Marilyn Manson deel 2

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Before Marilyn Manson (the band) developed into one hell on an explosive unit and Marilyn Manson (the man) became the target for every parent, religious, and censor board in North America, he and the band were a group of cartoon lovin' metalheads toiling around in southern Florida; setting lunchboxes on fire, having butcher scrap filled piñatas on stage, and playing weirdo electronic goth/metal sludge with songs about suicidal snowmen, dune buggies and choklit factories. They were also known as Marilyn Manson & The Spooky Kids.

After guitarist and co-founding member Daisy Berkowitz (aka Scott Putesky) was unceremoniously fired during the recording of the band's breakthrough, landmark sophomore album Antichrist Superstar, we all thought that was the last we'd hear from the guy. I guess he just couldn't shake the spookiness, or, more accurately, the opportunity to make some cash.

Putesky has remastered and released 10 old Marilyn Manson & The Spooky Kids songs from some of their old demos (that have been circulating amongst bootleg collectors and die hard fans for years), slapped some pretty neat looking packaging on them, threw in a bonus DVD of some live performances from the Spooky Kids days and released it as this, Lunchboxes And Choklit Cows.

For those who haven't heard any of this material before, it sounds exactly what you might think it would sound like: a band that hasn't quite found its own sound or voice yet and is in the process of working out the kinks. Because of when it came out, it resembles the material heard on Portrait Of An American Family - in a skeletal form - more than anything else ("Scaredy Cat" sounds like an early rough version of "Dope Hat"). Also Marilyn Manson (aka: Brian Warner) hadn't fully developed into self-assured rock star status yet and more often than not comes across, to be quite frank, as the dorky little teenager who plays Dungeons & Dragons and listens to Iron Maiden records more so than the "Anti-Christ" or "God of F*ck".

On that respect, having these songs commercially available, as opposed to forever being stuck on the bootleg circuit, is open to debate. Even Marilyn Manson himself I've heard is trying to get this disc pulled off the shelf. Aside from probably not wanting these demos released to the general public, he's claiming that Putesky signed over the right to release any Marilyn Manson related material once he was no longer a part of the band - which brings up another fishy thing about this disc as the name Marilyn Manson is nowhere to be found on the packaging or booklet (aside from some old show flyers) even though the band was never known as just "The Spooky Kids".

This just reeks of opportunism on Putesky's part. Even though it's an interesting listen (heck "Dune Buggy" and "Negative Three" aren't bad songs) it's not really essential. Die hard fans will probably snatch this up but I guarantee they might listen to it once or twice out of curiosity before it collects dust.

And why are there so many pictures of Scott Putesky in the booklet? Oh yeah! Just keep patting yourself on the back there Scott. (Derek Carlson, 6/8/04)

Produced By: Scott Putesky.