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An Analysis of Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar

Contents:
Cycles and the Artwork
An Overview
The Heirophant
Inauguration of the Worm
Disintegrator Rising

First, some opening notes:

Some of what I say may not follow obviously from the lyrics alone, because my general background knowledge about MM, religion, the occult and whatever influences my interpretation. However, I've tried to explain when this happens in a major way. I no longer have lyrics on my own site though because I figure you ought to be able to find them in about 30 seconds if you have any skill with search engines at all. :P
One important point: When I talk below about things being Satanic, I am refering to the context of Anton LaVey's Church of Satan/Satanic Bible. For those of you who don't know, that has nothing to do with "I-molest-children-and-kill-goats-because-I-can"-bullshit.
Also important: This is not an attempt at exegesis, that is, I am not trying to explain to you what MM intended to say with ACS. When I refer to the "I" character on the album as either the protagonist or the ACS, rather than as MM, it is for this reason.
I use ACS to refer both to the album as a whole and to the character. (Look to context.)

With that out of the way, we can continue...

Cycles and the Artwork

I'll begin with the cyclical nature of ACS. It seems to me that the first four songs establish the state of society causing the time to be ripe for the ACS' coming. (Heirophant, in most tarot decks I know of, is related to tradition, conformity, and solemn commitment.) The next seven are about the development of the ACS, through the transformation of the Worm. In the last five, we have the unleashing of the ACS' power and the death of the world as we know it...happy stuff. :) (actually, that's what I'd like to argue.)

If we pair off all of the songs, we find that one of each pair can be classed roughly as "undergoing" and one as "overcoming". (I think this is linked to Nietzsche)

Undergoing: 1,4,6,8,9,11,14,16
Overcoming: 2,3,5,7,10,12,13,15

Cycles also seem related to some of the artwork on the CD, including the gif below. (Which I drew pretty well, if I do say so myself.)

The heart is the unharnessed power at the centre of one's true self, which the mind can either assist or inhibit. Inhibition breeds complacency, the counter-reaction to which is malice. Another way to take this diagram is as follows: a religion or revolution begins with true believers, spreads as an intellectual system, breeds complacent conformity when it comes to dominate society, and dies once it's attacked by enough people who disbelieve it. (Sadly, it's probably just as true of Satanism as any other religion, if things ever got to that point.) Obviously, I'm generalizing, but I think such things do tend to follow this rough pattern, in general. (The idea of ages, as put across by Yeats, Crowley, LaVey and others seems to be reflected in this.) Possibly the small circle locates the ACS godhood as a point between malice and heart, nihilism and redemption.

Other notes on CD artwork:

Ironically, one can find a link to Christianity in the outside cover. The front features an undead-looking worm-like MM, while on the back we find the young, virile-looking (??) Antichrist Superstar... perhaps risen three days after the death of his old self?
The inside front cover bears a strong resemblance to the Temperance card in the Tarot (control, power in contrasts): note that the fallen angel has one hand raised toward the bright light out the window and the other hand lowered toward what appears to be a toilet, thereby blasphemously linking the spiritual and carnal worlds.
The back cover, with Twiggy and Pogo linked to Marilyn's catheter, resembles the Devil card (temptation, folly). This contrasts with Temperance to create the ambiguity we expect and love from MM. :)
The Roman numerals on the back of the outer CD case are 9, 6, 3 and 7. It has been suggested that these correlate with both the Qabalah and the Tarot, suggesting various stages of initiation, balancing and contrasting good and evil (and other opposites), and other mysteries of the universe. (More detail on this if/when I get my copy of Crowley's 777 back.) On a less serious note, 9x6x3x7=1134, which upside-down on a calculator, reads "hEll". ;)

An Overview

The overall point of ACS, in my estimation, is that a truly authentic existence (I don't want to say spiritual, although one could take it this way) is found only through becoming one's own god, admitting in the process that impurity, change and ambiguity (one could say, sin/disruption) are inevitable. It is because people normally do not admit these (very upsetting) things that they turn to ideologies/addictions, oppress others and close their minds in order to protect themselves. While the ACS' transformation is not an easy or, in many ways, pleasant one, I believe it is ultimately, dare I say it, redemptive. This is a much more optimistic view of this album than most MM fans have, as far as I know.

The Heirophant

Irresponsible Hate Anthem:

This song is dominated with desperate, vengeful, wounded-animal-style hatred. Portrayed is a character bent on the destruction of others ("sell you suicide", "abortions"), one who does not see himself as responsible for his own actions ("hey victim, you were the one who put the stick in my hand.") However, the hatred is impersonal, directed at the general workings of a system rather than personal betrayals the protagonist has faced.
Cynicism about religion ("Let your God sort them out") and America ("All-American") are evident.
"The animal who will not be himself" reflects Satanic ideas about humans as just animals in denial. (The parallel line about "the idiot..." may be similar, although it reminds me more of Church of the Subgenius)
It's abundantly obvious that "nigger", as appears in this song, is not levelled at black people as a race, but rather is used to refer to any group that serves as a despised scapegoat and a target of someone's hate. (That is, it happens to all of us at some time.)
Society's disapproval of honest hatred is made evident ("I'd better...not say this"). Preliminary suggestion of the self-deceit that will be ranted against for much of the album.
The "Fuck it" chorus and refusal to choose a side indicate nihilistic apathy, although the latter may be a preview of the ACS' promotion of ambiguity.

The Beautiful People:

General consensus is that this song is about "fashion-fascism", and how what people consider beautiful is only what is popular.
Continuation of themes of IHA, but here the hatred is more of an assertion of indepedence and superiority (whole first verse).
"It's all relative to the size of your steeple". What's popular in religion, fashion, etc. has more to do with who has the most money, makes the most noise and behaves most fanatically than with actual quality, yet people persist in talking about what's "right". Another example of self-deceit.
Who the "Beautiful People" actually are is somewhat ambiguous; it may refer to Manson fans, or it may refer to those who are actually popular, in which case "beautiful", coming from Manson, would have to be sarcastic. Generally it is taken to be perjorative; if directed at MM fans, the suggestion is that being ruled by "anti-fashion" is as bad as being ruled by fashion. (If you cheered when MM said "how does it feel to be one of the beautiful people?" at a concert, you can kick yourself now. :)
"the host": probably refers to the Host of the Catholic church; holy items in general. "it's hard to pick which one they eat the most": anything on a pedestal is untrustworthy. Preliminary suggestion of the inevitability of disruption.
"It's anatomic..." Big loud ideologies are like big loud cars: a poor substitute for lack of endowment.
"Capitalism...Old fashioned fascism..." Reflects the idea that ideology is really based on profit in our society, and thus morality is a function of economic convenience. (Noam Chomsky, I think, espouses ideas related to this.)

Dried up, Tied and Dead to the World:

This song further details the protagonist's view of what's wrong with the world around him. It should be noted that his hatred is becoming more directed; he is thinking about what he hates and how to change it instead of simply lashing out.
Manson notes in his autobiography that this song takes place in the present, within the maelstrom of addiction that surrounded him at the time. Certainly addiction is a prominent theme of this song, whether to money ("trade them in for dollar bills"), beauty ("cake on some more makeup"), or something else. "Don't you want/need some of this?" thus is equivalent to William Burroughs' "Wouldn't you?", both being the irresistable questions that addiction poses.
Verse 2 reflects the blindness, unadmitted hypocrisy and one-sidedness of the self-deluded, ie. most people in society.
"I'll be your lover/forever/tomorrow" are the empty promises made by the people around the protagonist, reflecting the self-delusion of their lives. But at the same time, the protagonist is exploring the claims, wondering if the secrets to greater authenticity are to be found there, perhaps if he turns them to his own use.
In the third verse, the self-deluded are presented as a defiling force. The reference to fruit and spitting out seeds reminds me of the Greek myth of Persephone, who had to remain in the underworld after she ate some of the seeds of the fruit there. Perhaps the protagonist is wondering: if society can delude people and get them addicted, can I do the same? Can I have control too? (Does hatred come from helplessness?)
The final line (=the title, roughly) further emphasizes the problems of self-delusion: helplessness to real threats, deadness of the self, and lack of awareness of authentic existence. (These all might be thought of as spiritual problems.)

Tourniquet:

This has long been a very difficult song for me to interpret. MM has spoken of a dream he had, in which he ritually assembled and animated a female companion for himself, using prosthetic parts, his own hair and his baby teeth. This seems to be the basis of the song's imagery...
"I wrapped our love in all this foil... I never wanted it to ever spoil/but flies will lay their eggs": Suggests the inevitability of disruption. This may bring home to the protagonist the difficult transformation he is about to go through: while he rejects society, he seems to fear this change/decay/instability, at least at this time.
the chorus: possibly the protagonist is seeing his own hatred reflected back at him, and perhaps not liking what he sees (undirected, useless, etc.). "...never ever believed in me/I am your tourniquet" may reflect a failed attempt at having control (that such an attempt would be made was hinted at in the last song.)
"But I wanted/needed what I got for me": although he is miserable here, this event is a catalyst for the birth of the ACS.
Second verse: imagery here is of attempted purity (butterfly = symbol of the soul, plus innocence, virginity, prevention of pain, etc. are mentioned. One notices as well that a tourniquet is something to stop bleeding, and young girls do not menstruate). This suggests that the protagonist is trying to control his creation the way he thinks society controls him, but he is failing, mainly because the system is more subtle than he can see at this point. Although this doubtlessly frustrates him, it perhaps plants the idea that he also has the forces of disruption ultimately on his side against normalcy.
Filled as it is with startling lessons for the protagonist, it is no wonder that "this is my most vulnerable moment."

The Inauguration of the Worm

Little Horn:

Here we have the birth of the primordial ACS, his declaration of war, and prophecies of the destruction that such a person will wreak, when mature. Little Horn, while also sounding like a cute pet name for Satan's son, is an allusion to the biblical Book of Daniel, in which the Little Horn is a symbol of the Antichrist. ("he shall be different from the former ones... He shall speak words against the Most High... and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand..." - Daniel 7:24-25. Little Horn originally refered to Antiochus Epiphanes, who persecuted the Jews in Old Testament times.)
The more obscure lyrics at the beginning again have a basis in MM's dreams, in which he was hosting/performing in some perverted sideshow in a post-Apocalyptic world; part of this show included naked female dancers in cages, whose mouths had been wired shut so that they wouldn't bite off a certain important part of the men masturbating around them. The idea here is that the protagonist is awakening to prophecy through his dreams, seeking to destroy that which he hates. ("tumour...burn it out...")
"World spreads its legs for another star/world shows its face for another scar": implies the inevitability of defilement; an application of the lessons of "Tourniquet". Disruption defiling normalcy.
"Your blind have now become my deaf": the "your", in my opinion, refers to the Christian God, in that being blinded by God's light results in a refusal to hear the protagonist's message, and/or realize the danger he poses. The Christian God is here a representative of the system of normalcy.
"Everyone will suffer now/You can't save yourself": More IHA-style desires for destruction. While expressive of the Little Horn's wishes, this will come to little because he does not yet understand the nature of his enemy, as mentioned above...

Cryptorchid:

Unfortunately, Little Horn (who is basically the Boy) is consumed by the Worm, because he is not yet mature enough to stand against the guilt-based need to conform that society exerts upon him. (I would suggest that prior to this, that which the protagonist hates in society is something he sees more than he experiences, whereas now that he is trying to fight back, rather than just complaining, things are becoming much more personal and concrete, rather than impersonal and abstract.) Normalcy does not compel, as the protagonist tried to do to his companion in "Tourniquet"; rather, it uses one's own emotions against one.
The title, "Cryptorchid", implies the attempted repression/killing of self-indulgence/pleasure, in that orchids are symbolically associated with sexuality (Look at one and you'll know why) while crypts are where the dead are laid to rest. Self-indulgence, from sexuality to freedom of thought, is an important part of our protagonist's concerns, since it is one of the many things about which the system is dishonest (you-can-want-it-but-you-can't-have-it), whereas the protagonist is upfront.
One notices that upsetting others ("make my mother cry") and "look(ing) outside"--violating norms, in other words--are what seemingly cause horrible things to happen (angels/mother dies, deformity, etc.), bringing forth guilt and the mutation of the Boy (Satanism's "natural magicians" are children on account of their not being limited by "normal" ways of thinking) into the Worm (a lowly creature seen as no candidate for godhood). However, this guilt and torment are taken as good rather than bad things by normal people, hence "when the Worm consumes the Boy it's never ever considered rape" even though that's what it is. I think "I wish I had my balls" refers to the Worm's desire to be the perpretrator instead of the victim.
Seven, being the final number of 9637, and associated with spiritual completeness (7 trumpets, seals, etc. in Revelation, among other things), the difficulty in learning/reaching seven that the worm has probably refers to the negative effect of social pressure on his attempts to become his own god.
I speculate whether the mother in this song might be the "motherland", America.
The chant at the end appears to indicate that despite the repression, the Worm still dreams of greater things and retains a basic understanding of his significance and goal. Bitter things for everyone else are likely to be better things for him. References to blood and the fall of darkness have been connected to vampirism by some, but I prefer to see prophetic ritualism here: when pain (the finger wound), darkness (eclipse) and spiritual immediacy (the angel) are realized, the Antichrist will be at hand.

Deformography:

The protagonist attempts to act on his visions at the end of Cryptorchid, gathering followers and presenting himself as a star, a sort of god, putting the opinions that oppress him on one side, or trying to. (Being an entertainer rather than a dictator, he wields influence in a manner more equal to the system's propaganda, hence he can have followers in this form.) While he is able to realize personal power to an extent, this goal is still distant because his power at this point is only partly based in the independence he prizes.
First verse: more realizations of the power of disruption; while the protagonist is himself suffering as he tries to overcome the system's scorn, he realizes that he is partially achieving results simply by forcing a response. To "fall" here seems to mean "submit to"; having submitted to society and begun slowly to eat away at it, he ironically warns his enemies (and followers) not to submit too easily to him.
"Lift you up... tear you down... bury": demonstrates power that he is learning to have over his followers and their ideas.
"Deformed in your porn": that which people get off on is a twisted version of themselves; a prelude to sentiments which will be stated more strongly in "Kinderfeld". Another component of the self-deceit inherent in normalcy.
"dirty rockstar": reflects both how new followers and opponents view him. Illustrates power, but also a dependence of this power upon others.
"You eat up my heart...": disillusionment, perhaps based upon the realization that his power is only contingent. Movement away from the "heart" stage.
"Your star is so sharp": I'm not sure whether this refers to the protagonist, or to the "gods" already in place. Either ingrained ideologies or that which the protagonist is becoming (or both) cause him injury. (Foreshadows "Mister Superstar"). In retaliation, he makes himself sick; the strong will understand, and the weak will become disillusioned with everything ("If I can't have you then no one will").
About the two "unreal" lines: "Unreal" partially indicates excitement, but also an uncertainty, demonstrating that the protagonist is not yet ready for his full power. Others want to see him as a god, and he wants to see himself as a god through them, his followers. However, in doing this he is still dependent upon the people around him for power, because without their backup he is uncertain of himself.

Wormboy:

Our protagonist continues to utilize the power he gains from his followers, in the process discovering the falsity of many distinctions made in the normal world. But at the same time, he is anxious about losing himself in the idolatry (and protests) of others, denying himself in order to maintain the power they give him. He is between subservience and power, hence wormboy.
Much of this song revolves around the falsity and uselessness of extremes: both total love and total hate are useless, and heaven and hell are just different perceptions of the present world.
"slipping away... everything they said I was": expressions of self-doubt, fear of idolatry ruining his chances at true power over his enemies. (ie. freedom/idependence) Even though the system is itself idolic, the labelling of entities such as the protagonist as idols allows the system to maintain control, insisting that such entities have no real power. (notice that idolatry is a major sin in most religions). He fears that this may indeed be the case with him.
"don't pick the scabs..." A call to stop dwelling on the past; may be directed at himself and/or others. Anticipation of transformation.
"the world shudders..." and the "when I got my wings" chant: hope for power and true independence, although distant and uncertain-sounding here. Another prophetic phrase to be repeated later.

Mister Superstar:

I don't have much to say about this song because I think it's mostly quite straightforward: here the protagonist suffers through the problems of idolatry that he'd been expecting for the last two songs. These problems are ironic in that he aims at an increase of independent thought in himself and among his followers, who should be disciples. (hence "I never wanted this".)
"Will you kill yourself on TV/I wish I was dead": despair at the failure of his project thus far, also an illustration of the pathological nature of mindless idolatry as it feeds upon the protagonist.
The growing fan noise at the end of this song, resolving into the sudden simple guitar of "Angel With the Scabbed Wings", illustrates the clarity of purpose that the protagonist arrives at in that song.

Angel With the Scabbed Wings:

Realizing that it is not enough to gain followers and have them decide what you are, the protagonist now sets out to define what he is on his own terms; to write his own mythology about himself and his power. (hence this song being in third person).
The imagery presents us with a fallen angel (hence the scabs), self-indulgent, vain, a force in opposition to innocence ("the freshest crop"; ignorance) and the reproduction of such ("dry up all the wombs"). This is someone beyond normal boundaries: "he does what he please".
Normal people want to deny that such a creature as this can exist because it conflicts with their comfortable world views: "You'll never wanna see what you're never gonna be now." Those who do want to see--the introspective and intelligent, hence "looking-glass"--will be able to see with difficulty, as if through a keyhole, but see nonetheless. "You don't want to see him/You only wanna be him" illustrates the self-deceit and denial of normal people when faced with their own "sinful" (disruptive) desires.
"Mommy's got a scarecrow..." Again, I wonder if the mother here might be America. The corn is possibly youth, or future expectations in general, with which the angel intends to interfere ("Man can't always reap what he sow")
"He is the..." These four lines demonstrate the ambiguity central to the angel's myth. Vaguely reminiscent of trickster mythology.
"Get back..." Demonstrates the workings of the angel's power; he represents that which many truly desire, openly displaying what they deny, which makes him irresistable.

Kinderfeld:

Of all the songs on the album, "Kinderfeld" probably most literally refers to MM's freaky personal history. When he was thirteen: "...I'd spy on my grandfather, who used to hang down in the basement with his train set running to mask his clandestine self-abuse. He had an extensive collection of deviant pornography down there...at the height of my fascination with him I broke into his house in the middle of the night, sneaked downstairs, and broke into this one locked drawer. I found really disturbing things there...I have a long-standing fantasy to be (my grandfather), and for those around me to be the innocent that I used to be." (From "Details" magazine, December 1996). MM's grandfather, Jack, seems to appear in this song as an incarnation of deviance--more proof that disruption is inevitable--who inaugurates the Worm into his role as the Antichrist Superstar.
First verse: Jack comes across almost as some kind of reverse guardian angel. Description of his hands demonstrates baseness.
The Worm's lines: asking his anti-angel for guidance. What is beautiful and free to a creature seeking power and independence? Getting away with what one wants, which is what Jack does, being just a grandpa to the unknowing. This then is how it is that the worm gets his wings, realizing the final thing he must do to have power and independence: infiltrate the mainstream, by cloaking "evil" in acceptability so that society's denial allows it to be swallowed. (The entertainer/trickster persona makes this possible; disruption can be displayed openly such that the casually stupid can say "oh, he's just kidding" while at the same time being titilated and stimulated.)
Second verse: MM refers in his autobiography to having to kneel on broomsticks as a punishment. Submitting to punishment, emphasized by kneeling, is here a ruse, a mock-penitence to satisfy the normal.
A Voice We Have Not Yet Heard: is surely the ACS. He affirms that the prophesied darkness has come, and that the lies of the self-deluded have indeed made him "the strongest weed." (and perhaps the most devious too)
Through Jack's Eyes: This verse is difficult for me to understand, but it provides a vague impression of Jack both understanding and fearing what his protege is about to become. "The age is showing" and this is the last of the Boy, as this persona disintegrates to make way for the mature god.
The Disintegrator (to himself): Reflected here is both the new ACS' anxieties and those which deluded society should have, for the new threat of the ACS will come from within: "This is what you should fear/You are what you should fear."

Disintegrator Rising

Antichrist Superstar:

Here is the glorification of this newly transformed creature, spawned by the secret desires that society refuses to admit it has. He is basically laughing because he has realized that society's own foolishness--the refusal to admit that disruption is inevitable--is what has allowed him to succeed.
First verse: The ACS is "built up" from the dark desires of normal people, and so there is no need for him to sell them on him. Because normal people are obedient to the system, which he now appears to be part of, he begins to assume control.
The call for repentance is an espousal of the ACS' philosophy; a call to repent of what he sees as sins--self-deceit, stupidity, and so forth. However, it is also an ironic use of the terminology of his enemies. "I shed the skin to feed the fake" illustrates how the ACS tricks the self-deluded masses into taking in disruption. "Whose mistake am I anyway?" is a response to any complaining about this.
"You cut the head off..." the ACS is undefeatable by the system's propaganda because he now understands how to act with impunity by turning his evil (actually a good) into something popular. Hence "now you'll see your star."
"Prick your finger..." With the ACS' full potential ready to be unleashed, we see the fulfilment of the prophecy first encountered at the end of "Cryptorchid".
"The time has come..." This is very ironic; because he is now mainstream, the ACS can confuse the masses by pointing his finger, but in fact "the Antichrist" is ALREADY here, in him.
"When you are suffering, know that I have betrayed you." A mocking shot at weak followers who will blame their own failings on the ACS; when you are suffering, know that you have betrayed yourself!

1996:

I don't have a lot to say about this song either, because it's fairly straightforward in being a parody of modern protests, and possibly of itself. Here the ACS takes massive advantage of his newly found faculty of free speech, bashing everything he can possibly bash about society, only to find that he annihilates himself and anything worth caring about in the process.
For a little more on this song, go to my Disintegrator Rising essay.

Minute of Decay:

The ACS becomes disoriented and depressed, losing his sense of purpose when he finds he has annihilated all the idols that came before him; it seems as if nothing is enduring in the world, which is what one would expect given what the ACS represents. The terrors from "Tourniquet" return. Nonetheless, the ACS' brief despair ("minute") is understandable, for the burden he must now take on--truly becoming his own god--is a great one.
First verse: expresses the emptiness that now opens to the ACS, in the absence of anything left to love or hate. "I'm on my way down now": a fall from grace, and hence from any past sense of paradise. "I'd like to take you with me" is partly nihilistic, but also I think partly a necessary and ultimately beneficial step for the ACS' disciples.
"The minute that it's born/It begins to die": hard facts about the ACS' world (and the Satanic one) that need to be accepted. Note that death may be equated with harsh change, and so need not have totally negative connotations. Realization of what the claim that nothing is pure/eternal really means, how daunting this really is.
"I'd like to just give in/I'd love to live this lie": The ACS is having difficulty at this point coming to terms with the fact that in the absence of anything, he can basically create reality; he worries, reasonably, about deluding himself, and that perhaps nothing is worthwhile.
Second verse: recaps his recent nihilistic activities in "1996". Having destroyed everything, he can no longer blame any failings of his on others; this is part of the pressure of godhood.
"I looked ahead..." Naturally, after having done what he has done, all normality and stability is dead by the ACS' hand, his own stability included. Understandably, he is somewhat terrified, because he is still dealing with the new world he has inadvertently created for himself.

The Reflecting God:

Now the ACS regains his composure and realizes that if he can destroy, he can also create. Thus his godhood is made complete, and he dares normalcy to try to end his world by putting an end to him, for to do so would only prove further that the system is merely an insecure set of attempted (failed) perfections.
"Your world is an ashtray..." If one is determined to be unhappy, one will be; realizing this, the ACS has recovered from his minute of decay.
"The nature of the leaches..." Various expressions of the shallowness and ignorance of the masses, although some want more and so can be reached by the ACS. ("the virgin's feeling cheated"; this could also refer to the Virgin Mary, in which case we are here seeing Christianity cheated out of followers.)
"My world is unaffected..." The ACS finds he can choose what matters to him and what his truth is. No longer deluded into slavery, he is free from his past ("there is an exit here.") His prophetic dreams turned out to be true, as opposed to the false spiritual "truths" of normal society, the "dream inside a dream". "You'll understand when I'm dead": Independent thought will be understood when the ACS is dead as an idol.
Chorus: In true Satanic fashion, he realizes that he is his own god, he is not ruled by false dichotomies (heaven and hell), and it is within his grasp, by virtue of his being a role-model, to lead the strong to self-realization (change) and the weak to destruction (death); "everyone dies." (ie. is disrupted). This is his power and his basis for daring anyone to try to end it.
Second verse: "Cut away our smiles", as in cut away self-deceit by means of the ACS. "Without the threat of death..." affirms the ultimate value of what the ACS went through in his minute of decay; disruption is inevitable, and so denying it only hinders one's quest for the authentic life, the "reason to live".
"No salvation, no forgiveness" ie. as traditionally defined. This is somewhat ironic, because through transforming as he has, the ACS may be said to have found his own salvation, "beyond all experience".

Man That You Fear:

The reversal is now complete, with the ACS and others like him in power. This song is bittersweet; the ACS has triumph, but those who don't understand, in a final demonstration of their own ultimate weakness, will see him martyred. Nonetheless, he has achieved what he set out to; "it is better to die on your feet than live on your knees." (e-mail me if you can source this quote).
First verse: recap of the ACS' victory. Disruption is evident in the imagery, including its destructive effects upon past ideals ("all your infants in abortion cribs"). "Everything turns to shit": while the ACS may be somewhat bitter about attempts to destroy him, I think this line is directed more at the masses, who see it as a result of the ACS' bringing of decay.
"Pray until your number..." Until the millenial date, I assume. Regardless of what the normal do to the ACS, they have already been doomed by him, as outlined by the rest of this verse. ("You can kill yourself now...")
"Peel off all those eyes..." Those who stared at the ACS and condemned him have "poisoned" their children by denying them critical thought, the lack of which faculty is fatal in the ACS' new world. "to camouflage your scars": these people act because they still cannot handle the loss of their comfortable delusions.
"Pray unto the splinters..." The splinters of what's left of former ideologies. "your fear": may be a mocking call to ask the ACS for help! The rest of this portion reflects the hellish situation of the weak.
"I am so tangled in my sins that I cannot escape...Pinch the head off..." The ACS' destruction by those who refuse to accept him. However, by destroying him, they only demonstrate their own weakness further and thereby defeat themselves.
"The world in my hands..." Even though he's a martyr, he did "win". :)
"When all of your wishes are granted, many of your dreams will be destroyed." True for the ACS in that his own salvation (and presumably that of his disciples, others who realize they are their own gods) leads to his demise. Also true for the masses, in that having all of their temptations handed to them by the ACS has destroyed the dream of a simple, coherent world picture.

Track 99:

The ACS' final speech. Foremost is the emphasis on the individual's responsibility to save themselves; the ACS can provide inspiration, but is not taking anyone by the hand. Repetition of "When you are suffering..." is important here.
"Go ahead and build a better Messiah..." The ACS is still taking all comers as far as ideologies go.
"God will grovel at my feet..." Wonderful Satanic image. :)
The ambiguity of death (ie. disruption; extreme change) puts an interesting twist on "these are the dying years".