Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

From Screaming Jay Hawkins to Alice Cooper to Marilyn Manson, mixing the macabre and rock'n'roll is nothing new. While Marilyn has made a whole career out of rattling the cage of the American church, those of us who are older know that Alice did the whole thing better! Still, in America, youth pastors across the country are probably recommending Rackets And Drapes for Christian kids into Manson's music to have an alternative. So this is scary rock music with a Christian message thumping through. Although none of this is particularly original, there are some interesting moments with "Scary-Go Round", a riffy opener, and "Trick Or Treat" equally haunting. Two standout tracks are "Plastic Jesus" with its powerful attack on the soft, Christmas babe image of Jesus, and then there's the cover version of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus", which is an inspired move! The hidden bonus track which turns out to be an 11 minute sermon/altar call leaves me in no doubt that R&D's intentions are excellent. I did think of turning this up really loud and scaring the neighbours, but then again.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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