10 Bands Who Released Genre Defining Second Albums

Marilyn Manson, the band led by the notorious singer of the same name, released their debut album Portrait of an American Family in 1994. They had previously been grafting away, gigging in their native Florida as Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids, before being discovered by Trent Reznor who signed them to his Nothing record label. A tour with Nine Inch Nails and then Korn followed, and Marilyn Manson started to make a serious name for themselves.

They kept the momentum going with the release of Smells Like Children in 1995, a collection of remixes and B-sides that also provided them with a hit single, their cover version of The Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of These). This set them up perfectly for what came next, the second proper studio album which would turn them, and specifically the singer himself, into a worldwide phenomenon. The aptly titled Antichrist Superstar arrived in 1996, and lifted Marilyn Manson to an unprecedented level of commercial success.

Antichrist Superstar took their image into a far darker direction, elevating the shock-rock style of Alice Cooper to the next level, whilst making the singer one of the most recognisable faces in pop culture. With tracks such as The Beautiful People and Tourniquet, Marilyn Manson firmly put their own spin on the industrial rock/metal sound which had been made popular with NIN and Ministry. There were solid songs with darkly artistic music videos to match, combing to make them the true icons of a new generation in goth culture.