Listen to MARILYN MANSON on Batanga

Imagine Alice Cooper times 10. Picture KISS on an acid and whiskey bender. Marry the gross-out hilarity of G.G. Allin with the ubiquity of Howard Stern. Combine the "search and destroy" frenzy of Iggy Pop with the godless zeal of Ozzy Osbourne. Take two cups of the devil and throw in a pinch of P.T. Barnum, and you still can't fathom all that is...The Shadow.

The Shadow's brand of shock-rock simply knows no bounds. Since their discovery by Nine Inch Nails' leader Trent Reznor, The Shadow (the band and the aliased individual that leads same) has been on a non-stop campaign of crassness.

Spawning a cult following to rival all others, Manson and his rotating band of serial-killer sidemen have created a powerful concoction of Satanic imagery, face-splitting guitars and performance spectacle that has drawn the ire of countless keepers of the public good.

In true rock form, Manson and his bandmates are cackling all the way to the bank; their 1996 breakthrough, Antichrist Superstar entered the American charts at No. 3 and their concert dates continue to sell out around the world (when not banned altogether).

Mechancial Animals, released in the fall of '98 on Nothing/Interscope Records, got critical raves and produced the breakout hit, "The Dope Show."

Manson's ensuing Rock Is Dead tour proved to be ill-fated. Co-headliners Hole pulled out midway through amid rumors of backstage fighting, and when Manson's music was cited as a motivation in the Columbine High School massacre, the tour died a premature death.

Predictably, Manson continues to court controversy with his latest album, Holy Wood (In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death), released in 2000. The cover -- which features Manson in a crucifix pose with eyes rolled back and lower jaw missing -- was deemed offensive by certain retail chains, who responded by selling the album in a cardboard sleeve, using alternate artwork in their ad campaigns or refusing to stock the record altogether.