Godhead is in good hands.
The band’s new CD, 2000 Years of Human Error, is out on Marylin Manson’s label, Posthuman Records. Manson, who has billed himself as the anti-Christ, oversaw the development of the Godhead album, which has hit number two on the alternative charts.
Obviously, Manson knows what he’s doing when it comes to the music business — he hired top-dog producer Danny Saber, who has worked with the likes of U2, Black Sabbath and Madonna.
2000 Years of Human Error is a thick tapestry of pulsating Goth-industrial songs, with some melodic electronic programming woven in. It’s hard rock but it has soothing moments, such as the choral conclusion of the “The Reckoning,”
Nobody can accuse those lines of being poetry, and most Godhead fans probably aren’t English majors. Nevertheless, the band may be on the cusp of hitting the big time. If Godhead does become a stadium-filling act, it will be because it taps into the poisonous aspects of a society, in which school shootings no longer surprise anyone.
A Godhead song is featured on the “Blair Witch II” soundtrack, which is another sign the band is poised to become rich and famous. And, 2000 Years of Human Error provides enough grinding guitars and crashing drums to keep any black-clad adolescent nihilistically satisfied. The vocals sound at times as if they were filtered through a bullhorn, and the lyrics are sung, not shouted.
Singer Jason Miller said working with Manson has been a good experience.
“He’s really a visionary,” Miller said in an interview with the Daily Lobo. “He lets us do what we want to do. He’s not some guy in a suit behind a desk telling us what to do. He gives us advice and says, like, ‘this is what I would do in the situation, but it’s up to you.’”
Miller said Manson also took a hands-off approach while recording.
“He would give his opinion of what worked and what didn’t work,” Miller said. “And most of the time we agreed with him.”
Miller said Manson isn’t evil.
“That might be someone’s perception of him,” Miller said. “It’s definitely an aspect of his personality and his stage show, but I wouldn’t say he’s evil.”
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Miller said 2000 Years of Human Error has sold 60,000 copies since its Jan. 23 release. Godhead has already spent a month touring in support of the album, and the next leg of its trip begins with a show at the Sunshine Theater, opening for Static-X.
Surprisingly, 2000 Years of Human Error includes a cover of The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby,” and the song’s hopeless message fits perfectly into the mix.
Though a Goth/industrial band, Miller said the band doesn’t try to fit in with the Goth genre.
“You can’t always control what you get lumped in with,” he said.
Godhead began its career in Washington, D.C. The band released its self-titled debut CD in 1994. The band’s second CD, Nothingness, came out in 1996, and in 1998, Power Tool Stigmata
Godhead will perform with Static X and Endo tonight at the Sunshine Theater, 120 Central Ave. S.W. Tickets cost $20 and will be sold at the door or can be purchased at any Ticketmaster location or by calling 883-7800. This is an all ages show and doors open at 7 p.m.
