CDs that have cool cover art rarely suck. So when I opened up my Rackets and Drapes CD and saw the tall, thin garishly-dressed green man with an evil smile beckoning me into a candy house, I knew I had a winner.
Rackets and Drapes is the newest sensation, being called the "Christian Marilyn Manson." Rackets and Drapes, while having a lot of the elements that Marilyn Manson has, is not a clone. While having many similarities, such as the outrageous dress code and spooky atmosphere, Rackets & Drapes has a more industrial sound and a heavier reliance on samples in introducing their songs. Rackets & Drapes' sound can best be called a mixture of goth/shock/metal-industrial rock. After the beginning samples or electronic noises, the songs basically consist of the singer switching between a goth-like whisper and a metal scream. The guitars are very clean and technical, a lot like you would find on most modern industrial albums.
Lyrically, Rackets & Drapes is a very issue and topic-driven band, with song topics ranging from abortion to the danger of children talking to strangers to child abuse to hypocrites in the church. I really liked the lyrics to the album's opening track, "BaBy KiLLeR"
playing God with the innocent lives
you decide who will live And who will die
it homicide baby killer murder in the first degree
you have legalized you pretend not to hear
the children cries its genocide baby killer.
Some of my favorites include "BrIdE iN bLaCk," which has a nice and slow eerie beat, "BaLL aNd ChAiN" for its Marilyn Manson-type riff, and my favorite song, "BuRning yOuR wItChEs," which had me chanting "burn your witches burn them all, ding dong the witch is dead!" before the song was even over!
Rackets & Drapes has something good going here, with solid lyrics and songs, catchy beats, and some killer artwork. With some more time and better production, Rackets and Drapes could go from a good band to a great one.
3.5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #73Reviewed by Chad Olson"These guys are like a Christian Marilyn Manson," I would say to passers-by at Creation Fest. Heads would turn, eyes would widen, and I was ostracized. Manson is a taboo name in the Christian industry. But, these guys have the inevitable pleasure of wearing this tag. The Christian music scene has needed something like this for several years. This 11-song disc, Candyland, is full of heavy riffs,…Similar sounding releases
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