''Brutal Planet'' is the fourteenth solo and twenty-first studio album overall by American rock musician

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

, released in 2000. Musically, it sees Cooper tackling a much darker and heavier approach than on previous albums, with many songs approaching a somewhat modern-sounding, industrial/metal sound.

Themes

Lyrically, Brutal Planet deals with themes of dark " social fiction", including

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

("Take It Like a Woman"),

prejudice Prejudice can be an affect (psychology), affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived In-group and out-group, social group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classifi ...

("Blow Me a Kiss"), psychopathic behavior ("It's the Little Things"),

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

("Pick Up the Bones"), depression, suicide ("Sanctuary"),

Neo-Nazism Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

and

school shooting A school shooting is an Gun violence, armed attack at an educational institution, such as a primary school, secondary school, high school or university, involving the use of a firearm. Many school shootings are also categorized as mass shooti ...

s ("Wicked Young Man"). The album was followed by a sequel, titled ''

Dragontown ''Dragontown'' is the fifteenth solo and twenty-second studio album overall by American rock musician Alice Cooper. It was released in 2001 on Spitfire Records. Like ''Brutal Planet'', the album displays a heavier metal style than many of his prev ...

'' (2001).

Reception

Doug Van Pelt, editor of the alternative Christian music-oriented ''

HM Magazine ''HM Magazine'' is a monthly, digital and print on demand publication focusing on hard music and alternative culture of interest to Christians. It is based in Houston, Texas. Originally published as ''Heaven's Metal'', it was renamed to ''HM'' in ...

'', found that the lyrics communicated biblical morals "in a very powerful way". Van Pelt stated further that the final argument is provided in the title track, which condemns the systems of judgment that the world uses. Moreover, "Blow Me a Kiss" urges the listener to think deeper about spiritual matters.

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals * Ryan Roxie – guitars * Phil X – guitars *China – guitars * Eric Singer – drums * Bob Marlette – rhythm guitar, bass, keyboards ;Additional musicians *Sid Riggs – additional programming, sound design *Eva King – strings arrangement *Natalie Delaney – backing vocals (track 1) ;Production *Produced by Bob Marlette *Executive producer –

Bob Ezrin Robert Alan Ezrin (born March 25, 1949) is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, best known for his work with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, Andrea Bocelli and Phish. As of 2010, Ezri ...

*Engineered, mixed and arranged by Bob Marlette *Additional engineering – Dave Reed, German Villacorta *Assistant engineers – German Villacorta, Jaime Sickora *Mastered by Dave Collins *Recorded at the Blue Room, Woodland Hills, CA and the

A&M Studios The Jim Henson Company Lot, formerly A&M Studios, is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, the property served as C ...

, Los Angeles, CA *Mixed, Mastered at the A&M Studios, Los Angeles, CA

Charts

References

{{Authority control Alice Cooper albums 2000 albums 2000s concept albums Albums produced by Bob Marlette Spitfire Records albums