Article Database

Brutally Frank Cooper Stupor

Alice Cooper
Brutal Planet
Spitfire Records

After hearing master shock-rocker Alice Cooper's new "Brutal Planet," it's clear that Marilyn Manson and others of his ilk are pale by comparison.

On this monument to Goth-metal headbanging fury, Cooper is the devil's cabana boy. He'll definitely be called irresponsible for this ode to destruction, but he makes people listen - and think.

"Brutal Planet," is a conceptual album of 11 songs, each capable of standing on its own. But as a whole, it's a portrait of a civilization dehumanized by chaos and corruption.

This is a record only for those old enough to tell the difference between fact and fiction, satire and philosophy.

"Wicked Young Man" is an outrageous exploration of the rage surging through the brain of a racist, neo- Nazi, skin-headed loner.

As the beat bangs, Cooper delivers horror-show lyrics like the verse: "I got every kind of chemical pumping through my head, I read 'Mein Kampf' daily just to keep my hatred fed, I never ever sleep, I just lay in my bed, dreaming of the day that everyone is dead."

Holy moly!

Cooper is also fascinated by the seven deadly sins; greed and gluttony are the subjects of "Gimme" and "Eat Some More."

"Brutal Planet" is a thought-provoking collection whose horrid predictions will remain, hopefully, merely in the realm of fiction.