5. Marilyn Manson- AntiChrist SUperstar

Faces painted pearly white, different colored contact lenses, long black hair and tatoos on every inch of flesh, the appearance of Marilyn Manson is nothing new. We saw it in Nine Inch Nails. We saw it in Kiss. We saw it in Ozzy Osbourne. But, whats this? There seems to a be a little more creativity.

I have been a fan of NIN since early in the years of Broken and Fixed, for I was around 5 years old when Pretty Hate Machine came out. Well, since then Trent has made his own label, Nothing Records, which has spawned several sucessful industrial rock and dance artists, from Meat Beat Manifesto to Pig. He discovered Marilyn Manson a few years back in Florida, and decided they were just the act to open his shows.

Marilyn Manson is a unique band, I'm sure you've all noticed the millions of recent magazine covers that exhibit the band and/or the lead singer in various screaming, glaring, positions, wearing metal devices on strange body-parts or long, dark gowns. But has anyone actually heard their music?

I listened to Smells Like Children when it first came out, mistaking the title as a Nirvana single I wanted to get. But rather than focusing on teenage-angst, this industrial rock group looks at the darker side of heaven, hell, and their worm-like inhabitants. It's a great album, the sound track to nightmares, suicide, and getting hyped before the up coming end of the world

If there are any flaws that Marilyn Manson has, it is the manipulation of its viewers. It is all to apparent that this is but a simple, though well thought out, act. Though, however contrived this show may be, it benefits young souls looking for new music to paint their faces to, and the artists who make the money off performing these stunts.