Five great albums by bands that went bad
By Lee Vowell
Rock and roll is great, but the genre has a dark side. This is almost intentional. Rock was born to react to the mainstream.
This does not mean that every rock band ever is full of people who are not good human beings. Most of them are probably good blokes who one can have a sip of tea with. Good conversation, too.
But some musical acts love to live the rock and roll lifestyle. Make loud music and live to agitate. That is great if someone is trying to take down a bad dictator. Likely not so good if one is trying to get along with most fellow humans.
Five bands who made great albums but might not have been great people
Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar (1996)
It is easy to forget that Marilyn Manson is more than just one person, but the name of a band. Still, the only true member of the group might be Brian Warner who also goes by the name of Marilyn Manson. Warner has been accused of assault multiple times. He has not been found guilty, though he has settled at least one case out of court by agreeing to pay a monetary sum.
While Manson may not be (or he may be, as he has not been found guilty by a jury, though...) the greatest person walking the face of the earth, he and his band did churn out the classic industrial album, Antichrist Superstar. Helped along by Trent Reznor, who was a producer on the record, the album is sequentially perfect. The record was meant to be a concept album, but the songs are strong enough to stand on their own - concept or no concept.
"1996" might be the best adrenaline rush ever created. "Irresponsible Hate Anthem" might set up the rest of the LP as well as any opening song ever. "The Beautiful People" sounds as eerie now as it did when the album was released. This is an album barely holding on for life and loving every moment of it.