Plasticine
Member
Halloween is almost here. It's the time of year where folks watch horror movies and seek out terrifying books. But not all scary monsters and super-creeps can be found on the page or in the cinemas. Some pick up guitars and decide to hit the stage. This thread is about shock rock.
What is Shock Rock?
Shock Rock is an umbrella term for rock music and heavy metal artists who utilize theatricality and provocative visuals to shock audiences and fill concert venues. Their spectacular live presentations often incorporate costumes, masks and make-up while extensively using pyrotechnics, lights and smoke effects. The genre doesn't have a singular cohesive sound, but the lyrical subject matter often concerns horror themes and perverse sexuality. Shock Rock's biggest and most influential performers include:
Alice Cooper
Welcome to my nightmare, I think you're gonna like it, I think you're gonna feel you belong.
There were earlier acts who used horrific theatrics, but none did it as extensively or as elaborately as Alice Cooper. With a career spanning five decades, he's considered to be The Godfather of Shock Rock. His macabre performances have utilized guillotines, dueling sword, electric chairs, fake blood and live boa constrictors. Cooper's signature set-piece involves him being executed in front of his audience, only to re-appear moments later to finish the concert. Cooper has also appeared in several movies, including roles as himself in Wayne's World and Freddy Krueger's abusive father in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare. Alice and his original band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.
Live Performances:
Welcome to My Nightmare, Teenage Frankenstein, No More Mr. Nice Guy,, Brutal Plant, School's Out.
Music Videos:
Poison, "Along Came A Spider" The Movie, I'll Bite Your Face Off
Media:
Alice Cooper on the Muppet Show, Alice Cooper in Wayne's World
KISS
You wanted the best, you got the best. The hottest band in the world...
One of the biggest rock groups of the 1970s, KISS rose to fame thanks to their make-up, stage costumes and live shows that featured blood-spitting, fire-breathing, smoking guitars that shot rockets, levitating drum-kits and truckloads of pyrotechnics. Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss were just four guys from New York. But when they hit the stage, they were the living breathing comic book characters Star Child, The Demon, Spaceman and The Cat. Frehley and Criss left the band, but Stanley and Simmons kept the KISS name alive. They've sold over a 100 million records, and the original line-up was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
Live Performances:
Detroit Rock City and Take Me, God of Thunder, Shock Me, Deuce Love Gun
Music Videos:
I Love it Loud, Rock and Roll All Nite, I Was Made for Lovin' You
Media:
Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park, The Paul Stanley Workout Tape
Marilyn Manson
The crowd begins to grin, but they seem to scream when darkness fills my eyes.
In the 1990s Marilyn Manson scared the shit out of parents. With members who looked like walking nightmares and were named by combining the names of female sex symbols and infamous serial killers, the band was unlike anything else. At a time when a premium was placed on being real, Marilyn Mason was terrifying. During his shows Mr. Manson regularly carved himself up with broken glass, tore pages from the bible and simulated sex to entertain his audiences. Because it was the video age, the band's frightening image was augmented by a series of nightmarish videos that received heavy MTV rotation. While he's long since dissolved his original line-up, Manson continues touring today.
Live Performances:
Antichrist Superstar, Irresponsible Hate Anthem, Cake and Sodomy, Astonishing Panorama of Endtimes.
Music Videos:
Tourniquet, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), The Beautiful People
Media:
Marilyn Mason in Bowling for Columbine, Marilyn Manson debates Bill O'Reilly
Rob Zombie
This is the house, come on in. This is the house, built on sin. This is the house, nobody lives.
Rob Zombie gained notoriety as the front man for White Zombie, before striking out as a solo act. Influenced by horror movies, Alice Cooper and KISS, Zombie's musical sound is a melting pot of Heavy Metal, Industrial edged sounds and B-movie samples. Never concerned with real world themes, Zombie's lyrics are trashy late night horror shows. His raucous live performances feature pyrotechnics, crazy costumes, giant monsters and killer robots. When he's not busy creating B-movies on the stage, Zombie films them. He has directed five feature length movies, one animated feature, several music videos and is currently preparing his sixth feature.
Live Performances:
Superbeast, Dragula, We're an American Band, Live at HellFest 2014 (complete set)
Music Videos:
Demonoid Phenomenon, Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy), Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown
Media:
House of 1000 Corpses trailer, 1998 Rob Zombie MTV Interview
Other notable bands include:
Slipknot
I've felt the hate rise up in me...
Hailing from Des Moines, Iowa, Slipknot gained notoriety on the basis of their attention grabbing-image, ultra aggressive music and chaotic live shows. Their faces hidden by masks, the nine members of Slipknot are given numbers to conceal their identity. Following the death of founding member Paul Grey in 2010, the band went on a two year hiatus. They've recorded a new album which comes out this month.
Live Performances:
Eyeless, Heretic Anthem, Disasterpiece, People = Shit
Music Videos:
The Devil in I, Psychosocial, Before I Forget, My Plague, Duality
Rammstein
Nun, das Warten hat ein Ende. Leiht euer Ohr einer Legende. Rammstein
Formed in 1989 by guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe, these Teutonic titans are renowned for their over-the-top stage shows, which make extensive use of pyrotechnics. Vocalist Till Lindeman, a licensed pyrotechnician, routinely spends whole songs engulfed in flames. Their concerts also feature massive stage set-ups, elaborate lighting and simulated sodomy. Musically the band plays a blend of heavy guitar riffs, Industrial sounds and hard driving beats categorized as Neue Deutsche Harte. They've sold over 35 million records, been arrested for indecency, accused of Nazism and still can't get laid in Germany.
Live Performances:
Rammstein, Links 2, 3, 4, Du Riechst So Gut
Music Videos:
Engel, Sonne, Du Hast
Lordi
Would you love a Monsterman?
Known for their monster costumes and horror themed live shows, Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision awards. Mr. Lordi, a special effects make-up artist, acts as the primary song writer, vocalist and costume designer for the band. Each new album cycle features new and more elaborate costume designs for the entire band. Members of Lordi wish to keep their unmasked faces private.
Live Performances:
Hard Rock Hallelujah, The Deadite Girls Gone Wild, Devil is a Loser,
Music Videos:
Would You Love a Monster Man?, The Riff, Who's Your Daddy?
GWAR
Well there you have it baby, I'm just a sensitive guy.
These blood thirsty demigods were banished to a prehistoric mud ball called earth where they killed all the dinosaurs and took over the planet. Deciding GWAR were enjoying themselves too much, the Master, the ruler of the universe, trapped them in Antarctica until a hole in the ozone layer melted their icy prison and the band was unleashed on an unsuspecting 20th Century. The human incarnation of their leader Oderus Urungus, Dave Brockie, passed away in March 2014. The celestial remains of Oderus Urungus were set ablaze in a Viking funeral.
Live Performances:
Immortal Corruptor, Sick of You, Bring Back the Bomb, Gor Gor
Music Videos:
Have You Seen Me?, Sadam a Go-Go, The Road Behind
So what say you? Who's your favorite Shock Rock artist? Do you have a favorite I didn't included here? Or do you think this whole thing is utterly ridiculous?
What is Shock Rock?
Shock Rock is an umbrella term for rock music and heavy metal artists who utilize theatricality and provocative visuals to shock audiences and fill concert venues. Their spectacular live presentations often incorporate costumes, masks and make-up while extensively using pyrotechnics, lights and smoke effects. The genre doesn't have a singular cohesive sound, but the lyrical subject matter often concerns horror themes and perverse sexuality. Shock Rock's biggest and most influential performers include:
Alice Cooper
Welcome to my nightmare, I think you're gonna like it, I think you're gonna feel you belong.
There were earlier acts who used horrific theatrics, but none did it as extensively or as elaborately as Alice Cooper. With a career spanning five decades, he's considered to be The Godfather of Shock Rock. His macabre performances have utilized guillotines, dueling sword, electric chairs, fake blood and live boa constrictors. Cooper's signature set-piece involves him being executed in front of his audience, only to re-appear moments later to finish the concert. Cooper has also appeared in several movies, including roles as himself in Wayne's World and Freddy Krueger's abusive father in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare. Alice and his original band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.
Live Performances:
Welcome to My Nightmare, Teenage Frankenstein, No More Mr. Nice Guy,, Brutal Plant, School's Out.
Music Videos:
Poison, "Along Came A Spider" The Movie, I'll Bite Your Face Off
Media:
Alice Cooper on the Muppet Show, Alice Cooper in Wayne's World
KISS
You wanted the best, you got the best. The hottest band in the world...
One of the biggest rock groups of the 1970s, KISS rose to fame thanks to their make-up, stage costumes and live shows that featured blood-spitting, fire-breathing, smoking guitars that shot rockets, levitating drum-kits and truckloads of pyrotechnics. Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss were just four guys from New York. But when they hit the stage, they were the living breathing comic book characters Star Child, The Demon, Spaceman and The Cat. Frehley and Criss left the band, but Stanley and Simmons kept the KISS name alive. They've sold over a 100 million records, and the original line-up was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
Live Performances:
Detroit Rock City and Take Me, God of Thunder, Shock Me, Deuce Love Gun
Music Videos:
I Love it Loud, Rock and Roll All Nite, I Was Made for Lovin' You
Media:
Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park, The Paul Stanley Workout Tape
Marilyn Manson
The crowd begins to grin, but they seem to scream when darkness fills my eyes.
In the 1990s Marilyn Manson scared the shit out of parents. With members who looked like walking nightmares and were named by combining the names of female sex symbols and infamous serial killers, the band was unlike anything else. At a time when a premium was placed on being real, Marilyn Mason was terrifying. During his shows Mr. Manson regularly carved himself up with broken glass, tore pages from the bible and simulated sex to entertain his audiences. Because it was the video age, the band's frightening image was augmented by a series of nightmarish videos that received heavy MTV rotation. While he's long since dissolved his original line-up, Manson continues touring today.
Live Performances:
Antichrist Superstar, Irresponsible Hate Anthem, Cake and Sodomy, Astonishing Panorama of Endtimes.
Music Videos:
Tourniquet, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), The Beautiful People
Media:
Marilyn Mason in Bowling for Columbine, Marilyn Manson debates Bill O'Reilly
Rob Zombie
This is the house, come on in. This is the house, built on sin. This is the house, nobody lives.
Rob Zombie gained notoriety as the front man for White Zombie, before striking out as a solo act. Influenced by horror movies, Alice Cooper and KISS, Zombie's musical sound is a melting pot of Heavy Metal, Industrial edged sounds and B-movie samples. Never concerned with real world themes, Zombie's lyrics are trashy late night horror shows. His raucous live performances feature pyrotechnics, crazy costumes, giant monsters and killer robots. When he's not busy creating B-movies on the stage, Zombie films them. He has directed five feature length movies, one animated feature, several music videos and is currently preparing his sixth feature.
Live Performances:
Superbeast, Dragula, We're an American Band, Live at HellFest 2014 (complete set)
Music Videos:
Demonoid Phenomenon, Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy), Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown
Media:
House of 1000 Corpses trailer, 1998 Rob Zombie MTV Interview
Other notable bands include:
Slipknot
I've felt the hate rise up in me...
Hailing from Des Moines, Iowa, Slipknot gained notoriety on the basis of their attention grabbing-image, ultra aggressive music and chaotic live shows. Their faces hidden by masks, the nine members of Slipknot are given numbers to conceal their identity. Following the death of founding member Paul Grey in 2010, the band went on a two year hiatus. They've recorded a new album which comes out this month.
Live Performances:
Eyeless, Heretic Anthem, Disasterpiece, People = Shit
Music Videos:
The Devil in I, Psychosocial, Before I Forget, My Plague, Duality
Rammstein
Nun, das Warten hat ein Ende. Leiht euer Ohr einer Legende. Rammstein
Formed in 1989 by guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe, these Teutonic titans are renowned for their over-the-top stage shows, which make extensive use of pyrotechnics. Vocalist Till Lindeman, a licensed pyrotechnician, routinely spends whole songs engulfed in flames. Their concerts also feature massive stage set-ups, elaborate lighting and simulated sodomy. Musically the band plays a blend of heavy guitar riffs, Industrial sounds and hard driving beats categorized as Neue Deutsche Harte. They've sold over 35 million records, been arrested for indecency, accused of Nazism and still can't get laid in Germany.
Live Performances:
Rammstein, Links 2, 3, 4, Du Riechst So Gut
Music Videos:
Engel, Sonne, Du Hast
Lordi
Would you love a Monsterman?
Known for their monster costumes and horror themed live shows, Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision awards. Mr. Lordi, a special effects make-up artist, acts as the primary song writer, vocalist and costume designer for the band. Each new album cycle features new and more elaborate costume designs for the entire band. Members of Lordi wish to keep their unmasked faces private.
Live Performances:
Hard Rock Hallelujah, The Deadite Girls Gone Wild, Devil is a Loser,
Music Videos:
Would You Love a Monster Man?, The Riff, Who's Your Daddy?
GWAR
Well there you have it baby, I'm just a sensitive guy.
These blood thirsty demigods were banished to a prehistoric mud ball called earth where they killed all the dinosaurs and took over the planet. Deciding GWAR were enjoying themselves too much, the Master, the ruler of the universe, trapped them in Antarctica until a hole in the ozone layer melted their icy prison and the band was unleashed on an unsuspecting 20th Century. The human incarnation of their leader Oderus Urungus, Dave Brockie, passed away in March 2014. The celestial remains of Oderus Urungus were set ablaze in a Viking funeral.
Live Performances:
Immortal Corruptor, Sick of You, Bring Back the Bomb, Gor Gor
Music Videos:
Have You Seen Me?, Sadam a Go-Go, The Road Behind
So what say you? Who's your favorite Shock Rock artist? Do you have a favorite I didn't included here? Or do you think this whole thing is utterly ridiculous?
