Manson aesthetic, I was surprised at how much I liked the music; even the screaming, thrash bits were quite pleasant.

Industrial noise rock, cartoon nastiness. Found third track with his screeching voice plodding and mundane - at least the openers had some energy. Liked the tune and music on Tourniquet - just the voice holding it back. Looking at some of the lyrics they are brilliantly awful. Don’t think it’s meant to be taken v seriously and better for that. Didn’t really pick up on it being a concept album. The odd blast of some of this has its place and I think it’s better than some of the terrible grunge music around that time. Too long. Much better than a 2 and not close to 4.

Remember when everyone thought Marilyn Manson was the friend with glasses from The Wonder Years? Good times!!

I really disliked Manson when he first came on the scene as he got to go out with Scream era Rose McGowan - turns out I'm not into his music either, NIN seem to be much better...

When I hit the first track, I was fearful for what the rest of the album would hold in store, but fortunately that seems to have been the low watermark. Yes, this album has plenty of heavy rock tropes, but it is also saved from the cesspit of mediocrity that much of this genre inhabit by some nice ideas and creative flourishes. It’s absolutely not my bag, but I can appreciate its inclusion on this list.

8/10 Never listened to a full Marilyn Manson album. (I only knew the Beautiful People.) I was pleasantly surprised by how dynamic, but still cohesive the album was. Plenty of flourishes that feel innovative. The music goes hard and the production is excellent. Very pleasant to listen to if you're into this kind of music (which I am). At the very least it's different from a lot of stuff on the list. The lyrics are pretty bleak and nihilist, but I suppose there is enough to be criticised about society so this in itself doesn't bother me. Highlights: The Beautiful People Dried Up Tied Up and Dead to the World Cryptorchid Angel with the Scabbed Wings Man that You Fear Tourniquet

3.25 begrudgingly good.

sonically, some pretty enjoyable and energetic industrial music. lyrically, it's pretty corny.

Going door to door trying to shock people

Loved it. Not enough for 5 stars but very good

Good old school metal album! Has a few classic songs on it!

#488 / 1089 Heard before? ✅ Revisit? ✅ I find this not such a massive thing as it once felt it was. And very derivative of the work Trent Reznor did with NIN. This is how I see it anyway. Album has it's moments, but mostly it is just a continuation of the American shock rock tradition. Soundwise it's a photocopy of the work Nine Inch Nails did previously, and very much part of the soundtrack to mainstream 90's metal. I find Brian's natural singing voice grating and the drugged out creaky voice very annoying. For the most part it's "industrial black metal light, now with extra opinions". Kinda meh, really. I'll put it down as a mediocre 3/5

Similar to Nine Inch Nails but not as original. The vocals are a let down on this however the musical soundscape is very good in places. Probably better than I expected but would I listen to again. I'm not sure

actually... i do not need to listen to this before i die. as they say, "fuck it," i'm not listening to this; i have better things to do with my life.

I am not the biggest fan of this type of scream/screech rock and I have never before listened to a Marilyn Manson album, that being said, the lyrics on this album are AMAZING. If you convert the lyrics to a beat poetry slam this would be phenomenal. I can appreciate both why this artist was so popular with teenagers and so feared by "normal" society and parents. I am glad I listened to this and happy that it was included in this list.

meh

I'm all for separating the art from the artist, but it's tricky when the art is as creepy and unpleasant as this. At least Michael Jackson wasn't writing songs about sleepovers. It's so contrived too - he really, really wants the listener to be appalled. The Onion nailed it: "Marilyn Manson Now Going Door To Door To Shock People" Sonically it's impressive, and there are some amusing turns of phrase ("I wasn't born with enough little fingers") but the general mood and too-adjacent concerns over taking the art too far mean it's a hard listen which I'm not in a hurry to repeat before I die.

Beautiful people is okay. The rest is not!

Pretty good! Some songs are better than others. And for all the sanctimonious church ladies out there. I don't condone the accusations attributed to Marilyn Manson, he might as well be guilty. But I didn't see the same reaction to Elvis, and to all the rock n' roll stars that were literal PDFS! So get down from your high horse, because you're all a bunch of hypocrites. Plus, all those old millenials and gen xers talking about what the "christian right" was thinking at that time like it was still the 90's. Please grow up! You ain't edgy or dangerous if you ever were. Stop repeating those old, 30 year old narratives! Smell the coffee!

I don't think I like this... Fun religious themes and really fascinating history but it sounds bad to me

He’s a cunt but I love this album

Okay, I listened to it. The whole thing, even. There's some great guitar tones and decent riffage. There's thoroughly decent production on a bunch of it (NIN-esque, go figure). At its best it reminded me of other music I like more. Music that mostly doesn't have shit tonnes of baggage attached to it.

Remember the rumors about Marilyn Manson? That he was Paul Pfeiffer from the Wonder Years and that he had two ribs surgically removed so he could suck his own dick. The album is heavy and “shocking” but overall it’s pretty shitty. If you don’t take it seriously, it’s damn funny.

This was a mixed bag for me. Manson is not typically my type of music (exemplifies trying too hard), I can't deny that there were a few songs that I found myself rocking out to. A lot that came across as cheesy as well. The Beautiful People is undeniably a hit. Overall- 2.5/5, but rounds up to a 3

2.3/5

Hmmmm somehow simultaneously better and worse than I'd imagined. I feel like this is somewhat better than it's reputation but at the same time I can't imagine ever wanting to listen to this over nine inch nails or korn 🤷🏻‍♂️

Bad man. Bad music.

OK I guess, a bit samey

first one star of this challenge. i seriously considered not finishing this - and perhaps that's my criteria for a one star review going forward. i was avoiding this album like the plague, but today i hit a point where this was all i had left. first album i listened to on youtube since i didn't want it to show up on airbuds. silence is preferable to this, and even the ads on youtube felt like a relief. i don't usually listen to metal but i don't despise the genre. this album though? ohhh my god. actually hurts my ears and i'm only maybe halfway done. the instrumentation didn't feel bad at first but it really weighs on you after awhile. i felt a bit better after taking a break to finish the album, but even then i was really counting down the songs to go. we've also got some of the worst lyrics i've heard ever. like uhhh you can't say that? you don't even have to separate art from the artist here - both are terrible.

Not devoid of interesting stuff but it’s not my thing

Another shock rock dude. Took Alice coopers blueprint and ran with it. He was a creepy dude though. I remember he was somewhat associated with columbine by the kids. Creepy dating life. Etc. music is fine. Some cool songs here. It’s fine

3.6. Not bad. Borderline good. Had some cool stuff but contrived

The only song I still like from this album is The Beautiful People. When this album was first released I would have rated it about a 4.5. Now as a revisit this a few weeks shy of the 30th anniversary of its release, I can say I do not really enjoy this album anymore, except for the track The Beautiful People. Not so much because it is a good song, but because there are so many wonderful memories attached to that time period.

Didn’t like it in ‘96 and don’t like it now.

Definitely not my kind of music. I know someone who would probably enjoy this, but I just can't even get myself to act like I'm giving it a fair shake. Hate it, not something I'll ever listen to again if I can avoid it.

People like this? Couldn't wait for that to end. To quote the great Alan Partridge; "That was just a noise."

An Iconic album with plenty of good songs. Unfortunately there are also songs I really wanted to skip. High highs and low lows makes a middle of the road album over all for me.

Eh. I want to at least give stuff like this a chance, but it’s just harsh on my ear. At its base, music is a vehicle for expression, I understand that. It’s my opinion, however, that it should not be a vehicle for dark or hateful messaging. I’m cool with heavy stuff — I’m a casual appreciator of metal as a genre — not a super fan, but I can get on with it for sure. But when some of these darker themes start coming through, it just loses me. I couldn’t get all the way through. And I probably won’t try again.

Manson was not a good guy but honestly most well known musicians aren't. With that said, this album scratched an itch in my ADHD brain that I didn't know existed. I see why most people don't like this, but I really enjoyed listening.

I was afraid to hit play on this album but I thought it was amazing. I haven't really liked industrial music, but this is good. Some of the themes and lyrics are a bit too much and the album goes on for a little too long. Otherwise, everything is great. The drums and guitar on this album are perfect. The vocals are raw and they work perfectly.

Who would have thought this guy'd turn out to be a sex pest eh? Anyway some of it goes hard and they werent wrong to send up the media/cultures sex and violence obsesssions. I don't too much care for the song, but have and earworm from the beautiful people and still sing "capitalism has made it this way, old fashioned fascism'll take it a way"to myself, the time seems always apropos these days....

There are absolutely things I like and find interesting about this project. I enjoy the production and the overall style. Conceptually it is kind of interesting. It’s like if David Bowie was a demon from hell (derogatory) (not that MM is at all comparable to DB or that they are anywhere near the same league) But in light of the allegations against this guy, it’s pretty hard to enjoy, particularly as a woman, and I’m typically someone who can separate art/artist. In the end the product comes off as a narcissistic self-obsessed mess that only a mediocre man from Ohio/Florida could pull off.

I didn't like it when I was a teenager and I don't like it now. His image is great but the music is not fun for me.

Christ, here’s this doofus. Part of me wants to point out all the stuff that sucks but what’s the point. That’s all he’s doing is begging for attention. The worst part is the music sometimes sounds good, but this dweeb keeps being the edgiest person and it’s just embarrassing. He reminds me of a kid on Xbox live.

Meh.

Gross.