More Top Hard Rock CDs of 2000
Holy Wood (In the Valley of the Shadow of Death) – Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson returns with Holy Wood –In the Shadow of the Valley of Death – and it certainly evokes more death-and less glam, than evidenced on his last release, Mechanical Animals. The darkness is unrelenting - this is the soundtrack to the real apocalypse, painting a barren and hopeless landscape. There’s no gleeful single on Holy Wood -c’mon, didn’t you dance around to I Don’t Like The Drugs ?.
Holy Wood is Manson’s version of the Book of Revelation. The Nobodies conjures up images of Columbine (“We are the nobodies…we wannabe somebodies…when we’re dead..they’ll know just who we are”) while Cruci-fiction in Space traces the evolution of disaster “the monkey, the man, and then the gun.”
The tarot card poses on the inner sleeve are good-expect a pack of Marilyn tarot cards at 50 bucks a pack at the concession stand next concert you attend. (I like Marilyn as the high priestess myself)…a prevalent theme that runs through Holy Wood is-media bad! Media very bad! Mentions of JFK, John Lennon, and TV violence abound. Biting the hand that feeds us, heh, Mr. Warner?. The themes grow a bit repetitive-this is a double album (19 tracks.) 2001 meets Armageddon meets the book of Revelation… And is hard to give people nightmares in this post Emenem world, but Mr. Manson always manages to produce a disturbing image as opposed to a gross one, even when you think his bag of tricks is empty. The CD cover (a crucified Marilyn with his jaw missing) of course after being bombarded with this image for 12 months straight, it will lose its power and be just like looking at a Princess Cruise ad. (Nothing Records)
Also, a blast from the past-Alice in Chains Live simply reminds us how good they were. Don’t ask where Layne is now, you may regret it. But damn, I miss those guys…the only hope is another Jerry Cantrell solo album and last I heard this was in jeopardy (i.e. record company troubles) The older cuts are best - Bleed the Freak (from a Seattle show in 1990) and Angry Chair. - (Sony)
Hello My Friends! Do You Read Me? - Tam!
The CD cover photo is of an astronaut floating in space, and the music on Tam!'s "Hello My Friends Do You Read Me?" is similarly spacy. Packed with beat-heavy grooves, you can almost see swirling lights on the dance floor while listening to cuts like "Punctured Brain" and "Aliens". The beat definitely draws you in here, along with layered guitars and a liberal sprinkling of Moog. Singer Tam Treaner retains a bit of the Scottish brogue and it makes for an actual complement to the electronic beat, not an afterthought. This CD is best played loud, in particular "Swallow Me Whole" and the contemplative "Let's Go Get Low." A musical soundscape. Very psychedelic, baby.- Roadrunner Records
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