Reviews (page 5 of 8)
I think it would be fair to call this the worst Nine Inch Nails album. There is no reason for this album to be 71 minutes, especially when the first song is about twice as long as it needs to be. It has a sound that's built on solid ground, but it never does anything more than that. Every time I think it might do something, it just leaves the moment alone and either belabors it or moves on to the next thing without any exploration. Manson's voice is so often overwrought to the edge of intelligibility and sometimes seems like he's borrowing from Mr. Korn Jonathan Davis himself (not a compliment). I want this to be better. I think there's something here. But this isn't it. Of course, in the hands of someone more interested in exploring this concept album and less in making as shocking a concept album as possible, it would fundamentally not sound like this. As it is, wasted opportunity that's just some moderately heavy industrial rock that's dressed up in outrage bait.
Just way too long for what it is, this album became a real slog. I started off liking how different it is from others on the list, and if you cut this album in half, it'd be higher. 75 minutes of screaming tends to just blend into itself, and boy did the songs blend together, especially in the second half. Not my usual genre, sure, but I find with long albums there better be a good reason for it and there most certainly was not one for this. Yikes
This album is way too long and the music isn't very good, but for kickstarting the post-grunge late 90's/early 2000's alt metal scene I can understand its influence. That said, I think its significance lies with a select few songs and not the album as a whole, and for that I don't feel it deserves to be included in this list or deserves much respect on the whole.
I'm learning to respect what they do musically, but I just can't get into it
I never really liked Marilyn Manson. I appreciate the influence he had on shock rock, but I never liked him. He is a bit too obnoxious, like I cringe when I see him or when I read the lyrics. I like The Beautiful People though. For that reason only I give this a 2.
Marilyn Manson se sacó una costilla pa poder chuparse el pico
I really feel disappointed to anyone who has to listen to this album. This just sucks and takes all the ehhhh elements of metal and puts it with a guy who lowkey makes me uncomfortable.
This album really gives me the creeps. I don't know much about the guy, but I wouldn't want to hang around him. I wouldn't trust people who listen to him either. Other than that, it's bad but not really bad. His voice is terrible, but the rest of it is just fine metal stuff. Still a creep though.
fun. not for me
268/1089 weirdo, boo tomato tomato The Beautiful People is iconic of course it’s just difficult to listen to this kind of “evil” concept album when you know that the artist is pretty nasty irl stuck it out through the whole thing, it does have some cool moments sonically but it just blended together for me, i’m not the target audience and it went on for so long 29/100
This is not something I’d be in a hurry to return to
Try hard music.
Uninteresting
I was surprised by this album. I fully expected to hate it, maybe even DNF it. I'm not generally a fan of screamo rock. However, this was a tolerable listen. I think a lot of that lends itself to the production by NIN's Trent Reznor. I am still not a huge fan of Marilyn Manson's vocals, but it's okay when backed by NIN instrumentals.
Man, this sounded a lot better when I was 14 years old and full of bitterness towards the world. Just doesn't hit the same as an optimistic 20-something. God lives rent free in Marilyn Manson and Glenn Benton's heads.
Lemme start by forgetting what a POS this guy is. The sonic style of the album is quite good to my ears. I love Nine Inch Nails and Rage Against the Machine so the industrial funk metal sound is up my alley. The lyrical content is extremely cringe, and the songwriting is a bit shit. Pile on top of this that Marilyn Manson isn’t just putting on “creepy weirdo” as a character, he really is one! This album is not good and I would not recommend, but if I’m being honest I did vibe with it.
Ok
Oh yay another problematic dude to rate. Even if I could separate art from artist, this is unpleasant vocally. Musically ok. Just too much shrieking for me.
My sommelier recommended the wrong Monster pairing for this album and it threw off the whole vibe :( +1 for the single track
I didn't like Marilyn Manson back in the late 90s and ... everything since ... has not helped.
Physically groaned when this popped up this morning. Not an album I know well but one I did listen to at the time, mainly because my mate was a big fan. He even dragged me to a gig in (I think) 97, the day after i'd been to a Korn gig and bruised my ribs being pressed up against the front railings. To be fair, it was entertaining. Anyway, sufficed to say that I wasn't a huge fan at the time and the subsequent years and allegations of him being a fucking terrible human being have not warmed me to him or them any further and I probably haven't listened to this or virtually any MM since the 90s. So to now and to be fair, the first few songs are decent. Beyond that, and to be honest including that, musically-speaking, this is just NIN-lite. Unsurprising given that Reznor produced it, although really it has little of the production craft that I associate with him and much more just the raw aesthetic. He also has 3 writing credits and Twiggy Ramirez has said he would often ask for his input as "the only other string musician" in the studio. Manson's part in this is just to shock. His vocals aren't the worst I've heard but they're all pretty much the same, either doing that low talking thing or the screaming thing. After the first few songs, it has a few moments but overall it becomes a slog and it's way too long!
4/10
I feel like Korn had to be influenced by this. Not bad but pretty dated.
There’s a couple decent tracks and the variety of styles is impressive, but ultimately the majority of this album is edgy teenager fodder with no substance beyond “me angy”
mag den typen nicht, musik ist nicht schlecht, habs aber nicht annähernd zu ende gehört
nothing new everything borrowed from other. better. artists
I always think of Evan Rachel Wood when Marilyn Manson comes up. Very unfair that people as evil as Brian Warner can have such successful careers. May he burn in hell. As for the music I made it through 5 songs. Not as insufferable as I thought it would be, but if I wanted to listen to this type of music.. like.. The Downward Spiral is right there.
Needs another listen
The first 2 or 3 tracks had some redeeming qualities but it just got shittier and shittier from there. Repetitive and samey by the end, overly-affected and theatrical, some annoying riffs that go on too long. I liked this when I was 14, and I think that remains about the right fan demographic.
71 minutes? That roughly 70 too many for this drivel.
There is one song that I know, and kind of don't hate actually, but the rest of the songs are a bit too intense, so it's not really my type of daily enjoyment music. Overall, it's manageable, but a bit meh for me.
one good song and the rest pretty much sucks
Heavy, broody rock
There's definitely a mood here, just not one I'm looking for.
This review is just on the album as presented and doesn't take into account that he's a piece of shit The album is fine but pretty one-note. Definitely only 1 properly good song on here.
Manson is a piece of shit and this isn't even one of his better albums. One extra star because Beautiful People is still great
Overall decent metal, but "decent" does not justify a full 72 minute CD. If half and hour was cut off of this, it would be an easy 3 star, but I feel like it just isn't all that great.
Mwuah
Really only one song that was worthy of mention...."Beautiful People."
Not for me
Not my jam
Meh not for me
I bought this album when it came out and I remember thinking to myself that I am buying this to laugh at it later. Clearly I didn't listen to it though because I barely remember any of these songs. I think somewhere in the middle of making this album he forgot he was a kitsch clown making a parody of the most kitsch musical and fully believed he was Marilyn Manson, and never came back. just completely full of himself. Which is too bad, because there is a whole lot of queer coded messages in this album and even more so on his next album. If he wasn't such a shit head this could have easily been rediscovered as camp. but he fucked that up
Too eccentric
Yeah... not my cup of tea.. I couldn't get in the spirit of the album 2/5
I remember in the second year of uni in the UK Manson was suddenly everywhere: in the music press, on TV. I didn't like his shtick, I thought he was just a weirdo edgelord. Then after Columbine he became the bete noire of the Christian right and came across quite eloquently in the Michael Moore film, I thought maybe I had misjudged him and he was actually a champion of free speech. Time has ultimately shown I was right first time, and listening to this album, it's really not good. Torniquet and Man That You Fear were actually ok, but it's most just a pathetic NIN knock off.
This is corny. It should be discarded in a closet in 1996 like a pair of JNCOs just back from Ozzfest that are super wet on the bottom and stink like weed and wet denim.
I’ve never listened to an album by them and I really wanted to like this but it wasn’t that good of a first time listen for me. I think this album may not have stood the test of time very well. It probably sounded somewhat fresh back then but listening to it now it just sounds kind of annoying in its simplicity. I’ve always found most industrial music to be somewhat lacking after Ministry and Nine Inch Nails. It’s as if the parameters of that style of music was very limited and all the great ideas were dealt with in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. If you were a teenager when this came out back then it probably would have meant a lot and probably would have helped get one through some hard times but hopefully you worked your way back to earlier examples of the genre and found the real great albums of this style.
Yeah, this hits worse now that I'm not a wannabe edgy teenager
Pretty intense. Some dope lyrics tho, too evil for my liking lol
спасибо не надо (хотя я думала это будет невозможно слушать, а это возможно)
Looking back on Manson's pseudo-intellectual posing during his media appearances in the wake of the Columbine massacre and the subsequent backlash against his music, Manson seems to have seen himself as presenting a critique or satire of America's post-Cold War unreflecting belief in its own virtue while it simultaneously celebrated loveless sex and hateful violence. While Manson became the boogeyman of politicians and parents, he was creating his own boogeymen of the NRA and the Christian Right. Of course, he was just as much a part of the cultural nexus as they were, just as much mindlessly enamored of his own virtue even while contributing to a culture of nihilism. Manson wasn't a parody, holding up a mirror, he WAS the mirror--the other side of the same coin, to mix metaphors. He was right about them, but they were also right about him. They belonged together.
Cringe
Not my cup of tea. Frankly kind of offensive. But I appreciate it for what it is. Assumed it would be a 1, but it's a high 2.
I kinda liked it? Beautiful People is a banger. The rest is quintessential 90's sound. I get it. Don't love it. Kinda like it on the background of the gym maybe. Not sure why this is conflicting. Its a 2. Moving on.
by the end of it i was so tired. 2/5
Interesting for sure, not for me. 4.1/10
Eeeeee, Fuck this dude. 1.9
this was not for me, some songs were alright but most of this was just weird
The man himself is trash. The album itself is well produced. The music itself is metal/rock. I dislike metal. I appreciate the production for it's influence at the time. I dislike the man.
A few of the artists I listen to are influenced by Marilyn Manson but I've never been able to get into him
A lot of the lyrics are interesting, and the music is okay, but the vocals become grating on my ears mostly because the album is too long. 2 stars or D+.
If Manson was really Kevin Arnold’s best friend I’d have given this 5!
I expected to hate this album but I didn't. Admittedly, it is too long and vocals and lyrics are often ridicolous, let alone the album's "concept". (Which is appropriate to a ludicrous clown such as MM.) However, the industrial vibes (I guess to be ascribed to Trent Reznor's production) are not that bad...
Harsh and Abrasive, in both music and lyrics. I appreciate the art of it, but I don't find it very fun to listen to. That being said, Manson's vocals were a highlight for me, mostly because he actually sings and doesn't just scream like other metal artists. Standout Tracks: Wormboy, Angle With Scabbed Wings.
"['Antichrist Superstar' is] about me growing up and wanting to become something that people would adore, instead I grew up and became something that people hated." - Marilyn Manson I've said it once, twice and many more times, and I'll keep saying it: I review music, not people. Sure, sure, how you feel about an artist will no doubt impact how you feel about their work, but I try not to turn these reviews into "GRRRR, I HATE THIS PERSON SO MUCH" rants. It's not something I've been perfect about (see my "review" of 'The College Dropout'), but dang it, I try. Marilyn Manson (the man, not the band) would be such an easy guy to do this with. I don't know all of the details, except that he's a creep and an abuser — and, frankly, those alone should be enough to write him off entirely. Y'know, whatever sort of impact he may have had back in the day, is it really worth keeping him around? And I'm not even exactly sure **what** his impact was, besides being blamed for the Columbine massacre. I guess he might've brought shock rock to a new generation, but Alice Cooper he sure ain't! (Musically, anyway; Alice Cooper ain't an abuser, but I haven't heard many other good things about him lately.) All the same, though, Alice Cooper still made "School's Out" and a lot of other great hard rock. There's a reason people keep his work around. And, I mean, that's the thing, right? Bad and awful people have made great art that's worth keeping around. It's an unfortunate fact of life, but a fact nonetheless. It's like, even Kanye West, who's a black shit awful human being, made 'Graduation'. I can see keeping some of his work around, even if the man himself should be left to infamy and obscurity. Marilyn, though? I mean, what's his art? 'Antichrist Superstar'? Is that album worth it? Speaking strictly about the album itself, as best as I can: nah. I don't think it is. The thing about 'Antichrist Superstar' is that I can tell how hard it's trying. It is trying **so hard** to be threatening and creepy and disturbing and scary and, y'know, **cool**. "Lookit me! I'm calling my album '**Antichrist** Superstar'! I'm quoting Nietzsche! I'm being so cynical about humanity! Aren't I just **cool**?" And it's like, no. No. You are not as cool as you think you are. I mean, maybe I would've bought into all of this if I was 15 and this was 1996, but I'm not and it isn't, so quite frankly ... y'know. Part of my frustration here lies in the fact that this is supposed to be a concept album and a rock opera. And I just feel like, when you're telling a story, you need to be clear about what's going on — or at least, you need to leave enough hints that the audience can get it. Lookit something like 'The Wall', or even 'Tommy'. I get what's happening in those, even if there is some stuff, particularly in 'Tommy', that's pretty vague. Here, though? I had to jump to a fan wiki to find out what the plot was supposed to be, and even then I still had to make large leaps to cover up the holes. It just wasn't worth it to me. It's like ... y'know, there's a difference between Green Day's '21st Century Breakdown' and this album. In both cases, they're supposed to be rock operas, but I'ven't the faintest idea what's supposed to be happening in either. Fanmade summaries only do so much to help. But '21st Century Breakdown' at least has the musical chops to make up for any weakness in its "plot." 'Antichrist Superstar' doesn't. (And to say as well: when Billie Joe Armstrong uses the "N"-word on '21st Century Breakdown', I don't like it and I'd've rather he didn't and I am not defending it whatsoever, but I can **sort of** rationalize it based on the surrounding context. On 'Antichrist Superstar', it sounds like edgy white boy shit, plain and simple. And "edgy white boy shit" feels like how I'd describe a lot of the lyrics on this thing.) But the music, though. I figured I should like this well enough. Y'know, industrial has never exactly been my thing, but, hey, as long as it strikes the right chord ... I mean, I have always liked "The Beautiful People", so as long as it holds up to that standard, everything should be fine, right? Nope. Honestly, it makes me wish I'd listened better to 'The Downward Spiral'. Like, the music is obviously the best part about this album, and even that can't save. Sure, it's good to start, yeah. But as I would further and further down this 71 minute album, I began to tune it further and further out. It just wasn't consistently interesting enough to grip me. This clearly is **not** Trent Reznor on his A-game, my goodness. Maybe more his B- or, heck, C-game. And you put it together with the lyrics, and the "cool groaning and moaning" way Marilyn sings it all ... urrrrgghhh. Yeah, in the end, even if I was somehow able to put aside the fact that Marilyn Manson is an abuser, I still wouldn't have enjoyed this album too much. It's too long and it's trying too hard, despite the fact that it can't muster up enough interesting shit to cover its ambitions. I just picture Marilyn smirking in the studio, thinking about how **blown away** everyone is going to be by his **cool concept album** and how **scary and shocking** it is. But, me, I'm just left here stone-faced. And I think the worst thing here is that there **is** something I honestly could've connected with. From what I've read, there's a big theme about facism being apparent in conservative America and the Christian right, and ... I mean, yeah. Yeah. It's 2025, and it's not just apparent; it's a fact. If there's any time this album should be resonating, it's not. And yet, do I really wanna hear it from **THIS FUCKIN' GUY??** I don't think so. Well, you **did** become something people hated, Marilyn. You sure got that right.
This just feels like a poor man's Downward Spiral, and not just because I dig NIИ a whole lot. It's also because it just feels like he's overdoing it on the edge. 2.5 bumped down to 2.
Way too long
I didn’t expect to enjoy this so i was quite surprised i found the first half of the album ok. It’s fairly light enjoyable industrial rock. That said the length of the album and similar music throughout meant my enjoyment waned quite quickly and from there it was a bit of a slog. Would’ve been a far better album if trimmed to half the length
I am not a Marilyn Manson fan but I understand that his music is well crafted. I also understand why it has been linked to many murder cases and school shootings. There is nothing really bad about the album qualitywise but I do feel like you have to be a little messed-up to truly enjoy this
Couple big hits and a shit load of songs that sound exactly the same. The original edgelord. Never been by kind of music and it still isn’t. I feel like the fanbase of ICP and Manson have a big overlap. 4/10
First time ever listening to MM. Not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Only had to fast forward through 3 songs of shrieking, mainly because my own throat was getting sore just listening to it.
Var nú aldrei mikið fyrir Manson. Sjokker að hann sé creep. Beautiful People hefur verið á lista hjá mér fyrir lappadaga en get ekki sagt að önnur lög plötunnar hafi heillað mig mikið. Frekar mikið edgelord kjaftæði.
Should you separate art and artist? Sure, 4 for art and 1 for artist, rounded to 2 because reasons. This project afforded me an excuse for listening to The Beautiful People again, and the album definitely hits for me. But even without the extremely problematic artist this isn't perfect.
Ок так вийшло, що я послухала на спотіку 6 перших альбомів Менсона, до 2000 року. Не особливо вразило, буквально пару треків додала
I understand why it’s here, but I don’t care for this music.
puuuuuuh medium lust nöd nur weg ihm als person sondern die paar wenige lieder wo ich vo ihm mal ghört han, hani recht lame gfunde NEIIII s erste lieder findi no hard😭😭 besutiful people isch easy I guess? dried up... isch öppe das woni vo ihne kenn, nüt für mich ah hä ich han iwie im chopf gha, dass er definitiv verurteilt worde isch hm cryptorchid hani na funny gfunde? industrial rock isch rifach sooo nöd mis wormboy het öppis im ahsatz öppis woni no cool find aber es isch denn doch relativ wenig mister superstar findi eig no cool, eifach z lang spinn ich oder het antichrist superstar basically kei bass/tüffene? ultra nervig bro langsam gsehnis nümme MINUTE OF DECAY BANGER SORRY au wennsmer weh tuet die bassline und das creepy klavier, sehr cool HALLOOO CHANS MAL UUFHÖRE bin vo paarne lieder eig positiv überrascht gsi. aber es isch würkli nöd mis
Too much of the death metal voice and weird music and lyrics.
The lyrics on Antichrist Superstar aren't really my thing, but the music's got that 90s industrial-on-hard-rock-rails vibe that can be enjoyable if you're in the mood for it. This is my first introduction to an actual Marilyn Manson album and, outside of the lyrical content, my chief complaint is its length. Much too long for anyone other than the fans. Turns what could be tolerable into an intolerable chore. It's interesting how there are music-listening experiences that convert listeners to fans, and then there are other records that really seem for the extant fan only. Unfortunately, there's no way to reliably determine which is which since it's such a subjective matter of taste, though I do appreciate the Recommended If You Like approach, and for this we'll give it a try: early NIN, Ministry's 90s output, Rammenstein, and Front 242 — all of which also do this thing better than Marilyn Manson.
i'd be a lot more ok with this album if it was half as long. I'm trying to cook dinner, I don't need an endurance test
I recognize the importance they have had for the rock scene, but I don't enjoy their music.
Manson could never decide whether he wanted to be Trent Reznor or Rob Zombie. He's a poor pastiche of something but he doesn't come close to either of those. This gained an extra point for some catchy drumming here and there but I can't see this as anything but a novelty act. A housemate once brought a goth girl home, they went into his room and she played Beautiful People on repeat for two hours then went home. It was very amusing. This album leaves me as dissatisfied as he was that night.
Beautiful People is good, otherwise nothing to recommend this. Also insanely long.
++: Deformography, Wormboy +: Irresponsible Hate Anthem, The Beautiful People, Tourniquet, Cryptorchid, Mister Superstar, Kinderfeld, The Reflecting God +-: Dried, Tied Up and Dead to the World, Angel with the Scabbed Wings, Antichrist Superstar, Minute of Decay, Man That You Fear -: Little Horn, 1996, Empty Sounds of Hate 4,2/10
Style and volume over substance
...
If you like heavy music with dissonant guitar, you'll probably like this album. But if you're less enraptured by it, or are more picky about it, you'll likely find it to be a slog. This is 70 minutes of industrial chug, and while there are a few atmospheric tracks it mainly just comes at you with a bunch of rock songs. And there's so much happening in those songs. I like dissonant, industrial sounds when the music really focuses on them and you can appreciate their tones. But the amount of layers on these songs makes them sound muddy, and they start to bleed together. Some songs like "Wormboy" have a guitar that's really clear, but those are the exception. I do think the themes on this album are interesting, and maybe even more relevant today, but the lyrics are vague enough that it often just comes off as generally angry without anything too insightful to say.
01) Irresponsible Hate Anthem - 6,5 02) The Beautiful People - 7,0 03) Dried Up, Tied and Dead to the World - 7,0 04) Tourniquet - 7,0 05) Little Horn - 5,5 06) Cryptorchid - 6,5 07) Deformography - 7,0 08) Wormboy - 6,5 09) Mister Superstar - 6,0 10) Angel with the Scabbed Wings - 5,5 11) Kinderfeld - 5,5 12) Antichrist Superstar - 5,0 13) 1996 - 5,0 14) Minute of Decay - 6,0 15) The Reflecting God - 6,0 16) Man That You Fear - 6,5 99) Empty Sounds of Hate - 3,0 TOTAL: 5,97 (60/100) Current ranking: 574/727
I liked it more than I thought I would. That said, I thought I would would completely hate it, and I only mostly hated it. 2 stars, but toeing that 1 star line.
I didn’t enjoy Marilyn Manson when he first came out and I don’t enjoy him now. It always seemed like shock for shocks sake and nothing real behind it.
seems like the vibe id like but maybe not
Not great.
Já esperava odiar este álbum, tanto que eu enrolei bastante para ouvi-lo depois que o gerei. Não quis estragar um fim de semana foda que eu estava tendo, não queria manchar a memória desses últimos dias com um álbum que eu já sabia que seria esdrúxulo e tosco. Só ler o título do álbum e você imediatamente já sabe o que esperar. Mas, sendo completamente honesto, não foi tão ruim quanto eu esperava. Leia novamente – foi ruim – só não tanto quanto eu esperava. Eu já estava esperando que seria mais um 0.5/5, igual Kid Rock foi um tempo atrás. Mas não é pra tanto assim. Pra começar, surpreendentemente, o maior defeito do álbum é sua duração imensa. Os vocais de Marilyn são até que legais às vezes, ele costuma empenhar estilos vocais bem distintos e alcances variados, algo que mantém o interesse de quem o escuta. A banda também não é nada mal, me vi movendo a cabeça em diversos momentos do álbum, com poderosos riffs e instrumentalização bem variada e eclética, comum desse período da música alternativa. Mas no final das contas, não é um disco que eu ouviria novamente. Sei que Marilyn Manson é uma figura bem controversa, ou até mesmo criminosa, mas eu não me importo. Não o conheço e nem quero conhecer, só me importo com música. E se for pra ouvir música pesada dos anos 90, prefiro muito mais Nine Inch Nails. E este álbum é, acima de tudo, uma cópia barata de NiN. Se ele fosse significativamente encurtado, mantendo foco apenas nas suas melhores faixas, como Tourniquet, poderia ter sido um 4 facilmente. Mas não é o caso. Muito edgy e muito tosco. 2/5
Of all the metal albums in the world this one somehow made it to this list (probably because of the controversy surrounding it). While it has good moments, the album is too long and too obviously campy and try-hard to be enjoyable. 1.5/5.0: Bad
i did not expect to like this as much as i did. overall i thought most of the songs well performed and well produced. that said, the songs arent good enough to warrant the runtime. the fact that manson is apparently a terrible person and the repeated use of slurs in the opening track dont help. realistically if you cut a few songs this couldve been a 4 but as it stands its a 3 with a point knocked off for personal antics.
I enjoyed the wikipedia page about this album more than I enjoyed the album. 1.5
2/5
I listened to Beautiful People then stopped.
I was always kind of scared of Marilyn Manson. I wouldn't say this was a pleasant experience, but I also wouldn't say it was insufferable. Sometimes you gotta lean into your antichrist ways.
I didn't hate this but I have no desire to ever hear it again. Once is enough. 2/5.
This is one of those albums where the persona/vibe/genre is so off-putting that I can't rate it high, even if the music itself might otherwise be a 3.
Skräckrocksteater. Mycket poserande och vad krystade provokationsförsök. Vilket jag förstått lyckats ganska bra då MM nästintill är mer bannad av den kristna högern än de där som pratar i låtarna och har fel hudfärg. Det är långt och det är inte särskilt bra. Men bättre än Metallica i alla fall. Svagare 2a går du leta efter.
Loses one star for being a trash person, loses another star for being AN HOUR AND TWELVE MINUTES LONG.
I really don't think this is *that* bad, and there are a handful of good moments on this album. But overall, it really wasn't very fun to listen to.
Aha, the guy playing the creep character who turned out to be a super creep in real life, who would have thought!? Alright, let's do it. Antichrist Superstar is a wild ride in 2025. Right off the first track my thought was "Damn he's trying so hard to be edgy." Did we really fall for this back in the 90s? I guess so. The whole album is a slog to listen to now and the act is washed up and tired. Its a bit of a shame, I generally like the industrial/electronic sound but goddamn Manson is just so unlikeable. I was never a depressed angsty teen, so the lyrics are super cringy to me but I like the sound, minus his creaky croaky voice, which is not good by any means, but put him on the map. Guitars are nice and heavy, a lot of the ambient electronic effects could probably have stood to be edited down or out a bit. Standout tracks were "The Beautiful People" - Stockholm Syndrom from rock radio jamming this down our throats for decades still has me kinda liking it - "Mister Superstar," and "The Reflecting God" - I listened to the whole song and I didn't want to kill myself! Take that, Committee on Government Affairs! My summary: Antichrist Superstar did not age well. It's really goddamn long. Some of the music is cool sounding, but some of it also sucks and along with the over-the-top pissy, angsty, "I am become death!" lyrics makes this a pretty unpleasant listen in this day and age. Can't deny Manson's cultural impact though and he hit the nail on the head with some of his political views. It gets a 2/5 from me and I'm content to leave this album in the past.
Irresponsible Hate Anthem 2.4 The Beautiful People 3 Dried Up, Tied and Dead to the World 2.7 Tourniquet 2.8 Little Horn 2.5 Cryptorchid 2 Deformography 2.3 Wormboy 2.4 Mister Superstar 2.1 Angel with the Scabbed Wings 2.1 Kinderfeld 2.3 Antichrist Superstar 2 1996 1.8 Minute of Decay 2.2 The Reflecting God 2.3 Man That You Fear 2 Empty Sounds of Hate (hidden track) 1 Score: 2.229411765
Having not listened that much to Mr. Manson, I understand that he is quite a famous, and ostensible succesful, person, who's been around for quite some time. I'm sure this is someones jam completely, but it ain't mine. This overall feels way to distorted and screamy for my taste. 'Beautiful People' has a cool hypnotic rhythm to it, but other than that I had a hard time finding interesting melodies to latch onto on this album, sadly. Not my jam, but probably someone else's.
Teenage angst without any real substance, only shock value. Got tired of the lyrics after about 2 minutes. The music isn’t great but if feels better than Slipknot which is the closest I can compare it too. “The beautiful people” is a bop with it’s catchy drum beat and guitar riff. The rest I don’t have much respect for. I guess it could be worse. It has no business being as long as it is either. Weak 2.
Favorite Track: The Beautiful People
Det var en tålmodighetsprøve 🫠 Hadde ikke noe sans for knirkesynginga hans heller i de roligere låtene. De mer normale låtene var om ikke annet helt ok. The Beautiful People var litt kul da.
This guy provides a soundtrack, IMO, for the fans of Slasher/Horror movies. Ooh, scary.
Sliter litt med at jeg syntes hele viben til Marilyn Manson er så sykt teit. Musikken er jo egentlig helt ok, men klarer ikke å like det her. 2/5
Wanted to like this more but it was way too hard metal for me. A blast to the past though!
This was ok. At over an hour long, it certainly lost steam around the half hour mark for me. Some really good parts, coupled with some obvious cringe. I thought I heard some NIN influence in the music and it turns out Reznor was involved in the production, so… Better than I thought it would be.
I never got Marilyn Manson's appeal.
Rating: 2.4 He just doesn’t have it, this type of thing should have died in the womb but his edgy ass fans have drug (no pun intended) it out for THIRTY YEARS.
Gratuitous, on the nose, but overall a very interesting album.
It started OK, then got less good as the album went on.
En tiedä miksi mutta koko ikäni olen pitänyt Marilyn Mansonia aivan PELLENÄ. Ysäri-industriali ei iskenyt yhtään ysärillä eikä tilanne ole muuttunut 20-luvullakaan. Levyn kuuntelu jäi aika katkonaiseksi kun töiden ohessa kuuntelin ja tuli keskeytyksiä. Pidetään Mansonia varmuuden vuoksi edelleen PELLENÄ. Annetaan yksi lisätähti vaikka siitä että joku oli istunut miksauspöydän takana, toisin kuin edellispäivän metallicoissa.
Mahdottomasti en tätä pumppua ole kuunnellut ja ajattelin alkuun, että tämähän voisi tästä lähteäkin, mutta aika nopeasti tuli raja vastaan. Menojalkaisemmat biisit kyllä potkivat mukavasti hanuria ja niissä on potentiaalia, mutta sitten nämä fiilistelevämmät raidat kuulostavat liian myötähäpeältä, että niistä löytyisi mitään kauhean positiivista sanottavaa. Tuottajana resnorin rentti näkyy ja kuuluu ja monessa mielessä levy kuulostaa pirkka-versio Nine Inch Nailsilta. Kovastihan tässä yritetään saada kaivettua 90-luvun nuorison angsteja ja turhautumistunteita pintaan verhoamalla ilmaisu nihilistiseen ja mukarajuun tulkintaan. Yritän yleensä olla kuuntelematta sanoituksia, mutta tässä kun välillä niitä saattoi muutamat pätkät noteerata, niin niskahiki nousi välittömästi nolostumisesta. Eipä siinä, potentiaalia löytyy, joten ei tätä voi totaalisesti dumatakaan. Hartaasti kuitenkin myös toivon, että tämän listauksen Marilyn Manson -annos oli tässä :). Syy miksi tämä on listalla levyistä jotka pitäisi kuulla ennen kuin kuolema korjaa tuli harvinaisen kirkkaaksi.
Dodii. Kyllähän tässä jotain nostalgiaa oli, mutta ei oo erityisen hyvin vanhentunut tommonen angstinen hyvin grimmi nillitys. Mutta silti vanhojen aikojen vuoksi ykkönen ois tuntunu väärältä
This was extremely boring, there were only like 2 or 3 good songs, nothing bad though really but it's all the same
Great album to remind me that I respect industrial rock much more than I want to listen to it all the time. Deducted a star because fuck Manson.
hearing the first track and realizing that he was saying the n-word was wild work lmao. in all honesty I hate that I do like the general sound of it but I feel like that is more due to Reznor than anything else. Much like Eminem, Manson relies so heavily on being edgy for attention because there's not much else to him.
Some good riffs sometimes. The vocals are often too monotone for my tastes.
It's long, and it's bad, and it made my head hurt. It barely escapes a 1, honestly. I wasn't alive in that decade, so some of the cultural significance is lost on me, but I'd probably like it less anyway hehe.
I haven't heard this style of music much. It comes across almost as novelty, but at least it's pretty unfamiliar (and therefore interesting). I really hope nobody took Marilyn Manson, as a band, seriously. But then they're tackling some pretty serious topics. Autocracy, violence, the religious right... and they do it in this stupid horror-theme tone that really takes away from the message. Even punk delivers its message better than whatever this oddity is. And, being as recent as 1996, I don't really think this is really a successful attempt to "shock your way into the mainstream" (as another reviewer wrote). Nothing about this is shocking for its time. It comes across as a bit cheesy, or maybe insincere. (That being said, Tourniquet has a stronger delivery and manages to climb out of the cheese rut.) And yet some of the lyrics could actually be really dangerous for impressionable teens. Something about this whole combination doesn't sit right with me. Right up front, Warner's vocal delivery doesn't do it for me. In Irresponsible Hate Anthem, he alternates between a creepy, deliberately "weird" whisper and a sketchy metal scream. I say sketchy because his voice manages to be somewhat raw yet completely lacking in the genuinely anger and energy that the "metal greats" tend to channel. Deformography and Man That You Fear are both equally weak tracks for this reason. The Beautiful People is immediately stronger for a few reasons. The lower-energy vocals are actually fairly catchy, and the guitar part is significantly more interesting. Everything is loud, brash, and... well, spooky. The band's original name (Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids) makes perfect sense. The delivery of the track title in The Beautiful People is just perfect for an zombie-ghost anthem blasted in some decrepit mansion somewhere. The riffs are pretty strong (at least when they aren't drowned out by other elements) such as in Little Horn, Wormboy, Angel With The Scabbed Wings, and The Reflecting God. But those riffs don't exist in a vacuum. 2/5 Key tracks: The Beautiful People, Tourniquet, The Reflecting God
No es para mi
The lady doth protest too much, methinks
Meh
Banger of the album: The Beautiful People An odd album that reminds me of being a kid but doesn't have enough nostalgia to carry it to a higher score.
An edgy sex addict and alleged offender, he writes like he thinks abuse is bad while clearly fetishizing it. The contradiction drags the whole album down. There are a few decent moments, but they’re buried under self-indulgence and hypocrisy. I can’t give this more than 2 stars. 5/10.
Liked mildly only 1 song - the rest was unbearable. Manson wants to be edgy so bad. Don't understand the appeal. Props to you if ya like it. I don't
I have always thought of Marilyn Manson as a publicity stunt - the shock value diverting my attention from the quality of the music. And as a rule, I don't like metal rock operas - they are typically overly serious and dark. But there were a few tracks here that appealed to me - essentially, the album wasn't as bad as I thought it might be.
This isn’t an endorsement but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected. The writing was, dare I say, good? Still not really planning on diving back in though
17 songs of over-dramatic screaming negativity.
Manson is the ultimate poser. Trent Reznor is the real talent behind this album. Manson is just there to look menacing and annoy your parents, turning everything up to 11, and then turning it up even more.
I loved this as a teenager but very hard to not cringe now. Beautiful People is a bop tho
I don't like whispering singing and there was a lot of that along with the harsh black metal thrash singing, too. Not for me
The only song I knew by Marilyn Manson going in was Beautiful People. I didn't care for it, and I didn't care for his whole creepy aesthetic. I also don't care for nu-metal or industrial metal, whatever genre this is. All the noises, effects, screaming - it's just too much. There were a couple of good guitar riffs and some good drumming in the album, but not nearly good enough to overcome over and hour of the things I don't like about this kind of music. I'm not rating based on his personal life like I'm sure many people like to do. Best track: Wormboy, just because it sounded the most Alice Cooper-like to me.
Not a great album despite its popularity... I think more kids bought it to piss off their parents than because they actually liked the songs. 2 stars because I actually like the sound design and production, but there are no good songs on here.
Hated this less than I expected, and it lead to a lot of interesting reading about satanic panic. That said, I won't be listening again.
Not in the Mood.
So “edgy” you can practically see the Hot Topic receipts fluttering out of the jewel case, so “transgressive” it’s practically a Nine Inch Nails cosplay, and so long it might qualify as performance art about endurance. The good news is buried inside the shtick—“The Beautiful People” rides a genuinely nasty groove, “Tourniquet” gets some mileage out of its bass thump, and “Minute of Decay” manages atmosphere without tripping over its own black lipstick. The rest? Broken-era Reznor knockoffs, self-serious Halloween makeup, and an attention span test you didn’t sign up for.
Unfortunately not my taste at all. Weird lyrics and repetitive.
Only remarkable/known track ist "The Beautiful People". Way too same same and therefor too long. Weak two stars. 1,5
I actually appreciate some of the musicality, here, but this is the music of a deeply hurt person who is shrieking his pain at the universe. It's too dark for me to listen to.
Just… no. (Giving this two stars cause if I give it one star, I have to look at the cover every time I click on my summary page.)
I’m a bit uncomfy, man. 3/10
“The Beautiful People” is a good song, but I just really don’t dig the way this dude has moved through the world during his career - too much muck and mire left in his wake to be make believe.
Tyfusherrie
It’s strange. Like horror goth metal. It’s not something I would seek out on my own. 2/5 Won’t listen again
I get why Manson has that reputation now
Overall, this is easy music to zone out to. Some of the song names reminded me of items in Neopets, especially Deformography. Sounds like a potion that’ll turn you warty.
yep
Not really my thing. But some interesting songs mixed in here.
oh god, this man wasn't good
What the flying fuck — "Antichrist Superstar" is actual unlistenable crap. This is what an average Top 40's listener believes rock music sounds like. I'm giving the album two stars so I won't have to see the album cover in my "Lowest Rated Albums" section every time I open my user profile. Nearly sh*tting my pants once was enough.
Another arrist I would willingly listen to. I managed the whole 1:11though. It wasnt the worst thing Ive listen but the scream and whisper do freak me out. I think the production is quite good, really good melodies that got me hamming ro it, but the whhole story and lyrics is not my thing. Too creepy.
What can I say... This gentleman seems like a mentally stable, well rounded individual.
Not my thing
3/10 incredibly unenjoyable it’s possible to be edgy and contrarian while also making music that’s genuinely good (see: Bob Dylan, David Bowie); this, is not that
All the songs sounded the same. One note.
Probably best left in 1996.
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 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.
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.
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).
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.
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
this and murder ballads by nick cave were both released in 1996... more like 199666 if you ask me... heh... Favorite song: Tourniquet
Edgy just for the sake of being edgy. The production on a few songs somewhat saves this, but overall still bad.
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.
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
i bet this is great if you're a 42-year old with a fetlife account
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?
Didn't like it in 1996, didn't like Marilyn Manson either... Still dont.
Ministry and White Zombie already existed, so there was no need for this. Iconic? Sure. Great? Absolutely not.
Better than I imagined but probably won’t listen to again
What a challenge to get through. First and last time ever hearing this.
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
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)
Some songs were food, some too much screaming, and some a bunch of noise.
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.
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’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.
Not something I'd normally listen to, didn't hate it but wouldn't seek it out.
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
not really a record for a 41 year old man.
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
2- Stars (4/15)
Not exactly what I expected
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
So Gothic Rock consists mainly of shouting. No thanks.
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.
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.
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.
kinda what you expect the beautiful people would always rip but probably wouldn't get on vinyl
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.
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.
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.
-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
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
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.
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.
Not great.
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
Day321 - nothing original or interesting
Ikäväkseni minun on todettava, että en totaalisesti inhonnut tätä. Naurettava hahmo, naurettavat sanat. Tehokas joskin kliseinen rock-sointi.
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.
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
Marilyn is just disgusting. Hated that, still not the worst thing on here.
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
Not great.
2/5
Blech
Ok...not really a go-to anymore for me. Just to angry (and troubling). 2.5/5
1.5 - not unlistenable, but almost there
The songs do rock and I think he's got a good voice for heavy music. I can't really get over the lyrics, they're quite off putting. Suppose it appealed to the crowd on the periphery of the mainstream with the shock value Also 77 minutes is too much, it's long for an album in general but definitely too long for something intense like this for me
didn't hate this as much as i wanted to but it's still pretty exhausting
It actually doesn't sound awful, but this is not my style of music at all.
I grew up listening to a few of his songs here and there. He's got some hits. But, listening to the album as a whole was just too much. I don't have it in me.
ew
During the Holy Wood era of Manson this was the unremovable album in my high school girlfriend's car. I had to listen to it more than I care to remember. Even back then I thought Manson was a self aggrandizing weirdo with no real talent. Coming back to it I feel very much the same. The industrial sound is washed out and grimy, his lyrics are overwrought and self-important. There are little nuggets of synths and clips that you can tell were put in my Reznor. All in all, not an enjoyable listen. Industrial was done better before and better after. If he debuted today people would argue about him being an industry plant.
Fine but really what in the mood for at all
This worked a lot more for me as a much younger man. Now it's just okay metal with unbalanced angst.
While not as try hard as Limp Biskut, Manson is definitely up there in terms of terrifying parents and boring audiences.
If we had completely ignored Marilyn Manson in the 90s, today we would have no Marilyn Manson songs and maybe an extra massive shooting, which seems like a good trade off
Had a girl friend who was obsessed with this album when it came out, enjoyed being edgy. Now had several children & a good husband & works in a cookie shop. Idk, man, life comes at you pretty fast.
I don't think it's a real surprise this guy turned out to be a phucked up sexual predator, is it? I'm just surprised he turned into this after he played such a wholesome character in the Wonder Years. Yea, I know. It's a joke. Wasn't a fan of this guy back then and certainly not a fan these days. Don't get the whole shock music genre and for the most part, found this album to be pretty annoying. I have to admit, I was aware of The Beautiful People and think this is a pretty good song. But after listening, this is my 2nd favorite tune off the album. Something about The Reflecting God I really enjoyed. Everything else, I just kept thinking, this guys is really phugged up. 2
a bloated 71 minutes of some edgy goth guy yapping over Trent Reznor industrial beats. 2.5/5
There’s some good guitar riffs mixed in here but for the most part I find it very non musical and vile. I probably would have loved this at thirteen
This guy really said the n word within the fist song
I thought I might like this more. I was quite aware of 'Mechanical Animals' which has got a lot of great tracks on, but this one is messier and noisier, with an emphasis on messier. There's still elements that I like here. I like how some of the tracks flow together. I like the big fat guitars which crop up in places, and I like the clear Trent Reznor influence with the industrial background vibes. The problem is that there's nowhere near enough standout tracks, particularly as there's 17 to choose from. It's a big messy mix that all bleeds together. And for something so noisy, you wouldn't expect it to be this boring. Really disappointing.
Did not use a private spotify session. Nu Metal has always been hit or miss with me. This one is a miss.
I like the occasional Manson song here and there, but I'm not what you would call a fan. This record felt kinda top heavy, kinda dragged in the latter half to me.
Favorite Track: The Beautiful People
Antichrist Superstar feels like a long, loud tantrum. The repetitive anger lacks any depth. Imagine Nine Inch Nails but without the same finesse. Actually, it's kinda funny because Trent Reznor is all over this album. It’s raw, but not in a way that feels meaningful at all. Just relentless, and not in a good way.
I was never a big fan of The Wonder Years.
You know, looking back at 90's Jake, I thought I would appreciate this album more, but I couldn't get through it. I heard the guy took out a rib to munch his ween.
In the 90s I didn’t give Manson a chance. I had no interest in his Schtick and still don’t. But Antichrist Superstar isn’t as bad as expected. It’s just 90s rock with Manson’s screaming over the top. It’s more dynamic musically than I expected but it’s ridiculously too long and it’s still Manson 5.2/10
I wondered what exactly it was that made me stop listening to these albums for almost six months. One reason was that I got hit with a series of 2-star albums which did nothing to pique my interest. But upon opening this website for the first time in half a year, I now remember - I pulled this album and said 'nope, not in the mood to listen to this.' Today (January 2025) I finally listened, and it wasn't really worth pausing for so long but.. meh I still didn't enjoy this record. It's yet another addition to my long list of 2-star albums. The music was cool at times, but a human being can only take so much indecipherable screaming.
Meh Some good moments, but more screaming than I enjoy.
Nope. But not as bad as something we’ve had on this list.
I'm 14 and this is deep. Please look at me, i'm so edgyyy...
Wasn’t as bad as I expected but still not my thing. 2*
Not all that bad musically with some good riffs and a few songs that stick, but the mood and aesthetics behind it don't interest me too much.
The first couple songs weren't bad, but then it slowly took on a more Metal sound. Weird lyrics for sure, I can see why this album was \"shocking\". The screamo singing isn't really my thing either. Also this album is too long lol Oh and I HATE the cover.
The Beautiful People Tourniquet
Ovo je zapravo ništa drugo osim popičniji rani NIN. Obzirom na sve vrlo je loše ostarilo. Bolje slušat the donward spiral, nego ovo
My teen self loved this quite a lot, but wow does it suck now. Unrelated but Brian, why don't you do the ultimate shock rock move and kill yourself, maybe on stage, maybe with a shotgun to the head, idk just throwing some ideas around. Still, giving this 2⭐ because of Trent Reznor's involvement (as much as he might regret it) and my stupid 16yo self's sake.
Annoying
Beautiful people is a decent song. The rest... eh.
This is a challenging listen. First of all it's too long - there's too many filler tracks. I appreciate the dark themes and tones but I find the industrial influence makes the songs feel like they drag on and overall go too slow for my liking. The Beautiful People is of course a banger but that's a faster tempo song that is much different than say, Man That You Fear. Also fuck this guy - he seems like a real piece of shit.
If I wanted to listen to Nine Inch Nails I'd just listen to Nine Inch Nails.
The second album in a row I have to preface by saying I'm only commenting on the record and listening to it for what it is, separate from the artist that made it. On a personal level, fuck this guy. I remember when Marilyn Manson sort of came into the spotlight. It was different than anything I'd heard back then and middle school me loved it but didn't really know what to make of it. I used to really like his music and got into it more as I got older but at this point have sort of given him up due to the recent revelations about him as a person. I do think that maybe what makes this album great is the contributions the band made and not necessarily Manson himself. This may be totally wrong but I get the feeling that Manson is a super hard guy to work with (as evidenced by the revolving door of band members) and that the rest of the band, whoever they may be at the time, are likely responsible for the bulk of what's recorded. Some of the lyrics on this album are very smart and offer an interesting point of view into a different way of thinking than is typically seen in mainstream media. Some of the lyrics are super cringey now, though maybe that's looking at them with nearly 30 years of hindsight. And a lot of it seems to be 100% for shock value, but I think that was the intention all along. I mean the album is called Antichrist Superstar. Beautiful People is a fantastic song and by all accounts was written largely by Twiggy. Play that song for anyone of a fairly large age range and they're not only going to recognize it but tell you it's probably the best songs Manson did and maybe one of the best of the 90s. Dried Up Tied Up is great as well. As is Antichrist Superstar. But there were a few songs I had to skip. Probably just because I don't think Manson really deserves much of my time anymore. This is a tough one to rate. Some of it I really like, some of it is fine. If the whole album was as good as the handful of strongest tracks, it would be a fantastic album. As is, it's middle of the road and I was ready to move on before it was over. 2/5
Not my cup of tea
Just a poor man’s Nine Inch Nails
Wanted to like this more but it was pretty exhausting by the end
It fits the bill as pretty evil- and gross-sounding music (by a pretty evil and gross dude, at that). This is definitely not something I would seek out on my own, but I do have to give it some credit for its vision, plus a few good guitar riffs. Best song: The Beautiful People
Not for me
Dark, explicit, graphic, and controversial. All attributes that define this album and the man himself. This album really wasn't my cup of tea hearing all that screaming made the album a bit repetitive and therefore boring. I can't say that I hated the entire thing since there was a very few amount of songs on there that stuck out that I thought were listenable. 100% won't be coming back to this but it ain't the worse thing I've heard so far. Best - The Beautiful People, Tourniquet and Antichrist Superstar Worse - Pretty much the rest of the album 2.25-2.5/5
Kind of boring. No structure, just random noise. I’m a metal fan and this was not good. Take away Beautiful people and this is a 1 all day.
Marilyn Manson sucks and so does this album