10 Greatest Hard Rock Concept Albums
5. Antichrist Superstar - Marilyn Manson
After Nine Inch Nails helped set the world on fire in the early 90's, the industrial boom was officially underway. It seemed that everyone not affiliated with grunge had little traces of electronica to create their ominous sound. However, Trent Reznor's sonic chaos had some company in Marilyn Manson.
Granted, it's easy to see Manson as more of a caricature of industrial music thanks to his antics, but his second release Antichrist Superstar was no laughing matter. Spanning over an hour, this entire record shows one man's journey from a worm to becoming the embodiment of everything humanity reviles. It sounds absolutely dreadful on paper, but this album ended up becoming one of the biggest successes of 90's rock, with "The Beautiful People" becoming a clarion call for all the outsider kids of a generation.
On the other hand, the album gets a lot more cerebral once you delve a bit deeper, with songs like "Irresponsible Hate Anthem" feeling like a sonic buzzsaw and the title track being the mission statement for the man's quest to conquer the planet. Not only did this give Manson a congregation, but also gave him his fair share of enemies, with the PMRC wanting to shut him down left and right. For as many people thrilled by this album, it ended up becoming one of the controversial concepts in hard rock...a title which Manson himself probably would wear with pride.