Antichrist Superstar

What is this? Just a solid NOPE from me. A real tough listen, unsure why it’s made the list, but there we go.

Not for me DNF

Probably best left in 1996.

It's a no

2.5. there is some enjoyable swarmy devilish music here but it's also this guy

Every other album from the 1990s is a social commentary about how terrible capitalism is, I get that. Even in 2024, my favorite album of the year was the same. However, you can write a commentary about the hopelessness of economic inequalities without resorting to nihilism-induced violence, where the only solution is to senselessly kill everyone. Why this album is so violent I don't know, but the great guitar work can't overcome it. The only truly redeemable song is Minute of Decay which doesn't cross the "kill senselessly bc there's no meaning" line.

I'll be upfront that I strongly dislike Marilyn Manson completely independent of his music (which I've never heard) and they may bias the review (but maybe it should? idk I'm trying to keep my personal view of him out of the review). His whole shock value for the sake of shock value schtick is a bit much, and tries way too hard. Which makes it extra disappointing that this album actually kinda slaps. Normally it’s really fun when an artist I don’t like surprises me by being good, but I really don’t want to like Marilyn Manson. Actual listening notes below: -Ugh 71 minutes? -Okay the first track actually rocks pretty hard. Guitar shredding is solid. Scream rock is always gonna be an uphill battle for me tho. And I don't love these vocals. -Wow we're back to the era of white people using the N word. I don't love it. -I don't like how much I like the instrumental work on this. -As the person who did not fault Ghostface Killah for violence glorification, I will dock this album for it. -The lyrics here are annoying. In general they lack maturity, I guess there’s some thinking here about satanism and rising above our broken society, but doing that by being this nakedly transgressive feels at best “moody middle schooler discovers Nietzsche” (to be clear, I like Nietzsche, but in the hands of moody adolescents, not so much. -Antichrist Superstar is another good track. The use of a fake crowd works here. Won't be able to think of Manson without: https://theonion.com/marilyn-manson-now-going-door-to-door-trying-to-shock-p-1819565904/ Honestly, I liked this more than I expected. The music (that is, the non-lyrics component) is competently performed. The vocals are really not my thing, but I think they kinda work. 3.5 stars rounded down because of Marilyn Mansons whole thing.

I came into this album, really wanting to hate it. Like, "I am so behind on this project after the past couple weeks, let me just go ahead and give this a 1" hate it. And yet, it's good‽ It's angry and fun and gets the heart pumping in all the right ways starting with the opener and the line, "I wasn't born with enough middle fingers"‽ It's good enough that I had to google the interrobang so that I could get the symbol enough to emphasize my thoughts on this album good‽ It's like "pre-sages much of the moral panic of the late 90s, early 00s in the Conservative right" good? It's like caught off-guard, give it five-stars good‽ I think the answer is yes and I was not prepared for that. But at the same time, it's hard to disassociate the artist from the art. Marilyn Manson is not a good person, which really shouldn't surprise any of us because you can't make music like this and not be broken deep down in ways that will break others. So I'm in a quandary about this album, I want to give the art five, but I want to give the artist a terrible score.

Блин, фигня же. Ужасный звук, орёт невпопад.

You know why

This guy is Ronnie Radke for 90s goth kids. Past that it's a pretty okay album but I don't understand why it's on this list.

surprisingly good! very anger, much revolt

Hardrock, Satanismus, damit kann ich nichts anfangen

nahhh, no need for this. And the name pay is old (note: see Alice Cooper)

Aware of the singles, but never listened to this til now. When it originally came out, I was already into bands like Korn, so I assumed this'd be up my alley & a nostalgia trip in a way... Beautiful People is still solid, the rest is just super cheesy or weirdly cringey.

I enjoy industrial metal and found this album mostly boring, as I did when it was released in the boom of that genre.

Too long, felt like a bit of a chore to get through but it wasn’t necessarily a bad album. I was also probably affected by the contextual knowledge of the artist himself as he’s not a great guy. The actual music itself though had some great riffs and drums but as industrial rock usually does, it was a bit overproduced. The vocals were fine but the actual lyrics were just cringe sometimes with how edgy they were but I guess that’s kind of the point with the whole theme and storyline of the album. Overall, it was fine but way too bloated and I’ll probably never come back to this also due to context of the artist. I don’t really want to give it 3 stars so I’ll go for a high 2 (4.5/10).

No. Listened to the whole thing, and no. There were some decent tracks, of course, but they were just because of Reznor. No.

Not a fan of this guy.

26/1001. So I have to bury my prejudice and listen to the whole album, ignoring the misogynism, rapes, sadism? As a dj I stopped playing Michael Jackson after seeing Leaving Neverland, should I do the same here? Well I haven't played MM any time nor do I think I ever will. To blame him / band on school shootings is just stupid and childish, but to blame on violence, rape, torture is quite another issue. Somehow I feel rhe Finnish guitarist Andy McCoy's quote fitting here: "you have to watch out what you wish for, you might get it". To move to the music: yes, it is an angry album, which is partly due to the genre, but somehow close and personal and journal type of angry. To couple this with the brand of the band it is no surprise to see why this touches so many people (and might be misunderstood as a cause for violence in the weaker minds? Well I wouldn't blame it on one band, figure or a fictious character, try e.g. the news + commercials mindfuck done by TV). But it is at parts beautiful, the production remains interesting for most parts of the album with all nitty bitty details scattered to rhe left, right, up and down. I hear Reznor heavily here. Thumbs up always when mac text-to speech sounds are used. But everything is a bit too much, the energy levels, the voice, the length, the hate and anger. Not my genre by far but it was an interesting listen, but still a 2.

Look, regardless of what you think of Marilyn Manson as a person or his style of music, There is absolutely no denying that he truly makes some of the best music of his kind and Antichrist Superstar shows that off perfectly. This album has just about everything i love about industrial metal. Its dark, haunting, aggressive, heavy and has some good electronic elements which add so much to the music. It could also be really catchy when it wanted to (I'm looking at you Angel With The Scabbed Wings). The lyrics here are also incredibly good as well with some pretty deep lines throughout a lot of the songs. This album is an easy favorite for me. Best Song: Angel With The Scabbed Wings Worst Song: Mister Superstar

As much as I hated it there were parts that were weirdly enjoyable. Mostly painful.

I have to pretend I didnt enjoy it one star for trent reznor

you gotta listen to Marilyn if you want to be a Man, son XD I have seen so many interviews of Marilyn Manson and always thought it would be interesting to listen to, but I always assumed I would not be into it… and I was right. It is funny to listen to something that made 90s Christian parents spontaneously combust and know that it kinda aged into corniness ? Like all of the heaven and hell stuff just doesn’t hit anymore… and like “i wish I was dead” is what I say when I am mildly inconvenienced at work ? so it just doesn’t really work anymore TO ME BUT i did find a lot of the sounds of instruments and vocal styling to be cool

this and murder ballads by nick cave were both released in 1996... more like 199666 if you ask me... heh... Favorite song: Tourniquet

Surprisingly good. I didn't think I'd like it ...but did. Nice one. This is the beauty of 1001 Albums Generator.

Edgy just for the sake of being edgy. The production on a few songs somewhat saves this, but overall still bad.

Very cool music if you're twelve years old

Albums that shout at the hypocrisy and mendacity of the world are right in my wheel house and this album SCREAMS at the hypocrisy and mendacity of the world. If Heath Mason's version of the Joker was a rock star, he'd sing like this. I can just see the lyrics to “Irresponsible Hate Anthem” scrawled along the walls at some crime scene. I like Manson the way I like Bowie.Bowie always had this air of cosmic melancholy, mourning the mess we've made, but there’s still a trace of hope in his gaze. Manson Condemns. Screams from the wreckage of the world as he pokes at the idols that society has made. Isn't there a little "Wormy" in all of us

Has 1 good song

I would rather listen to Coldplay

If the list was 100,001 albums I should listen to before I die, this still shouldn’t be on it.

I had a feeling it wouldn't hold up for me even though I felt nostalgic seeing it pop up. I was right. Meh.

Rating for the music alone, on the understanding that I go out of my way not to listen to music by creeps any more than I have to.

Absolute tosh, weird for the sake of it, adds nothing of value. Beautiful People gets a 2*

Fair play, American Christians and Conservatives are pretty fascist. That’s one element of the album that has aged fairly well. Can’t say I enjoyed the actual music though.

A bit long but scrapes a 4.

This is the most played album at Guantanamo bay

So edgy.

If you had to put an album by this p.o.s. on this list, at least make it Mechanical Animals - far less of a slog

Eh, while I appreciate the weirdccore vibes of Manson, his music is often lacking.

I was split on giving this a 4. Mega cultural impact.

I listened to this while driving to work and I thought that the bad audio was just my car being loud, but no. The production was made to make this album sound like it was recorded with a white noise machine in the background. Also fuck Marilyn Manson.

5/26/25. Actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would! Very solid 90s rock, Nine Inch Nails like with a pop twist. Won't write off MM going forward and will recommend this album.

Pretty wrenched. I can see the appeal if you were super freaky like that.

This album is shit, surrounded by shit, wrapped in shit, fried in shit and then dipped in shit. With a side of shit.

i bet this is great if you're a 42-year old with a fetlife account

I definitely had to do a mental distancing exercise before listening to this, and for a moment wasn't sure if I wasn't gonna skip this. But... I haven't skipped any of the first 509 albums I got, I'm not gonna skip #510. I was familiar with Marilyn Manson before and actually owned two of the middle-period albums, but had never listened to this album in particular. Trent Reznor is all over this, as is a good portion of glam-rock and sickness. And I'm afraid to say it definitely has aged - but not terribly. I can still see how this would be kind of cathartic while you're driving at speed after losing your job, having a big (verbal, I feel I have to point out in the context of Marilyn Manson) fight with your partner, or any other such event.

> the Beatles Scandal noted and separating the art from the artist, this music was a big part of my life in middle and high school. There are some all timers on here but I acknowledge quite a few uninteresting songs.

This is a creepy and unnerving album but it was well executed without screamo vocals. I was unnerved by the lyrics and also felt like it was a grab bag of weird words. Especially the use of "worm". And it dropped a hard r??? I was not expecting that. I can't imagine I will listen to this ever again but I can see how an audience may like this.

I understand why this is on the list. It was a cultural phenomenon of a sort, or at least Marilyn Manson was. I’d never actually listened to any of their music before, so for the sake of education, sure. But, despite loving Halloween and heavy metal, there simply wasn’t much for me to grab onto here. The hour of fuzz and screaming eventually just made me feel nauseated. I guess that was the point? Well, that sucks. Big no from me.

absolute shit

Not listening to this piece of shit, wish I could vote 0/5

I refuse to separate art from artist for this one

3/10 - it was very screamy and not enjoyable. One of the songs kind of sounded like snakes from arcane but the voice was bad and the song was worse

Honestly was kinda fucking with parts of it. I guess I was in a really weird mood. Still gonna lose points for stupid lyrics and being too long, but this will narrowly avoid a 1

The beautiful people is a great track and his interview in Bowling for Columbine is good but apparently he sucks as a person?

Powerful discordant with decent songs but sagged in the middle.

Didn't like it in 1996, didn't like Marilyn Manson either... Still dont.

Its a no from me, Jim

It’s provocative Spit on your reality And you will like it

I am in love with this album. I have never heard it before, but it immediately gripped me, and I am now all in. Who knew!? Maybe I am just a sucker for anything Northern Ishish Grunge Rock.

My inner angry teen boy that didn't listen to Marilyn Mansion cause he was too weird for me at the time, really enjoyed most all of this album. It was sorta like cheap Tool. A lot of the same spices I like, not elegant but dirty, LA and not exactly brilliant.

good enough

There is no way to “separate the art from the artist”. Manson is a rapist and a creep who won’t be getting money from my streams 👍

This music goes pretty hard, but I just can't get over how dumb, angry, and angsty the lyrics and themes are on this album. It's pretty cringy id you take a step back and actually listen instead of handbanging, but maybe it's a tone and vibe that's more important. Still not enough to win me over though, and I blame the Irresponsible Hate Anthem for leading off the album that way. Angel with Scabbed Wings is pretty sick though.

Ministry and White Zombie already existed, so there was no need for this. Iconic? Sure. Great? Absolutely not.

Unable to write a review. Sorry had a hard time with this one. Wolf

Pass

Better than I imagined but probably won’t listen to again

What a challenge to get through. First and last time ever hearing this.

Pretty much what I thought it would be. Some decent driving tunes, but a little intense overall

Beautiful People is still a dope song. Much of the album was rather unremarkable to me. I enjoyed the riff in Tourniquet.

2 stars. Way better than expected, but too disturbed for me. Exhausted by the end from the noise and vibe. I'm glad I listened to it, but not something I would want to do again. - Hesitant with that album cover... - Actually don't hate it after the first song, surprisingly. More classic ' hard rock' than I was expecting - 2 songs in... I'm tired of all the energy already. Will I be shouted at the whole album? - Refreshed after putting it down for a day, and I feel like it's decent again! But I'll probably be tired of it soon - I think I had to skip every one of the last 5 songs... It's just too much for me

Não gosto deste artista nem da musica que interpreta. Nem me dei ao trabalho de ouvir este álbum!

I will not listen to this piece of shit rapist and no one should 👍 would give a zero if i could

Boy this one was the source of so much disgust and moral panic when I was a kid. Peeling back the layer of blasphemy and hateful lyrics, there is actually some legitimately interesting sound to this. I think that's more due to Trent Reznor's brilliance as a producer than anything on Manson's end, but it elevates this from pure 1-star filth to at least a noteworthy listen.

Of all the musicians who just scream into the microphone he’s the pope of the dump.

None of us asked for this, but currently it’s all we got. I guess AC Superstar is Marilyn’s attempt at making the world a better place (and making some money at the same time) but I don’t appreciate being yelled at for over an hour. Like the message, hate the delivery. Most listenable song was Minute Of Decay, the rest of the album kinda rough for me to get through. Oh Gawd, I really hope the other two parts of this trilogy don’t make the 1001 List. (1.5*s)

It's hard to separate the creator from the music on this one (purposefully not using art and artist here) because he became such a blown out media phase, but this is not for the faint of heart. This album wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, but it was still a bag of shit, much like Brian/Marilyn himself. It's very clear that Trent Reznor did a ton of work on this and it fully reveals that MM is just a cheap imitation of actual talent. He's doing this for shock value and I never fell for his schtick. He's a creepy, goth, POS trying too hard to be weirder than you. 1 full point for heavy guitar front and center, some thick beat lines, and blending of styles (punk, rock, goth, metal, industrial). I'd be interested in an instrumental-only version of this because the lyrics and delivery are vile and really bring it down (please no more vocal fry). Another .25 for track title "Cryptorchid" but that's as high as I can go, all things considered. 1.25

Here's one to scare the parents. There are maybe a few listenable tracks like "Mister Superstar" and "1996" but the rest is tough to manage. The project idea and subject matter ain't bad but way too much wailing. Can hear some Trent Reznor production which brings the music up a bit but nothing close to his NIN work. I was never into Marilyn Manson and still very much am not after this listen. The guy is just too out there. With the rumors of removing ribs, androgenous body sculpting and the creepy eye ball shit...I'm out. How'd he ever score Dita Von Teese? I'll give credit for taking on the Christian right and not backing down and I get that Ohio blows but good God man...take pill (or less of them). 0.88 anti-stars.

This is one is really tough to review. I tried to go in with an open mind but expected this to be an hour of drivel that I would struggle to get through. While it's overall not something I want to listen to again I'll admit I was surprised that there are actually a few segments of listenable music buried within the 71 minute ridiculous antichrist opera. The main issue is that it is loaded with the expected overdone goth/horrorcore lyrics and bullshit that only seem to serve an angsty teenage audience. As soon as you realize that Marilyn Manson is a blowhard shitbag only trying to upset the norm you realize how obnoxious and stupid the whole thing is. In a post-internet world where shock value is such a normal selling point and the content comes and goes so quickly its easy to see how its/his cultural relevancy is minimal at this point, but would have rocked the world upon release. It's easy to see how some of the rumors were exaggerated and percolated for Marilyn Manson and everything surrounding his act. Even if it's not my cup of tea I guess I would say that Antichrist Superstar is effective as I think it did exactly what Marilyn Manson was going for. I was too young or uninterested in any of this at the time, but I recall some of the cultural zeitgeist and uproar against Marilyn Manson. It seems like an act almost entirely built on shock value and pushing the envelope from name(s) to subject matter to the ensuing act played out on stage. Antichrist Superstar appears to have played it pretty perfectly. The fact that MM and his tour had church protests and state-wide bans seems like it only fulfilled his goal fed the bullshit machine that Marilyn Manson curated. I'm am able to easily ignore nonsense like this and know that its staying power is limited once people realize the entire point of this is to troll or get a rise out of an audience. Marilyn Manson had no choice but to continue to double down on his antics throughout his career which only has so long of a leash. People eventually lost patience and over time he was exposed as a douche which surprised almost nobody. Marilyn Manson will remain as something I ignore and chalk up as stupid bullshit outside of this list. In the long run Antichrist Superstar was about what I expected. 1.36 stars

Some songs were food, some too much screaming, and some a bunch of noise.

I can always get behind a concept album critiquing the fascism of the American conservative and christian right. Nearly 30 years old, and these messages are needed now more than ever. Who ever would have thought the words, "Well, Marilyn Manson tried to warn us" would be a thing? Anyway, politics and social commentary aside, this album is dynamite. It's MUCH harder than I think I realized, without sacrificing melodies. The Trent Reznor influence is strong in this one, and it remains, I believe, the bands best work.

Not a Marilyn Manson!

Listened Before? Y Edgelord on display. This one didn't age well. Nobody cares anymore. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: None

A bit too noisy and edgy for me these days, but I loved this stuff when I was 18-20.

Not really my thing here, but I kinda get it, it went on about 20 minutes longer than I feel I should have and it wasn’t my thing but it was fairly decent I’d be giving 2.5 if I could do halves

Nope. Industrial wannabe stuff which Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails does so much better.

Everything I have read about this lot indicated that I would not like the music. So I have never taken much notice of them or their music. So been ‘forced’ to listen to this was not pleasant. As unpleasant as what the concept behind this album and the underlying distasteful nature of Marilyn Manson as a whole. Totally at odds with how I feel today due to Leeds United winning the Championship Trophy. Because of that I feel all fuzzy and warm if also a little drunk. So I refuse to let stuff like this dampen that mood. An album I gladly relegate. 1/5 3/5/25

Vapid, skin deep lyrics that pander to young people that otherwise would be listening to the top 40 list, but the 90s were rife with performative edginess. Downward Spiral came out 2 years before this, so why is half this album recycled NIN songs? This album doesn't have to be over an hour long. It's got 3 singles that people talk about but it's jam packed with riffs "inspired" by other musicians at the time. For anyone who got started on heavier music through MM, I'm happy you found something that spoke to you. I hope that now that you're out of 7th grade, you're listening to something with a little more substance. If you define your image and who you are by how much of a non-conformist you are, turns out you're also a conformist. I think MM was trying to be my generation's Alice Cooper, but turns out you need to be genuine in order to critique the powers that be. MM has always been a hack chasing trends who happens to employ some half decent musicians. GWAR is what MM wanted to be, but the asking people who clearly aren't fans of metal to parse out what's genuine or not is difficult, I guess. Much easier to go by album sales.

When your whole schtick is being this outcast, worm and victim, and that society, celebrities and religion are keeping you down, it very quickly falls apart when it turns out that the real problem all along was just that you're a terrible person. This was never a critique of the "beautiful people," he just wanted to be one of them.

A non-neutral 3. I was surprised how much I liked but the album was so. Long. Was eager for every song to be over by the end.

Nope, just couldn't do it. Garbage

I remember being 7 or 8 when I saw the video for Beautiful People on VH1. I ran out of the room and watched it from behind a corner about 20 feet away. Looking back, it was nice when Marilyn Manson was the scariest thing in the world to me. Looking at this album now, Manson’s brand of shock rock feels very inauthentic, and maybe that’s due to aging, but I’d argue that good shock rock SHOULD feel like an act. Look at some of Manson’s predecessors like Alice Cooper or even Iron Maiden. Those rock stars were characters in their music, but the people behind the characters were normal, smart, and savvy as fuck when it came to managing their brands. But Manson made his musical persona his only persona, and after a while, the mainstream audience just loses interest in how offensive you can be in real life. That said, the production value on this album is the biggest deterrent for me. Beautiful People still works as a fun piece of 90s nostalgia, but the rest of this album is completely forgettable and boring, especially once the shock factor wares off.

Is it just me, or does this dude sound like he has ribs missing?

Oh boy.

The highlight of this album for me was realizing The Beautiful People came from them. Unfortunately, that was the only highlight.

There was probably a time I might have loved this album. Or perhaps if I was born about 5 years later, so I was in a certain developmental phase when this was current. But I aged out of this before this came to my consciousness and as such, just ain't doing it for me. The predecessors, NIN, Joy Division, Ministry, Meat Beat Manifesto, etc., were all things I enjoyed or even loved. I hear pieces that I should like. But I'm just not there with this one, so it's falling flat. Probably a 3 on what I appreciate I should like but my instinct is toward a 2. We'll see what I feel in the morning when it's time to click submit.

I like lots of extreme and heavy music. This was the first album on this list I skipped parts of (granted I probably listened to 90% but I had enough on a few songs). There were a songs which were quite alright but, but that it's that extreme (most of it is shock for shocks sake) most of it felt like being mildly assaulted audibly. Glad i was justified in never getting into MM as a teenager.

I wish we would have gotten Mechanical Animals instead because I think it’s a better album. This is still a 3.5 for me because the first half is great, but I tend to lose interest about the 40 min mark and switch to another album.

I did not want to listen to this on a nice sunny Sunday, but it actually started ok. Very 90s industrial metal (makes sense with NIN producing it). The tracks running to beautiful people had a nice groove and I thought it would be alright, but after that lasted ages and didn't really change, other than to get more forgettable. When these albums get a bit meh I like to read up about the album to see why it's on the list and it essentially says they all took loads of drugs and were dickheads to each other until one of the original band members left. Great, that doesn't help me like it. It started good but turned into the sort of music they'd put on in spiders (classic hull metal club) which would make me go into the other room upstairs which was likely playing jimi Hendrix or Aretha franklin.

THE BEST

I’m being generous. This album sounds exactly like what it is, which is a bunch of aholes taking a ton of weird drugs and trying to record an album. Even the beautiful people didn’t hit as hard as i remember! Alas and alack.

I don’t even know what I’m listening to, this is so bad

Started off strong but slowly got weaker as the album went on.

What a fitting album for Easter. Anyways, I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. It sounds a lot harder to my ears than Nine Inch Nails without losing the edge. I liked a lot of the songs here, noisy industrial metal banger after banger. The album is perhaps a bit long, but my interest didn't really wane until the very end of the album. All in all a pleasant surprise from a guy who got a ton of flack all throughout his career.

Not something I'd normally listen to, didn't hate it but wouldn't seek it out.

Temu nine inch nails. Marilyn Manson wishes he was Trent Reznor

Sorry, maar dit kan echt niet. Ik begin een beetje te twijfelen aan de validiteit van deze hele lijst zo. Niet te harden, dit.

So glad I never need listen to that again.

reznor influence is obvious, but I didn't love this. too screamy. lyrics seemed not great but I'm not sure since I couldn't understand too much

Rapist scum

Yuck. I can't stand Marilyn Manson. He's just starving for attention. Dude wishes he was Trent Reznor so bad, but doesn't have the talent to pull off what NIN did, so he has to resort to shock value and theatrics....and making everything so layered in fuzzy distortion that some people may not notice how shitty of an artist he really is. Fuck Marilyn Manson. Imagine what he smells like?!? My money is on stagnant piss and rotten potatoes. He looks like if a disease (like syphallis) became sentient and grew a body.... Favorite songs: The Beautiful People, Deformography, Tourniquet, Little Horn, The Reflecting God Least favorite songs: Wormboy, Antichrist Superstar, Kinderfeld, Man That You Fear, Untitled 1/5

A little more interesting than others I’ve heard from this genre. The vocals were somewhat reminiscent of Alice Cooper. If it had been 30 minutes shorter, I may actually have liked this album a bit more. Knowing when to stop is always key!

He’s got the beat.

I didn't dislike it as much as I expected. The screamy lyrics and industrial noises are definitely not my thing, but overall, it wasn't horrible.

not really a record for a 41 year old man.

Didn’t bother because he’s a grim rapist

6/10…industrial metal

7/10 I wanted to hate this, but annoyingly it was quite good. Still not for me, but undeniably well put together and executed. Really nice production, certainly gets across a vibe and style. Too long, could do with an edit, and I wasn’t in love with the vocals. Best: Cryptorchid

A different taste of metal.

not listening ew

one unexpected perk of being a zoomer is that i only know about marilyn manson from self-sucking rib removal rumours and sex pest allegations. i’m happy to report, after listening to this album, that i don’t seem to have missed out on anything of value. also….hard r is crazy.

Undoubtedly the best album he released, but sometimes it is tough to separate the art from the artist.

first listen its alright

It wasn't bad or anything, but it really really really drags on. I like the sound overall though, front loaded with the classics which makes the rest feel so long.

Yeah it’s listenable and I liked some songs. Overhated (he is a weirdo though)

No thank you. Didnt like it then, didnt like it now.

Not my usual style of music but I liked the songs The Beautiful People and Tourniquet.

Somehow they made a metal group where the vocals do most of the work and guitar is background so that's wild. Again, this one is hard to judge with all the metal groups since this time that have done similar things but so much better. Also I can't appreciate The Beautiful People because it's been so overplayed for years. But all in all a solid album with some good jams. And it was definitely iconic in it's time. Some nice instrumental things though even with vocals being the focus. Nice stompy cut in the middle of Irresponsible Hate Anthem and awesome clanging riffs, nice closing beat and stripped down instrument mix in Dried Up, Tourniquet is the best track on this album with the contrast and those nice stretchy guitar features, love the cut to just vocals in Deformography though, Wormboy is so enticing with the beat switch ups and off-beat rhythms, the filthy opening of Kinderfeld and just the effects of the whole song, the bongos in Minute of Decay, those great breakdowns in The Reflecting God. Omg those NIN influences especially in Deformography though lol. Was torn between a 3 and 4 but listening on good headphones pushed it to a 4. Lots of interesting nuances that get lost in poor speakers. And I would listen again with no complaint. Also would totally vibe at one of their shows.

Awful, just bloody awful. What a dick.

Actually some well crafted songs in here, but all the extra industrial noise and the long runtime made it kind of headache inducing towards the end

tbh his music is really not that bad 3/5

I’m neither shocked nor offended, which seems the point of the enterprise. So all that's left is the profound displeasure of the listening experience.

2- Stars (4/15)

Not exactly what I expected

Gonna write a review before and after I listen because I grew up with this album: Before: Modern day alice cooper shock rock jock Marilyn Manson. If it wasn't for his controversial lifestyle he'd be a nobody. His band is sick though. Razor edged punk and metal cut from the same dull knife that birthed nu-metal. I anticipate this to resonate with me during the listen. After: I love the raw sadistic and pure punk aggression. Anthemic tunes for misunderstood teenagers of the 90s goth era. The band is still tight, and Manson's vocals aren't half bad and kinda hold up stylistically. Homie was a little ahead of his time vocally. Final thoughts: I don't hate it as much as I have been told to hate it. I also don't hate it at all. Its a great album if you like this sound. But I'd again argue, Manson doesn't have a career without being controversial. Plain and simple.

I hated this shit when it came out. From time-to-time, I find myself reaching for music similar to Downward Spiral and this comes up, but it's worn, dirty and dripping with filth. And, as Kim Deal might say, "I don't like dirt." Regrettably, this is decent stuff performed by a rapey turd who is content with maintaining an image that's outlived itself. It's too difficult for me to separate the artist from the music. Their inability to grow and evolve is a big turn off. Somehow Trent Reznor emerged from this phase to be respectable and celebrated, but this guys is absolute dog shit, sinking even lower than Fred Durst. [gasp!] Oh, and the album artwork is wretched and terrible. Musically, this is a 4-star album but there are too many reasons preventing me from scoring it as such.

Listening to all of “Antichrist Superstar” is a bit aurally painful. Morally? Not so much. I understand the intent, the concept, and the boundary-pushing nature of it all. Go on, Brian Hugh Warner, let your freak flag aggressively fly. But boy oh boy did it cause a moral panic. At the time, Marilyn Manson inspired some peak American pearl-clutching. Before the internet and social media, this album and its tour sparked misinformation and snap protests. Even without the rumors and lies, there’s plenty there to disturb conservative middle America. What’s more, the album seems to be a bit of a watershed. Manson’s culpability in provoking or inspiring the criminal actions of disturbed youths is debatable. But in music Manson set the stage for those to follow, and without “Antichrist Superstar” smashing down all the norms and barriers we wouldn’t have had a culture so receptive to Slipknot, Korn, ICP, and even Eminem. The album itself is conceptually bold, the lyrics sometimes clever and sometimes awful, the guitars occasionally finding a great groove but mostly just assaulting the listener. Gotta give them credit - the intentionally chaotic, combative, and drug-addled recording process seems to have achieved the desired result. But that desired result is a frickin chore to listen to.

One decent song does not an album make. Manson has always struck me as a person who just desperately wants attention rather than artist with something meaningful to say. Despite my policy of deducting stars for lecherous fucks with credible allegations of sexual assault and emotional abuse against them, I am not allowed to give this album zero stars.

Big swing and miss putting Antichrist Superstar on the list as opposed to Mechanical Animals. AS has its moments but they are lost in a sea of filler.

Not all of it is as cringeworthy as the first song’s lyrics would suggest, but Manson’s edgy posturing is never remotely enticing nonetheless, even though the instrumentals are actually strong.

NO!

Pointlessly long and aggressive, and tries way too hard to be edgy. This is exactly what metal sounds like to people who don't like metal, it takes away all of the many things that make it such a great genre, and leaves you with this empty husk of metal that's just loud, fast, and aggressive, but not actually meaningful in any way.

Interesting. Unexpectedly pretty good, but not really my kind of music.

Antigood Supercrap

Yuck…I am not a prude, and even setting all moral turpitude aside (and that is a LOT to set aside), I found this just really hard to listen to. It’s the kind of thing that is used to mentally torture prisoners of war, played at 3 AM in the morning at full volume in order to get them to break down. Giving full disclosure, I only listened to parts of the first few songs, and just couldn’t take it anymore. This was just too much work, and listening to music shouldn’t be work…life is too short to endure needless torture. This even made me yearn for yesterday’s ABBA album that was forced upon me by the authors of this list. I just don’t understand how anyone could actually like this. If I could rate it zero stars, I would.

Missed me on the Nword

Not everyone's cup of opium, but it's certainly mine. Saw them live back in 1999, weird as fuck but great musicians. I realise he's "cancelled" and mostly hated, but "it's just rock and roll and guitars".

Never liked it back in the day, don't like it now. Always loved Annie Lennox and Eurythmics, so the Sweet dreams cover was enough for him to be on my shit list forever. And feel validated now that it's clear he's a fucking shit human. having said that, on a re-listen will admit there's some cool NIN-inspired industrial sounds on here.

-Welp, in my youth, this would have been played louder than I am now... _ lot of early Self-Care w/ this type of Music..KORN, MM, Smashing Pumpkins, RatM. Boys angry at the World. Hits different now as a older boy angry at the World. Shit doesnt seem to change, just more of the same. -Angel with Scabbed Wings; dig the beat! -Lots of "Anthem" style...what makes an Anthem? --Wikipedia; the word "anthem" is commonly used to describe any celebratory song or composition for a distinct group, as in national anthems. Further, some songs are artistically styled as anthems, whether or not they are used as such, including Marilyn Manson's "Irresponsible Hate Anthem", Silverchair's "Anthem for the Year 2000", and Toto's "Child's Anthem".

I was hoping to die without listening to a whole Marilyn Manson album but life if full of little disappointments. Plus, I feel MM wants you to die listening to his music. Like the photoshop cover and word-burrito song titles, this feels like a pastiche meant to evoke a mood it doesn't quite deliver. He seems to be a horrible person, so maybe he should have dug into that. This is all strobe light and no chainsaw. I do see why guitarist John 5's picture is on the wall at my local Guitar Center, for what that's worth.

Ick. What's next, R. Kelly? Puff Daddy?

This is fine.

Ok, so, I was one of those nerdy kids who discovered "underground" and became "cool". I tried way too hard, and was not nearly as cool as I thought I was, but by 1996 I was a teenage punk going to shows at all ages venues and people's basements. It was a good year for me. I was way too fuckin' cool to listen to Marilyn Manson. So while I've been exposed to some of his/their songs on the radio, I've never given this a listen. It's... fine? The productions are often dope af, but that makes sense when you look at the liner notes. The lyrics are way too corny if you pay attention to them, but they also got the Christian Right all hot and bothered, so mission accomplished I guess. I would genuinely enjoy an instrumental cut of this album, or a version with Manson's contributions replaced by a cool lyricist and good singer.

77 minutes. Geezus. At least most of the records on this list that originated as vinyl releases are over in 45 minutes (except for the rare double lp). I'd somehow forgotten that MM was Trent reznors first signing/protege on his Nothing label. You can definitely hear the NIN influence, but NIN is a much better band. I can see how this appeals to a brooding high school mall goth who reads Camus more than say, Slipknot, but I haven't lived with my parents for 30 years, so I am not the market for this. There are moments where the music interests me but on the whole I'm ambivalent. While a concept album/rock opera about the antichrist is appealing on paper, I'm afraid the prog rock LP 666 by Vangelis/aphrodite's child ( a double LP as long as this one, btw) is my goto in this category.

I decided to pass on this one.

Marilyn Manson is where I think… that’s a bit too far. Like even though the thing about removing some his ribs is fake he’s weird enough that I can imagine it. Like the guy still stuck sewing needles in his skin to test his pain threshold! The guy’s mental. And I swear he’s a creep and he has been accused of abuse. He’s one of few people where I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t an act 3/5

You don't understand, Mom, this is who I really am! It's the late 1990s. You hang out with the misfits at school, buy some pants that are mostly rips and pockets, go home, have a shouting argument with your parents, go to your room, slam the door, and play this album way too loud. It's twenty years later. One of these songs comes up on your shuffle and you cringe. I think the word I was looking for while listening to this album was "edgy". Goshdarnit but this guy is really trying his best to provoke us, but it's all style and very little substance, Marilyn trying hard to emulate the performance personas of David Bowie, but it's all pretension and surface level. Grow up, man. Final thought: halfway through this album it did the worst thing that a shock rock album could do: it bored me. I had to give up and listen to a podcast before I could come back and finish. Actively waiting for an album to be over is a bad sign. One star.

Fuck this album. I hate the music on it's own merits, MM being a predator is immaterial.

Boy these vocals sure aren't for me. I hated them! I don't think screaming vocals are anything interesting or captivating. But what was good was the music! I didn't listen to Marilyn Manson growing up, and I'm surprised how good this metal/industrial sound is. But I'm not surprised to see some personnel, like Trent Reznor. And you know what, Marilyn Manson sure knows how to put together a vibe. The entire album was the product of one vision while making each song different. The lyrics only added to that gritty, emo vibe. Hey, is there an instrumental version of this album? I'd give that 4 stars, easy.

This is definitely the album where Marilyn Manson was really noticed on a more mainstream level within the industrial metal and gothic metal genres that he would come to exemplify. That said, this album is pretty chaotic and exploratory (even for Marilyn Manson) and not quite as well executed as some of his follow-up work, which I think would have made for better inclusions on this project in terms of essential listening. Trent Reznor's signature is all over this music, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but eventually the band would go on to be more independent and craft more of their own sound outside of the direct influence of Reznor. I'd probably put this at about a 2.5, but that's almost exclusively because of the better produced songs on the album: "The Beautiful People", "Tourniquet", and "Antichrist Superstar". I don't think this is enough for me to round up, though.

1 star for being a piece of shit

Just insufferable - and that was before all the stuff about him actually being as creepy as he was made out to be coming out. Beautiful People is a good enough track to get a 2nd star, though.

Me surpreendeu positivamente, até enrolei para escutar o álbum, mas quando escutei, não consegui parar.

Just did not like this and feel kind of icky for having listened in the first place.

we're definitely getting some proto-Reddit-atheism energy here. but it's alright, because Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails is behind the boards! oh, wait. I kid. I love NIN and I think Antichrist Superstar is pretty decent. as far as a more mainstream take on an abrasive industrial metal sound, it could've been a lot worse. the first two tracks are by far the most standout: the rough-and-rowdy "Irresponsible Hate Anthem" into the tight, calculated, mechanical stomp of "The Beautiful People." as far as the rest is concerned, I kind of tune in and out. given Reznor's presence, I often find that the material veers too far into sounding like a dollar-store version of NIN or Fear Factory or what have you. that being said, I could easily see Antichrist being a gateway into more underground, radical heavy music. decent 6/10.

Either you grew up with it and love it out of nostalgia, or you can’t relate with all the edgy angst. I would have been the demographic for this but missed the boat, and now can’t take the cringy lyrics seriously. But it’s interesting to remember how much more mainstream aggressive music was in the late 90s/early 00s

I really, really didn't expect to like this at all. But then, on reflection, the only music I've ever heard from Marilyn Manson is their cover of Tainted Love. For obvious reasons this sounds like a Nine Inch Nails album. It's far from perfect, and maybe outstayed its welcome slightly, but it was still enough for a strong 4 stars.

I'm normally one who believes in separating the art from the artist, but I didn't have to do that in this case because they both suck! I've never actually listened to a whole Marilyn Manson album all the way through, and I was actually surprised that I didn't hate this more. Granted, I was waffling between a 1 and 2 rating while listening to this, but I expected to hate every single part of it, and I didn't. But at the same time, there's only so much unintelligible screaming I can listen to in one sitting. "The Beautiful People" is objectively a great song, but that's really the only standout here. There were parts of songs that I liked, but then they'd take a weird turn at the end that I didn't care for. Manson really let his ego run wild here, but I think brevity might have helped on this record. I totally understand why this is on here, and Manson did really change the game in a lot of ways, but I just can't get into it. I didn't like his music much when I was younger, and I still don't like it now. I do think, from the songs I've heard, that Mechanical Animals is a better album and if it were here instead, I probably would have rated it a bit higher. And while I didn't hate this, I still didn't like it.

This music is not good for one’s heart and soul. It makes me feel bad. I can’t imagine listening to it and then treating people with love and kindness.

Marilyn Manson and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad album. The Beautiful People is good for about 15 seconds and the UWAAAAH part but everything that follows is just pretty lame and tepid, considering the image Manson tries to project you'd think it'd be interesting. Oh also he's a weird sex creep on top of it. Lame!

Yeesh that album sucked

So Gothic Rock consists mainly of shouting. No thanks.

Better than I expected. Creep gets no more than 1 star

I like it. He got lobbed in with nu metal and rap rock types but there was always more going on musically. He is a villain though, so hopefully the £0.0001 per song spotify gives out goes to the band mates and not his legal defence.

Relentless and painful.

Beautiful People was like an ANTHEM when I was a kid, but I didn't really get it then and didn't really get it now either. I expected to feel like this was a really well-produced album and that it would just sound fantastic but I didn't really get that feeling either. It's possible I had a bad day haha but the mix of the industrial Reznor production and the silly-dramatic themes and cringey lyrics had me kind of wishing it was over for most of the listen.

A grotesquely vile human being. The music isn't any good either.

This sounds like mad noise. I'm simply not giving this 1 hour and 11 minutes.

Noise. Utterly unappealing in every way. Its like they took the worst elements of metal and fused it all together.

Well, I guess it could’ve been worse. Still, an unpleasant and creepy listen by a bad guy. High 1.

Expected to hate this. After the first song, I didn't think I would make it through the whole record, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. His voice is like sandpaper, but it's basically a hard rock/metal album. Some of it could easily be Metallica or Nine Inch Nails. Not for me, but we've certainly heard much worse.

Better than I'd expected, but I would never listen to this guy's music again. I dont even fully understand who this is for. Angry teenage boys?

not a fan

sex pest

Fint og nostalgisk, men ikkje lika bra lengre som når eg va 11 år

9/10

This one went right by me when it was released. I never really had a desire to listen to it.

Couldn't listen. Felt queasy.

Yeah, this is pretty much impossible to review as music at this moment in time. I'd feel more comfortable giving this an honest appraisal if everyone just agreed he was a piece of shit and his career was over. Instead he's the most popular he's been in ages. The entire concept of ‘separate the art from the artist’ has been entirely weaponised at this point, and what with the insanely bad faith way that Manson responded to the allegations, any sincere analysis of his work does nothing but serve his bottom line. In an age where one of the biggest artists is the world is proclaiming himself to be an out and out nazi, and they’re still people mostly concerned about what will happen to his ‘musical legacy’, the entire concept of good faith musical criticism for these types of people is no longer feasible as it’s what they are cynically counting on. The game’s rigged. So yeah: 5 stars, 3 stars, 1 stars, who gives a shit? Just fuck this guy.

Jeg synes egentlig musikken er fed nok, men sammenlignet med sådan noget som det NIN-album vi havde, synes jeg det lyder lidt tyndt. Jeg har også virkelig svært ved at få den der The Onion overskrift ud af hovedet, når jeg lytter til Marilyn Manson. Vist bare ikke min type musik længere

Bedre end jeg havde regnet med (har aldrig haft en Marilyn Manson fase), lyden var mere NIN end nu metal. Men alt for langt og for meget fyld.

I like MM, but this album contains close to 2 good songs.. The rest is (well produced) fluff and it's waaaaaay too long...

kinda what you expect the beautiful people would always rip but probably wouldn't get on vinyl

Got halfway through before reading up on the abuse allegations and getting the ick, but this probably would've gotten this score anyway tbh. Very "look at how edgy I am" kinda shit.

In light of (a) all the recent and not so recent revelations about Brian Warner and (b) the knowledge that all of his songs have no musical, cultural or literary value, I decided not to give him my 0.0001p via a Spotify stream. I listened to In The Aeroplane Over The Sea instead, which gets 5.0 at a bare minimum. It's the greatest album of all time, and my concern that it is not going to be on this project when Marylin Manson is has reached an all time high.

Choosing this over Mechanical Animals seems wrong. I understand this put him on the map, but if you're choosing 1 you MUST hear, pick the one that is a richer, fuller album. This one is great, although listening years later it got a tad monotonous 2/3 through. Still eid it's job well tgough

I have to apologize for my 12 year old self for mocking Mr. Manson. I was unfamiliar with your game.

This is still good. Prescient observations.

By the time I came around to listening to edgy metal music, Marilyn Manson was a thing of the past. He was someone your cousin who’s a decade-ish older than you used to listen to when they were in high school, and sure, the rib-removal rumors still made the playground rounds, but no one ever *listened* to Marilyn Manson. I don’t think I could even name one of his songs. I used to have this book that was something like “The Big Encyclopedia of Rock Music” or something very aughties like that, and I remember the passage about Manson praised his showmanship, his edge, how he ✨took on this soccer moms in Congress✨….and how his most famous songs were cover songs. Which isn’t really true, but US genre chats don’t fit easily into a compare/contrast game. All this to say, even as a teen listening to misogynistic metalcore music in 2008 with lyrics about slitting your wrists and killing your ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend simply because she belongs to you, the brand of edginess Manson embodied was as dated as a calendar. So I never gave him a shot, and the allegations of the last few years certainly haven’t inspired me to dig much deeper, I’ll say that. But honestly? This is kinda exactly up my alley. I wouldn’t say industrial metal is my thing, and [despite some of my ratings] neither is nü metal, at least not the more cliché goth-adjacent stuff. But Marilyn Manson combine the two to make a pretty well-balanced cocktail. Throughout Antichrist Superstar, I was floored by how crushing it sounded, and that’s really what I want out of metal music at the end of the day. And Manson’s vocals are awe-inspiring, truly, he has range in a very metal sense. Best of all, the production is so pristine that it actually has aged this record like a fine wine– a rare circumstance for most metal records. That’s not to say Antichrist Superstar is flawless, though. In fact, the music isn’t really what weighs it down in my opinion. Now, sure, I’ll admit, the more industrial tracks like “Cryptorchid” and “Kinderfeld” aren’t really my vibe, but I can appreciate them sonically. The big issue, actually, is the bloat. I get that this is conceptualized as an opera, and that requires a certain level of ambitious excessive, but…let’s be real here– this is not thematically strong enough to warrant 77 minutes of my undivided attention. Yes, the music is consistently great throughout, but the problem then becomes the lyrics, which are nowhere near as deep as Manson may believe they are. This is blatantly apparent throughout Cycle II: Inauguration of the Worm; if we’re being honest, this is just 7 straight songs where a rockstar is ranting about how ⋆｡°✩₊✩°｡⋆he’s sooooo edgy and soooo cool and the general public just doesn’t understand that he has power over theirrrrr children who are worshipingggg him⋆｡°✩₊✩°｡⋆, and like, cool, bro, good for you, I guess. We all know you’re not singing about some fictional character– you’re singing about you. That’s obnoxious! And because these songs take up the majority of the record, and because most of them are eye-roll inducing, it creates this inevitable path to exhaustion for anyone who’s not slamming their door shut on their mother for asking them to wash their hoodie that they haven’t taken off for 3 whole weeks. It’s built-in bloat, as in literally half the track list, and also as a result of the operatic structure forced upon these songs about being a famous rockstar that don’t deserve that thematic framing. I will say, I don’t feel this so heavily during the other cycles. I don’t feel it at all during The Hierophant, which just feels as edgy, as immature, and as pseudo-intellectual as any 90’s metal record, so if you can tolerate The Black Album lyrically, you can tolerate the first 5 tracks off Antichrist Superstar. On the other hand, the final leg, Disintegrator Rising, does muddy the waters. Thematically we start to get some Nietzschean nihilism and some….perhaps right-leaning ideological suggestions that feel dicey, but I’ve give my benefit of the doubt for the 1996 edgelord, at least for 1996. Cycle III is also maybe the most Industrial of anything here, though, so I think my sonic exhaustion combined with my typical apathy for that subgenre may be coloring my opinion a smidge. And yet, for all my critiques, I really did enjoy Antichrist Superstar. It’s not The Downward Spiral, which has strong compositional structure and just more sonic variety, but I think in the mainstream, this is a good second choice! It’s edgy, it’s abrasive, and it’s not as deep as it thinks it is, but it’s also heavy, entertaining, and conceptual, which gives it a leg up from its competition. I’m not going to praise Manson the man, but as a band, I feel like we may be dismissing them for their edginess a little too harshly. It’s good– not change your goddamn life good, but deserving of a lot of flowers. Definitely glad this came up and surprised me!

Lil bro is NOT Trent Reznor.

Wish I could give this a zero.

Much noise, but louder than Oli ;)

Evil personified - listening to this album just makes you feel DARK. It's pioneering and honestly, I don't know that anyone has ever been able to do it again so well. NIN was always brooding and dark as well, but never quite got into the evil territory. Separating the art from the artist, this is just a brilliant album.

heavy as hell, i enjoyed a good handful of tracks but i felt a bit of a drag

Dark, musically adept and fascinating.

Produced by a future Oscar-winning Soundtrack dude!

Good album, but it drags for too long.

if you ever think you'll never amount to anything musically, always come back and remember that multiple people approved the intro track on this album, so you could always be doing worse.

Is there a list of 1001 albums to avoid listening to before you die? Just asking, you know, for a friend.

Enjoyed it

I wanted to like it more than I did. I think Manson has a unique vocal style which I appreciate. But overall most of the songs are grungy. There aren't any interesting hooks or guitar pieces that grabbed my attention. It's just screeching and grinding through songs.

No, just no. 0 if i could.

Fun fact! Brian Warner went to high school about 30 minutes from where I live, not just that, that high school is also my older sibling’s Alma mater, and he was on the baseball team with my friends uncle! …These facts would be a lot more fun if he wasn't a terrible person… anyway the album itself is pretty good, if you’re working with Trent reznor it’s hard not to be, only issue is it’s length and the awful, awful lyrics.

Antichrist Superstar is the second full-length album from Marilyn Manson. It is composed a a rock opera; the story of a demi-god rock star that tries to bring about the end of days. The content inspired protests from right-wing Christian groups during the band's tours, adding to the band's, and especially the lead singer's notoriety. The album was the band's most successful work, and established Marilyn Manson as a fixture - both as a goth metal performing artist, and as a target for many offended by their work. The album includes "the Beautiful People," an angry, industrial track that was an international hit, supported by a music video, in an era when MTV was still relevant. The track, and rest of the album, is not particularly noteworthy thrash, industrial metal. The concept did remarkably well in the 90s, and is fairly well presented, but is not interesting enough to make up for the predictable near-death metal.

I was a teenager when MM hit his provative pinnacle but never dove into a full album. The legend of MM at that point in time was bigger than his music. That being said, it's an interesting listen. Elements of NIN, Korn, Helmet, and teenage angst.

OK. So, Marilyn Manson is a piece of shit. The shock value seems banal with hindsight. Trent Reznor is the best thing about this album - it's not strong musically. The Man That You Fear is a great track, but no Hurt. But, it holds interest across the 77 minutes. It was a hugely important moral touch stone and cultural moment. Important conversations were opened and it heralded a sea change from the grunge movement (musically that is. It's perhaps an extension of the vibes of alienation in grunge). I enjoyed it, found it banal and full of high schooler edgy poetry, was never bored and never need to hear it again. 3 stars seems fair.

I never loved heavy metal, but in my teens I liked it more. But anymore this album doesn't do it for me. I still like 'The Beautiful People', but beyond that I could give this album a pass.

At times eerily reminiscent of Gary Glitter. And certainly rooted in glam rock, which, as I've said before, I grew out of by the time I was eight. The rest is just a bit tedious. factor in the twattage, and I'll not listen to this again.

I have complicated feelings about Marilyn Manson. It's shitty how he was repeatedly, unfairly maligned in the media and blamed for poor decisions made by other people...but he's also an abuser. Anyway, other than his singles which I have always liked, there wasn't much there for me.

I'm not going to listen to music by someone who imprisons and tortures women

I’ve never listened to Marilyn Manson before. It took me 1 and a half songs to discover I never wanted to again. I left the album there and will not come back to it.

I am not going to look at this cover any longer then needed.

Ah, não vou escutar mais de uma hora dele não. CPF cancelado. Ainda escuto Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" em playlist já montadas.

Mid 90s Industrial. Marilyn Mason as a persona was probably more of a driving force than the music itself. A couple of good driving beat tunes here but the rest is okay.

Third DNF. Way too long, way too repetitive.

Not my cup of tea

Marilyn Manson has good songs but his albums as a whole are ass

Beautiful People is a fun song, but the constant whisper singing through clenched teeth gets a little repetitive. For dark, depressing music with Antichrist vibes but without the cliches and formulas, go listen to Diamanda Galas.

no

Marilyn Manson sucks!

It's a shame Marilyn Manson is a disgusting human being,, because this album kinda jams highkey.

Dit is een best wel extreem album, met een luidruchtige opener en als het zo de volle 71 minuten doorgaat is het lastig te verteren. Gelukkig volgt na de te felle opener het toch wel lekkere The Beautiful People. Het is een beetje Korn met Nine Inch Nails en dan doorgetrokken tot in het extreme, met name door de vele effecten en filters die op de zang worden losgelaten en een kleine voorliefde voor screechy geluiden. Toch valt het niet te ontkennen dat hier af en toe wel hele dikke grooves op staan die me als verstokte nu-metal fan wel echt aanspreken: The Beautiful People, Tourniquet, The Reflecting God. Het einde van een track als 'Mister Superstar' vind ik wel dikke kutherrie bijvoorbeeld. Die uitstapjes over het randje van wat nog prettig luistert mogen van mij overgeslagen worden. De track daarna is dan toevallig wel weer lekker. En zo schommel ik een beetje op en neer. Ik hou toch wel een beetje van dat industriële, de hele zware downtuned gitaargrooves en een beetje schreeuwen mag ook. Ik vind dit daardoor nog wel een best leuk album voor een keer, maar dit is wel de eerste en laatste keer dat ik dit 70 minuten achter elkaar ga zitten luisteren. Volgende keer heb ik toch liever een Korn of Rammstein album. Daar zit net wat meer muziek in wat mij betreft. Als ik iets van 6 tot 8 tracks mocht wegsnijden had ik er 4 sterren voor kunnen geven.

3.43

-well i liked it a little more than i thought i would. that is not exactly saying much but oh well -it absolutely sounds a bit dated and corny to me, but it also feels prototypic of later iconic 2000s-2010s emo acts like MCR and Pierce The Veil. interesting to think about. -had some cool instrumental affects -Favorites are The Beautiful People and 1996

We don't listen to abusers, also the music is BAD

This ain’t it.

Grating and awful. Should have been called ‘Music To Put You In A Bad Mood’.

Creep show album cover. I didn't pay any attention to this when it came out. So this is my first listen. Better than Nine Inch Nails but not as good as White Zombie is what I am hearing. Solid album and pretty good for industrial groove nu metal. The Beautiful People is a banger. I put on some 963hz meditation frequencies after this to balance out.

Struggled to get through this one..not because bad. Just not in mood.

A classic!!

On Christmas? No.

I LOL'd when I got this album on Christmas day. I might be in the minority who thinks Holy Wood is MM's best album. Very solid effort with an interesting concept. Personal enjoyment: 4/5 Relevance to this list: 4/5

Why, why, why do I need to listen to this period, much less before I die. Marilyn clearly has some issues and needs some help. Only positive is his percussionist.

Abhorrent, disgraceful, and bad representation of music in general. At one point, the screaming just turned into nothingness because of how bad it was. It made me realize that some artists are bad and should never had their music published. It wasn’t enjoyable and I wouldn’t force this on anyone to listen at all

Wow congratulations you hate Christians aren’t you cool. I liked the instrumentation and how different each song kinda was. Thought that was really cool and sounded really good. Otherwise there were about two songs that had decent lyrics that weren’t just hatred and vitriol. So much hate in this album. Also his voice is really whiny. Also the album is over an hour long. Also he kinda looks like Nicolas Cage.

between the super long run time, shrill/screaming vocals, anger-fueled lyrics, I felt like I needed to sit in a quiet room for a long time after listening. only positive was that the drummer can play.

4.6 Firstly I'll get out of the way that Warner is a prick of the highest order. I have immense hatred for the guy. I was also OBSESSED with this album as a teenager. It's hard to go into this without those biases but I'm trying regardless, if we were rating albums based on whether the person was a bellend or not then a good number of these would be in a lot of trouble. John Lennon, Hendrix, etc. So the album itself, is really... really good actually if you're into industrial rock, shock rock, whatever you want to call it. Trent did a fantastic job on the production, it sounds as good and heavy as the downward spiral. The opener, dried up, tourniquet, mister superstar, angel, 1996, reflecting god, are all stand out songs in the entire genre nevermind his career. Hate the guy, wished he vanished off the face of the earth after Holy Wood but god damn this album is brutally good.

Oh wow. Ok where to start. This record was really meaningful growing up - it put many a parent in a tizzy over the obviously provocative title of the record. Then there was Brian Warner's look as Marilyn Manson. But really the best of this album is the Reznor industrial sounding riffs and production with Warner's cheeky show- and penmanship, so it was great because it was actually good, and it pissed off any uptight adult of the time. It also is meaningful as a late friend of mine adored Manson, being his first introduction to guitar music, so this definitely holds a memory of him. How does it sound though, after all these years? Does it sill hold up? As it came up, the first few tracks in a row just blew me away, pumping industrial riffs, and exactly as I remembered it, snarky, angsty, and maybe now a lot less clever that it sounded to a teenager. However, it tapers off quite a bit - and most of the album could've done with a bit of snipping of a few tracks - it kind of goes on and on, as most records of the CD era. It's run time overstays it's welcome and as more time passes, the ratings go lower. The songs are good, the record a little medicore - I'll happy revisit the former and not the latter. And then there's the thing of Brian Warner's allegations coming up. Whatever interest he had kind of fizzled out when he starts looking like your average sleazebag. So... begrudgingly I'm going to rate this album much lower than I'd have liked to.

Para mí muy bueno fue el disco con el que conocí a Manson

Qualche pezzo degno di nota e ricordo dei teen years, ma nel complesso nulla di straordinario

Not my type of music.

The 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die book has been introducing me to a steady stream of (alleged) monsters and abusers lately, which perhaps underscores the theory that fame demands a certain level of arrogance—or worse. For the sake of this review, let’s remember that the songwriting credits for Antichrist Superstar belong to various members of Marilyn Manson (the band), not solely to Marilyn Manson (the man). Not that I’d vouch for anyone’s purity in this lineup. In the '90s, Marilyn Manson was inescapable. The Beautiful People thundered through rock clubs and MTV rotations, a track I’ve undoubtedly heard hundreds of times. Yet, to my surprise, I’d never heard this album in full until now. Listening to it, Antichrist Superstar delivers precisely what I expected: an onslaught of aggressive, politically charged sounds with a theatrical flourish. Let’s not beat around the bush—the album owes a massive debt to Trent Reznor’s The Downward Spiral. Reznor’s fingerprints are all over this, but to their credit, Marilyn Manson takes that industrial foundation and infuses it with a uniquely theatrical edge. On paper, it’s absurdly pretentious: a rock opera inspired by Nietzsche’s Übermensch, tackling nihilism, societal control, and rebellion. And yes, it is pretentious, but in a way that suggests a cohesive artistic vision rather than hollow posturing. Musically, Antichrist Superstar offers plenty of highlights. The aforementioned Beautiful People is a juggernaut, Tourniquet is hauntingly melodic, the title track brims with apocalyptic energy, and The Reflecting God closes with an explosive nihilistic flourish. However, at 17 tracks and over an hour long, it drags in places with a little too much filler for casual listeners. Tracks like Cryptorchid and Kinderfeld, while thematically relevant, feel less essential compared to the album’s standout moments. At times, the reliance on shock value overshadows the album’s artistry, while the abrasive production and relentless nihilism can feel exhausting. It’s impossible to ignore the cultural impact of Antichrist Superstar. The album was a lightning rod for controversy, provoking protests, shaping debates on censorship and morality, and even earning a guest appearance with Eminem. The ‘90s truly were a wild time. As a postscript, I played George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass as a palette cleanser afterwards, only to remember it was produced by Phil Spector. Problematic legacies abound. Did/Do I own this release? No, I surely had The Beautiful People on mp3 though. Does this release belong on the list? It feels strange to say about an album that has sold in excess of seven million copies worldwide, but musically Antichrist Superstar feels quite nichey. Would this release make my personal list? No Will I be listening to it again? Irrespective of my thoughts and feelings towards Brian Warner, this is not an album I see myself returning to.

Okay first of all Marilyn Manson is a piece of shit rapist. But I rocked out to more of this than I was expecting. Still, too long and starts to run together at a certain point 2.5

Mira, este es un disco fundacional para mi adolescencia, pero ya lo he dejado atrás. La estética no era lo mío, pero sabía apreciar algo alternativo a lo que imperaba en ese momento: grunge y boy bands. Pero el disco es muy largo. La temática cansa y 72 minutos es mucho. Cualquier cosa que quieras decir, dilo en menos tiempo. Hay mucha canción y temática redundante. Por último, si quiero escuchar rock industrial voy a la fuente del género en los 90: Nine Inch Nails.

Pure s*ite. But on even pure.

I actually found this to be an uncomfortable listen, and it left me feeling weird and not in a good way. There are a few riffs that I enjoyed but overall, not a fan.

1/10 No thanks Favourite Song= Least Favourite Song=

Not bad, but I don't really feel like listening to it again. There were some good parts but also it was a bit long. Didn't feel like there really was an overarching story, which was supposed to be there

Just NO. NEVER. MM's sound is consistently nasty and hateful and makes me cringe - pure torture getting through even one song. Can I give a big fat zero

Whether you love or hate him...he fills a role by blatantly challenging society's obsession with youth, beauty, and shallow politics. I went to see them after this album dropped in 94-ish, and it was incredibly entertaining. A full fascist display accompanied by gates they put up to keep the Baptists' protesting at bay. A good time. Also, the music is good. It's theatrical and big, telling a story, setting a mood, and full of twists and turns.

Oh 90s. How sweet the smell of nostalgia. This whole thing makes more sense of you think of Mr MM as Brian from Ft Lauderdale. Cause Brian from. Ft Lauderdale has some thoughts. What they are who knows but he sure is incensed. Why cut to the chase when you can meander for 70+ min. A musical slag heap that leaves the listener without so much as a shovel. Actually as fun as that was to say it's probably not true. There are plenty of interesting sonic touches throughout but the core sound is so anemic. So very Brian from Ft Lauderdale.

I only listened because of Trent Reznor. Tawdry. Cheap. Nope.

I enjoy Marilyn Manson but 72 minutes is a lot. Wish this was a 45 minute album.

Was pretty good but not as good as Motörhead.

Not really my thing, but ok to listen to. I could see the influence Trent Reznor had on this album, whether it was inspiration or production. 3/5

I was expecting to really dislike this, but some of the riffs were good. He still gives me the creeps though.

Not great.

Is Marilyn Manson the ultimate edgelord? Jesus Christ this was bad. It’s like Nine Inch Nails without the talent or nuance. This is edgy to be edgy bullshit. I did not listen to the whole thing, I gave it a few songs and skipped through the rest. All the songs sound the same so I don’t think I missed anything important.

Songs i know: 3 Songs i like: 0.5 This album is nowhere near as good as I see to think it was, maybe it's just not aged well. Starts strong and just fades away, although his band actually go a better job than him keeping the album alive for longer than it should. Mad that this bloke was once seen as the king of the goths, listening back it after all these years it's not even that heavy. Low 3.

Opening 1-2 songs don’t come much better than this. Makes me feel like downing a can of Monster Energy and jabbing some drywall. This is one of the ultimate ‘separate the art from the artist’ situations. With bands like The Smiths, that’s easy as the singer has always been an insufferable twat. For someone like Manson though it’s a bit trickier - despite all the (slightly contrived) controversy and blaming of him for Columbine, it always seemed like he was a sound dude. Example A: https://youtu.be/oeQ4HWhPEdA?si=mddX1yY0kq4a2DmP Context aside, this is really great. Though I’ve learned over the course of doing this that a) I’m a proper whore for how an album is produced and; b) very, VERY few albums should be over 45 minutes in length. This sounds so live, and gives it such an energy that some artists (cough Prince cough) could learn from. It sounds like our Marilyn is grinding his ballbag on my ear as his band looks the other way. In a good way. On the other hand, you could cut about 8 songs off this and it would still hit as hard. So, do I like this? Yes I do. Do I acknowledge that MM is a bad lad? Yes I do. It absolutely stinks of Jilly’s circa 2004, so I’m always gonna be a bit partial to it. But suffice to say, Marilyn Manson is a bad wrong’un. Can’t believe I got this far in this review without mentioning that he removed his ribs so he could suck himself off and that he was Fred Savage’s mate in The Wonder Years. Top pre-internet rumours them. A more innocent time. Best tracks: Irresponsible Hate Anthem, The Beautiful People, Tourniquet, 1996, Mister Superstar/Angel With The Scabbed Wings Also, here’s a really great analysis of this album: https://youtu.be/Wh0Xy7cfvdw?si=sfdU5j-TZLkP16Es

Used to think this album was the absolute bollocks and it's quite funny to listen to it again and try to understand what all the fuss was about. Still think it has some absolute hammers on it but there is also a lot of industrial metal that doesn't really do much. Think industrial metal might be my least favourite sub genres. Not as bad as the theatrical metal of Ghost and Sleep Token but up there. Still really rate this album as when it slaps it really slaps but there are so many songs that just get lost in the murk on this. Also very difficult to judge fairy when you know what a piece of shit MM is. Standouts: Irresponsible Hate Anthem Beautiful People Tourniquet Angel with Scabbed Wings Antichrist Superstar 1996 Lowlights: Nothing awful stood out. Just a lot of filler and dirge. Will always have a soft spot for this but at times it sounds quite tame compared to the hullabaloo it caused at the time. Very strong 3

I don't like Marilyn Manson, but I love dark industrial sounds.

This album has way too much of nothing to ever have it be something worth listening to again.

Not much of a Manson fan to begin with, but I think if I am going to like Manson it's his gothier stuff vs. the industrial stuff he broke through with. This is just so senselessly edgy. Tourniquet is good though. 2.5/5

Hard for me to listen since I know the type of person he is

I remember the rumours that Marilyn Manson removed a rib so he could suck himself off. Then it seemed to move to Prince. Always made me laugh because truth be told it was actually Len Houmous who did it! Only to find the rib wasn’t the problem but actually the naturally rotund nature of Len himself. This actually led him to have his stomach stapled as a hope to make it work. He lost a huge amount of weight. Of course, he still couldn’t do it, although it did lead to what we refer to as Len’s ‘heart throb era’……..so many women….and men, Len really wasn’t fussy! I suppose every cloud and all that!……..3.5

Day321 - nothing original or interesting

Liian metallinen ja koliseva mulle. Yllättävän paljon popihkoja sinkkumaisia biisejä, ihan tarttuivat. Tunnelmansäilyttämisestä pisteet. Vain rimaa hipoen 3.

Ikäväkseni minun on todettava, että en totaalisesti inhonnut tätä. Naurettava hahmo, naurettavat sanat. Tehokas joskin kliseinen rock-sointi.

Pretty good. Seems almost quaint how keen it is to shock. It's just distorted glam rock. I do like it, just wouldn't pick it out and put it on.

Everything that’s cool about this is what’s also cool about Nine Inch Nails. Trent gets a 4, Marilyn gets a 2.

This guy really made his mark during this era. Controversial at the time, but pushing the boundary of music. The record is dark, electronic, glitchy, crunchy. Reminds me of some Nine Inch Nails/Trent Reznor sounds. I had never listened to this record in its entirety before this project, but I'm glad I got this one in. Solid record.

Honnêtement cet album a mal vieilli et je trouve ça même surprenant qu'à l'époque ça avait été si bien reçu par la critique. Beaucoup des commentaires sociaux sont en surface, beaucoup des paroles sont tellement try hard, la musique n'est pas si impressionnante. Comme beaucoup d'autres ont mentionnés si ce n'était pas de Reznor l'album n'aurait clairement pas eu autant d'impact. 4.5/10

- over rated -

Ill be honest i came in ready to hate. The guitar work is not too bad but those lyrics are so cringe.

Started off really enjoying the album but was getting a bit tired towards the end.

Listening to Marilyn Manson feels like scratching my own ear drums.

I don’t know what to say. Some songs are not bad but this is just a lame version of nine inch nails. Combined with all the accusations against Brian Warner it’s not looking great here.

Not for me

Ok

Marilyn is just disgusting. Hated that, still not the worst thing on here.

demasiado largo 3.5

Couldn’t handle this

I find it irritating when snowflake people are suddenly outraged by mediareports and the cancel culture kicks in. This guy has never made asecret over the fact he's dangerous and unpredictable. The music is ok- nothing special, clean and well produced. It was lapped up by many of the people now outraged. You can really hear the influence of Trent in some of the tracks.

he sounds mean :(

What do Marilyn Manson and Lizzo have in common? Accusations of workplace abuse and flute virtuosity. This album reportedly ended grunge and paved the way for nu-metal self-immolatory nihilism. I’m of two minds about that - I love goth music but I also love grunge. What I’m not a fan of is whiny - whether it’s dressed up with acoustic guitars and pained grimaces or horror-show makeup and painkillers. This album feels a bit whiny to me, underneath it all. As far as a concept album goes - I didn’t follow it. I enjoyed the Reznor-esque production (even though it wasn’t finished by him). I liked most of the sound pastiches and my least favourite tracks were the ones that got radio attention. TL;DR - I am conflicted by this album. Important? Yes. Life-changing? Yes for some but goddamn - in a bad way.

Overall: 4/10 I avoided this album for years. I loved the song The Beautiful People so much that I thought there was no possible way that the rest of the album lived up to the hype. Turns out, I was right! I wouldn't call it an outright bad album, there's some stuff in here I genuinely do enjoy, and the industrial elements give it a slight edge that I think is great. The worst thing about the album is Manson himself. His vocal delivery gets really grating after a while and his lyrics have aged like milk. It hurts to give something this heavy a low rating but I have to be true to myself, y'all. This one ain't it. Fav Song: The Beautiful People Least Fav Song: Kinderfeld