Lately a good chunk of the selections I've been reviewing have been thanks to The Editor. Brutal Planet is no exception. This is Andria's favourite Alice Cooper album, which makes me laugh my ass off, just because of when it was released, and the content compared to other albums.
Alice is one of those artists that many people don't get. Even more people find his early stuff a bit soft sounding. However, Brutal Planet is a very hard and heavy album, and helped introduce a whole new generation to Alice Cooper. This is by far the most Metal album he has ever released, with the exception of Raise Your Fist And Yell. That's also very metal, just a different type.
The album opens with the title track. Which works as the set up to an album that rumbles like thunder underground. The soothing melodies in the pre-chrous are a fantastic counterpoint to the hard edged attack of the chorus, or the rhythmic militant pounding of the verses. This is a great way to set the tone for this album. It starts real hard and just keeps going from there.
Wicked Young Man follows that up. It's a really well done song. The writing is top notch, and the production on this specific track is very fitting to the content. However, I personally don't care for this one. This is one of those tracks that's meant for the angry malitias, and mosh pit enthusiasts, not so much for the old school fans. It's a different type of shock.
Sanctuary reminds me a lot of Nothings Free on Alice's Last Tempation album. It has more of a spoken word delivery in the verses, which cut to the bone for me at times. "I got a radical place / Got my own private space / It's my sanctuary / It's the castle of doom / I'm the king of my room / Just a Quasimodo / Let the world blow away / This is where I will stay / In my sanctuary / Got my mess on the floor / Got my lock on my door". Then it goes into a great catchy verse.
I really like Blow Me A Kiss, but I'm not totally sure what to make of it. It's almost as if Alice was trying to go for a song that could easily be club mixed. This is another song that has lyical content that I find very cutting. "I'm in my room I'm Dr. Doom / 'Cause I'm not me I'm someone else / Why should you die don't ask me why / You know it, you know it, you know it / Blow me away / I turn the page I am the rage / I'm coming from a darker place / A much darker place / So blow me away / Blow me away / Yeah blow me away / Tell me what you're thinkin' tell me why / Blow me a kiss then blow me away / Yeah blow me away / C'mon and blow me away / Tell me what you're thinkin' tell me why / Blow me a kiss then blow me away".
I love that this album has a lot of a Seven Deadly Sins theme in it. The only song that gets right in your face about it is Eat Some More. Musically I find it one of the less inspired songs, but it's a good middle of the album song. If it had been a vinyl release, it would have made a decent first side closer.
Pick Up The Bones is a slower number. Slow and Bluesy, with beautiful subtle lead guitar parts, but not ballady. This song still has some big ass bark, and vicious bite.
I read an article some time in the last few months in which Alice said his albums are so good because he never releases filler songs. I laughed my balls off. Yes, there are many Alice Cooper albums in which I would say that he has no filler tracks. However, this album is not one of those.
I can't stand the song Pessi-mystic. Musically it's stock, lyrically it's total "meh," and it contains the line "I'm pessimystic / I'm so pissed-off-istic". This is one of the biggest filler tracks I've ever heard stink up an Alice album. I love when he does odd and goofy songs like, I See You Over There Ripping The Sawdust From My Teddy Bear, or Can't Sleep Clowns Will Eat Me. Pessi-mystic is not one of those songs.
Gimme was the only song that was technically a single for this album. It had a nifty, if not a bit cliche, video In which Alice plays the most evil of all villians. He creates and releases a boy band. If you don't know this track, I don't think you are missing much. But give it a look on Youtube for the giggle, you may even enjoy the song. My daughter's half ass singing along with this one, as I write this.
One of my favourite tracks on Brutal Planet is It's The Little Things. "You can burn my house / You can cut my hair / You can make me wrestle naked / With a grizzly bear / You can poison my cat / Baby I don't care / But if you talk in the movies / I'll kill you right there / It's the little things / It's just the little things". It's one of those tracks that's a bit cliche, but at the same time it's rockin', groovin' and there's a whole lot of movin'.
It seems that since Welcome to My Nightmare came out in 1975 every Alice Cooper album has had to have a ballad. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part this rule holds up pretty well. This album's ballad is Take It Like A Woman. As far as ballads that rip off the premise of Only Women Bleed, this is a decent one. I kind of like it a bit better than the other track even. However, it could be lef off the album as far as I'm concerned.
My favourite track on this album is the last one. Cold Machines I swear is totally inspired by the Borg on Star Trek. I can't listen to this song without images of First Contact or Voyager flying through my head. "You don't know my name / You don't know my number / You don't know my face at all / We walk right past each other / Every single day / Like cold machines / We're marching on and on and on and on and on / Got your thumb print always with me / Got your barcode memorized / They came here to electroshock me / But can they erase you from my mind? / I don't wanna be / I don't wanna be / Just a memory / I don't wanna be / I don't wanna be / Gone". I think UPN should have snapped up this track to use for promotional purposes. Musically there's nothing overly special about the track. However, it's another song that has great production value.
This is one of those Alice albums with great replay value. There are only two tracks that I find sub par, and only one of those makes me feel the need to hit the skip button. It's not like one of the classic albums with music quality, but it is very solid, and has some interesting lyrical content. Where I find this album loses some real value is in the age that the content is geared for. This album sounds like it was meant much more for an early twentysomething crowd. Where as in the past albums easily appealed to all ages.
I would still suggest this album to anyone looking to check out some real Metal, with an industrial twist, Alice.
7/10 - content
8/10 - production
7/10 - personal bias
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