By Vinnie Apicella

"Welcome to his Nightmare" once again… Alice is back and never before did "No More Mr. Nice Guy" ever possess such relevance! Well there's no growing old gracefully in this man's plans is there? In fact the opening to this "Brutal Planet" is amongst the heaviest groove I think we've heard from Mr. Cooper-and yes, "brutal" is definitely a stab in the right direction! "It's such a brutal planet, it's such an ugly world…" okay, so what's new here? For starters, everything in terms of this return to serenity that a lot of "The Last Temptation" might have us believe… throw it straight out the window. This is Alice lunging forth… disgustedly addressing the ongoing concerns that seemingly not enough people care to acknowledge-yes, we're spinning out of control in more ways than one. This is the evening news summed up in an hour-long verbal tirade set to tragic consequences designed to explode in the listener's face! So moving right along here… "Sanctuary" as a song is ironic in the fact that there's none to be found on this two-fisted fast paced rocker, full of gripping guitar riffs accentuated by the just the right amount of haunting keyboards then ranging far and wide becoming an ugly unwelcome intruder during the breakout chorus! This is Alice at his most extreme-all his cumulative power's on display in this fresh sounding and juiced new release-new label, new attitude… new era! Continuing to stretch the boundaries of the truth in his uniquely farcical manner of "speaking," there's plenty to think about here-but before we go wandering too far into what shouldn't be looked upon as preaching or socialistic commentary on the far side of boring… relevant issues have never been more colorfully presented or more forcefully executed. Yes, "Hey Stoopid" was one thing… "Brutal Planet" is something else entirely... try destined for doom before the lights are even turned on! Alice's darkside comes out in full black-regardless of how hard his "human" alter ego pushes the button of constraint! "The Last Temptation" was a conceptually conceived work that pointed more towards his classic past, with maybe a handful of contributions from what then were popular figures in rock circles-"Brutal Planet's" got little to do with acknowledging his roots where the music's concerned, it's pointed outward to the future-the sound is nothing less than punishing-think White Zombie… think what Danzig's evolved into… sonic groove, rarefied melody-a disturbing aura on a cold damp night! "Cold Machines," and "Eat Some More," would each make for great singles, if only for their catchiness-true standout qualities in the scarcity of anything remotely harmonious! Words like destruction, horror, chaos, impending doom… don't expect a friendly handshake and smile out of this one! "Take it Like a Woman" is as close as we'll get to the classic Alice style only because it takes form as a ballad-a dark one at that, not pretty, and like all else, if you listen to what he's saying, it's another serious issue taking place everyday without end. Look out for "Pick up the Bones" bringing up the rear for a brief glimpse into Alice's not so good-natured past! Call him wicked, twisted, perverted… even deranged, yes Alice Cooper has been and thankfully for all concerned will continue to be so, but without these qualities, "Brutal Planet" and all of the "little things" that make up this monstrous body of work could never be allowed to exist!

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