Combichrist

Norway's Combichrist represents the perennial electro/dance entry in the ongoing sweepstakes to produce the new KISS or a reasonable facsimile of the old Marilyn Manson — which, at best, results in the next Gravity Kills or Mushroomhead. On records like the new Today We Are All Demons, Combichrist is solely the work of main man Andy LaPlegua, who barks Rammstein-worthy jackboot anthems like "WTFIWWY" (as in "Hey You What The Fuck Is Wrong With You?" [repeat]). Live, he fronts a quartet of backing players with names like Z_Marr (keyboards) and Mr. Petersen (more keyboards). The electro-head commando's visual edge takes equal cues from classic industrial and nü metal, with floppy black hair, big Mohawks, raccoon-eye makeup, tight turtlenecks, dirty gray overalls, sharp-edged facial piercings and an extra protective layer of fetish gear. It all would amount to so much glam if the Viking descendents didn't deliver live. In concert big-bass rhythms and spiraling electronica keyboards take on a metallic edge, which makes the floor more of a full-contact frenzy than a dance party.