The Arcane Chamber of Sin
Miscellaneous Scribblings

Disintegrator Rising: An ascent of ecstasy or emptiness?

Major Contents:

Introduction:
What is Antichrist Superstar about, anyway? Some (such as me) see it as a realization of one person's godlike potential, resulting in the destruction of all the stagnancy that came before... a thing to inspire some of us, surely. Others see Antichrist Superstar as the playing-out of a total apocalypse, the final loss of a hope that should have never been in the first place, the agony of one individual growing until the only possible finale is suicide.

Which is the more valid view? That is a question that depends upon the individual. On what level do you relate to Manson? Is it the glamour or the ugliness? The power of the present or the victimization of the past? If Manson died tomorrow, would you still have the inspiration he gave you, or would you be lost without him? ;)

The following is my attempt to justify my view of ACS as optimistic, an unpopular view as far as I've noticed, but a valid one nonetheless, in my opinion...

Starting from the Ending: In-Depth Interpretation of songs in "Disintegrator Rising"
Most people seem to have similar interpretations of the first two sections of Antichrist Superstar, ie. "The Hierophant" and "The Inauguration of the Worm". It is from the interpretation of "Disintegrator Rising" that most dissent seems to come. For that reason, I will simply start from "Antichrist Superstar" onward.

In "Antichrist Superstar," we behold the emergence of the powerful angel/demon from the formerly wingless worm. The song drips with hatred for the oppressors who once tormented the worm, and calls for them to realize the error of their ways now that they have conjured up their own greatest fear. (ie. REPENT!) This hatred continues throughout "1996," as the Antichrist Superstar speaks out against people's so-called "ideals" by mocking them soundly.

There is one line of 1996 which is highly debatable, and I believe it is from this that a certain amount of disagreement on the overall message of ACS stems. The line is one of the following:

Which of these lines you think you hear will influence your view of the song. For example, "Fuck this nothing's changed" and "I cannot be saved" emphasize the ACS' frustration, his ultimate lack of power over the world at large. "Nineteen ninety-six" speaks of a kind of prophetic power, while "You cannot be saved" suggests that the Antichrist Superstar is anything but powerless where the world is concerned. It just so happens that the line I hear is "Nineteen ninety-six", so I tend toward the prophetic expression of power, rather than the nihilistic chant of rage. On the other hand, I do see "1996" as containing a certain degree of nihilism and self-destruction; at this point, the Antichrist Superstar cannot see beyond destroying the oppressors he so hates and the world they have created. Because he cannot yet create something of his own to replace what he destroys, he experiences a "Minute of Decay"...

"Minute of Decay" seems to place the Antichrist Superstar in the midst of the ruins of all that he's decimated, paralized by the emptiness around and inside him. I agree that this is a rather depressing song. However, one might want to be careful about seeing it as too pessimistic, given that the idea of "death" in Manson's music is often ambiguous. In our still Christian-based society, we have been taught to fear death, seeing as how it is followed by God's judgment and the possibility of hellfire; science and rationalism also teach us to fear death, because it's something that the "god" of reason has not yet fully grasped beyond it seeming to just be the end of everything. In contrast, pagan and Satanic traditions tend to view death as a very great change, possibly fearful but only because it is an unknown, not because it will bring an end to something. Considering his beliefs, I would tend to see Manson as more likely to hold the latter view where death symbolism in his songs is concerned...

The idea of death as change also makes sense when one considers the song that comes after "Minute of Decay": "The Reflecting God". Some people suggest that "The Reflecting God" is about suicide. I personally find this hard to swallow, because the song is such a powerful and forceful one; one would expect something less aggressive and energetic where suicide is concerned.

Another thing that makes it difficult for me to see "The Reflecting God" as totally nihilistic is the content of the verses. Such lines as "I say it is and then it's true" and "I'm wide awake the more I sleep", not to mention the bridge and chorus, reflect strong Satanic beliefs and an awakening to revelation--a revelation of how to be one's own god. Personally, I find this anything but depressing. "My world is unaffected" suggests true mastery of one's own environment. "There is an exit here"--a line most likely to be seen as suicide-related--to me suggests an exit from oppression and the stale past, not an exit from life. (In my mind, the Reflecting God is high on life, now that he's in power, so why would he want to leave it?) "You'll understand when I'm dead" suggests that the world will not catch on to his power until it's too late... another possibility is that his final transformation (another death) will lead to an enlightenment that is absent at present. (This last idea may also be related to "When I'm God, everyone dies".)

The repeated calls to "shoot" may also be related to the line "You'll understand when I'm dead" in that the need to kill the Reflecting God demonstrates the cowardice of the oppressors, and such a demonstration will only further lead to their downfall. In other words, if the oppressors take Manson's advice and "shoot," he may be destroyed, but what he stands for and what he's created--the inspiration for people to be their own gods--will only grow stronger, because the use of force on the part of the oppressors will only demonstrate their cowardice.

A final note on "The Reflecting God": "No salvation, no forgiveness", in my opinion, is a rejection of Christian beliefs and virtues, not a declaration of hopelessness. After all, the Reflecting God has already declared his recipe for godhood; it is there for anyone to try. Many of those who refuse, thinking instead that they are lost, are in fact lost only because they cannot reject the beliefs they've already been indoctrinated in: Christian beliefs. Such people are the ones who are likely to turn against the god, believing that he has taken away their hope. This is why, in my opinion, Manson says "Each thing I show you is a piece of my death" right before "No salvation..."; he knows that what he has to say will anger people and cause them to turn on him, even though his destruction would only add strength to his ideals by showing the weakness in the ideals of his oppressors. Also, seeing death as change here, the line might indicate that each of the god's ideals are based upon his ascension to godhood, ie. his change/death.

Moving onward, "Man That You Fear" is another "depressing" song that I do not necessarily see as "depressing". I interpret "us" in this song to mean those who have realized godhood, including the Antichrist Superstar, and "you" as those who cannot or will not be saved. So "the screen is us and we're TV" indicates that the godlike ones are now mainly in power, while "you poisoned all your children/ to camouflage your scars", "pray your life was just a dream" and similar lines indicate that the once-ruling ideology is in its death throes, having destroyed itself through its own insecurity, cowardice and weakness. The final manifestation of this weakness is in the destruction of the Antichrist Superstar; "I am so tangled in my sins that I cannot escape" is phrased thus for the benefit of the understanding of the captors (who would doubtlessly consider the Antichrist's taking of power a "sin"), while "Pinch the head off/collapse me like a weed/someone had to go this far" indicates that while the Antichrist Superstar's destruction is eminent, something will be accomplished because of it, ie. the final downfall of the oppressors. Furthermore, among the final lines of the song are "The world in my hands there's no one left to hear you scream/no one left for you," which implies anything but failure for our protagonist, at least in my opinion.

ACS as Empty Victory: Beware of Christian Inferiority Complexes
I believe I have dealt quite thoroughly with the interpretation of ACS as a defeat. However, some interpret ACS in the following way: yes, the Antichrist Superstar achieved godhood, but it was godhood over his world only, not the whole world, therefore it is an empty victory. While this view is understandable in a sense, I do not share it, as I will explain.

In the first place, there are a wide variety of lines that suggest that people other than the Antichrist alone are affected by his revelations. eg: "Scar/can you feel my power", "Pray your life was just a dream", etc.; notice that he says "you". So even if the affects of power are mostly personal to the Antichrist Superstar, it is clear that other people are affected to some extent, so it is difficult for me to see the situation as "empty".

Secondly--and more importantly--I tend to think the following: even if the Antichrist's world is the only one affected, why should this make the victory empty? Christianity and some other religions as well have people believing that human beings are unclean, inferior, etc. It may be true to a point, but humans are also capable of some very great things, which the vast majority of religions refuse to allow people to take pride in. If someone can understand themselves and control their own world, even if not perfectly all the time, isn't that still a wonderous achievement for a "mere" mortal? (Especially since it acts as a guiding light for others who might want to do the same?) Too many people have been given inferiority complexes by the Christian and other gods; the Antichrist Superstar surely asks people to break away from this, and to see the victory as empty is, in my humble personal opinion, to miss the message. It may even be a way of pretending to be enlightened by the Antichrist Superstar while still remaining a comfortable follower of past slave religions. It is a position that I have some degree of pity for, but only so much patience...

Expectations of the Anti-Perfect Super-God
As a final note, one can see how ACS may seem more positive or negative, depending upon what one expects from one's god: As a Satanic role-model, Manson is truly inspiring, but anyone who expected a Christian-type God or Saviour is going to be let down by Manson, who is not holding anyone's hand for them.

The Christian God, one doubtlessly knows, is said to be omnipotent, omnipresent, etc. etc. He supposedly created all worlds and rules over all of them. Is it possible that we project our Christian-based expectations of God onto the Antichrist Superstar, and finding him to fall short of them, we reject him as a god in spite of the power that he does have?? (ie. a personal power which, while not "perfect", is inspiring enough to deserve a certain degree of veneration?) I think the view of ACS as an empty victory may stem from, among other things, an inability to break away from Christian ways of thinking about power and divinity. (ie. the Christian God specifically, as opposed to Christianity generally)

Furthermore, I suspect this idea referred to by "I'd love to just give in/I'd love to live this lie" in "Minute of Decay". Giving in to the expectation of a Christian God is a "lie" that the Antichrist would relish, because he laughs at those who abandon the slavery of society only to enslave themselves to him instead. (eg. of such people: the fans who are only into Manson because he's trendy at the moment)

This notion also sheds some light upon two often-repeated lines on the album, both of which may well be directed at the same group of blind people: "When all of your wishes are granted, many of your dreams will be destroyed" and "When you are suffering, know that I have betrayed you." The "all of your wishes..." line might indicate that to those that follow Manson blindly, claiming to hold his ideals, the godhood he attains will seem to be what they wanted, but in fact it will be a letdown. (because it will not be a "perfect", ie. Christian godhood.) As for "when you are suffering...", this seems to suggest that those who expect Manson to save them like Christ, rather than having to do anything for themselves, are going to blame him when they fail to attain the godhood they were seeking from him. Unfortunate, but true, it seems to me...

Conclusion
This concludes this explanation of my view of Disintegrator Rising and Manson's godhood. I freely admit my Satanism-based biases.