Versions:
CD
LP
Tracklisting:
1. Irresponsible Hate Anthem
2. The Beautiful People
3. Dried Up, Tied And Dead To The World
4. Tourniquet
5. Little Horn
6. Cryptorchid
7. Deformography
8. Wormboy
9. Mister Superstar
10. Angel With The Scabbed Wings
11. Kinderfeld
12. Antichrist Superstar
13. 1996
14. Minute Of Decay
15. The Reflecting God
16. Man That You Fear
Best Tracks:
Antichrist Superstar
Man That You Fear
1996
Mister Superstar
The Reflecting God
Currently listening to: LP
Now, this is an interesting one. For me, at least. In case you haven't read the previous posts in this blog, my musical preferences/discoveries as a teenager centred wholly on 60's and (to a lesser extent) 70's music. I even repressed my love for Madonna (my first true music love) during this period. Something else that should be obvious by the previous posts, and has probably been mentioned, is my obsession once I find something that I love (especially as a teenager).
As an obsessive 14-year old fan of Janis Joplin, The Who and Led Zeppelin, I somehow discovered Marilyn Manson sometime in 1997. I must confess, I am a little embarrassed by it, but Marilyn Manson became another obsession for the next few years. I'm also a little embarrassed to admit that it was through Manson that I (finally) opened my mind to music that was current (so, I essentially discovered PJ Harvey via Marilyn Manson. Ack. At least I got there in the end).
I can't quite explain it, because it was unlike anything else I listened to (aside from vague connections to 70's rock I listened to, like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and, of course, Alice Cooper), but something struck a chord with me when I first heard Antichrist Superstar. It could have been that I was an increasingly grumpy 14-year old boy in the late 90's. It could have been the image - the first time I heard of Manson was when I saw his 1997 Rolling Stone cover, and I thought it just looked fucking cool. It could have been that my closest friends were into a lot of heavy metal and - try as I might - I could never find anything that I really liked. Until Antichrist Superstar (although, is Manson even classed as metal?). It could have also been how much it pissed people off. My family, my friends - everyone else I knew fucking hated Marilyn Manson. Which I, of course, always enjoyed. I think people tend to forget how shocking Manson was during the Antichrist Superstar period. It may seem tame by today's standards, but by mainstream 1997 standards, it was far from tame.
Whatever it was, I instantly became obsessed with Antichrist Superstar and immersed myself in all things Marilyn Manson. And yes, I dyed my hair black and started painting my nails. I never fully committed to the whole goth thing (especially when the word on the street was that Manson was too mainstream for real goths), but I gave it a go. There's enough embarrassing photos floating around to remind me. I also covered my room with Manson posters (everything else came down, save Janis) and started running a few amateurish Marilyn Manson websites. I was committed to the cause, even if I wasn't a full blown goth. In retrospect, I think I got a lot out of, what I like to call, 'the Manson years'. Inevitably, I did out-grow Marilyn Manson (not coincidentally, around the same time I discovered PJ Harvey), though I can't deny the impact that Manson had on me during those formative years.
Fast forward to 2014, and Marilyn Manson has become something of a nostalgic, guilty pleasure. Occasionally, I'll pop one of the old albums on and still enjoy it. The last one of his records I bought was The High End Of Low, which I half-listened to once and forgot about. The last Manson album I loved was Holy Wood (which, I think, still stands as possibly his best record), and I've only liked the odd song here and there since. A big part of my disillusion with Marilyn Manson was that old foe, age. As of my early 20's, it says nothing to me about my life. Which doesn't mean I can no longer enjoy it. It's just a nostalgia trip for me now.
Which brings me to the point I want to explore. Is Antichrist Superstar actually any good? How does it hold up now, nostalgia aside? The first thing I need to get past is Manson's ghoul voice. He's never had a particularly good voice (as most live Manson bootlegs attest), but he's managed to use it to good effect. However, it's the main reason I can't stomach any of his albums since 2000. It sounds way too contrived. Antichrist Superstar doesn't suffer too much, but it still takes a bit of getting used to these days. On songs like 'Man That You Fear', 'Deformography' and 'Cryptorchid', which used to be favourites, it's distracting. Which is a shame, because these are pretty good songs.
My favourite thing about Antichrist Superstar in 2014 is how noisy and abrasive it is. Thanks, in no smart part, to Trent Reznor's production. There's no denying that Antichrist Superstar is Marilyn Manson's Downward Spiral. And, I say that more as a compliment than a criticism (because, in my 30's, I have some of the same misgivings about The Downward Spiral that I do about Antichrist Superstar). Indeed, Antichrist Superstar does sound like a cross between Portrait Of An American Family and The Downward Spiral (and that is a compliment). Manson (the man and the band) invest enough of themselves into this album that it is, undeniably, a Marilyn Manson record. And, probably would have been, had Reznor not produced it. 'Irresponsible Hate Anthem', 'Mister Superstar' and '1996', in particular, sound like a trashy punk band being molested by Trent Reznor (again, a compliment). 'Dried Up, Tied And Dead To The World' sounds particularly NIN-y. This, along with much of the album, show that Antichrist Superstar is a very interesting bridge between The Downward Spiral and The Fragile.
It is hard for me to listen to this album objectively. Part of what makes it great is the context in which it was released. Which may be lost on someone listening to it for the first time any time after, say, 2003. However, while it's initial impact may be lost, I think it still holds up.
I only have two copies of Antichrist Superstar, which is only surprising given the extent of my Manson obsession between 1997 and 2001. Aside from the original CD (which I looked at for the first time in a long time tonight. Oh, the memories within that CD booklet!), I have a vinyl copy, which Discogs tells me was released in 1998. Which makes me think I bought it in 1999. It was $60. At the time, it was the most expensive record I'd ever bought (and it was only the second or third time I'd ever bought a new, not second hand, record). I actually put it on lay-by at Big Star. Which seems ridiculous now, but $60 was a considerable amount of money when I was 16 - especially, for a record (I think Mechanical Animals had previously been the most expensive record I bought at $40). I played it tonight for the first time in, at least, 10 years. It's an odd pressing. The record itself is wider than a normal 12" (and only just - maybe a pressing error?) and my turntable didn't quite agree with it.
As I said, Antichrist Superstar is a complete nostalgia trip for me now. I'd be reluctant to call myself a Marilyn Manson fan in 2014. I haven't seen him live since 2003 (when the obsession had faded, but I was still devout enough to go see him in Melbourne), despite the fact that he's played in Adelaide numerous times in the years since. Which is telling. Though, unlike other albums I loved around the same time (Tool's Aenima or Korn's first abum, for example), I still quite like Antichrist Superstar. It's probably still the definitive Marilyn Manson album. Where the quality of the music ends and the nostalgia begins, I honestly do not know. Nor, do I care. Antichrist Superstar will, for better or worse, always have a special place in my heart.
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