Dragontown is apparently the worst place on Brutal Planet, so it fits rather well that this album follows directly after it. Many themes feel familiar, and if Brutal Planet marked a musical step toward metal, what is achieved here goes even further. This is industrial heavy metal to the extreme, and already in the opening track, Triggerman, the distorted vocals make it clear that this is something that Alice Cooper has not explored before.
In my opinion, it is quite exhausting to listen to, and even though I have gone through the album multiple times—both when it was new and again while working on this text—very little really sticks. Of course, it has grown on me to some extent, and several tracks are actually quite enjoyable if you take the time to listen to them. But there is a problem with memorability. You recognize the voice, but there are too few hooks in the music. Some passages do stand out, and the metal–rockabilly of Disgraceland is unmistakable, but overall it becomes rather dull and somewhat bland.
I do, however, appreciate Every Woman Has a Name, which is the album’s only real ballad. Alice Cooper really gets a chance to prove that he can actually sing. And just as the previous album’s Take It Like a Woman flirted with Only Women Bleed, this one… well, also flirts with Take It Like a Woman.
It’s Much Too Late also carries some classic Alice Cooper vibes in terms of musicality, but it does not manage to lift the album to a level I can truly enjoy. I can actually understand why this ended up being the last album I bought with Alice Cooper upon its initial release.
