Content
Album opener "Dude, Where's My Skin?" begins the album with horror-movie imagery. The track opens with the disturbing refrain of "take off your skin and dance with me" with Donnelly screaming in an operatic manner, over eerie guitar riffs. "The Plastic Surgery Hall of Fame" features guttural screaming from both Donnelly and Bergman, with the song serving as a duet between the two. Bergman's bass is less pronounced on the track, allowing the two trade lines more clearly. Donnelly sings the line “you’re so pretty” while Bergman screams back “you’re so dead!” in a "demonic tone". Donnelly declares the line "I am the devil and I’ve come to do the devil’s work" on track "Cemetery Girls", morbidly referencing the famous line spoken by serial killer Charles "Tex" Watson, member of the Manson Family. The track has a highly melodic riff and Donnelly screams her verses "like a battle cry".
“Violence is All the Rage”, despite the alarming title, has been described as having similarities with pop music in nature. While the's song's subject matter may be disturbing, the production and vocal arrangements have been described as something that could be a backing to a Kelly Clarkson track. The track switches from heavy metal verses to disco-influenced choruses, and Donnelly's performance on the track has been compared to No Doubt era Gwen Stefani.
"Children of The Night" features a chugging guitar in the style of math rock, with a percussive breakdown with eerie gothic moaning. The more horror-themed tone of the album takes a break on "The Last Man on Earth", which is a tender ballad. The track is an exercise in desperation, with Donnelly singing "you and I are the King and Queen of nothing" amongst a haunting guitar-based platform. Donnelly asserts that her "lipstick tastes like murder" on "Razorblade Kisses" which contains guitar playing in the style of post-hardcore music. "Sometimes They Come Back" has been compared to the type of music produced by bands At the Drive-In and The Blood Brothers. “Beautiful Woman Hunter" offers a showcase for Brian Turner’s drums and cymbal performance, and Steve Bonell’s guitar which shifts from slower portions to a chaotic, punk-ish breakdown. The song exhibits Donnelly's more scream-heavy singing.
"All the Pretty Corpses" is more poppy in nature, with epic, disparate sonic elements juxtaposed against more rock-centric riffing. Album closer "Screaming “Theater” in a Crowded Fire" begins like a musical at first, and then transforms into a showcase for Bonell's continuously evolving riffs. The track is a macabre love song between a murderer and her victim, and contains the only time on the album when Donnelly and Bergman trade verses outside of a chorus. The track features the two intimately singing together, with Bergman shouting the visceral line "you smeared my blood like a whore’s mascara” back at Donnelly.
Read more about this topic: Abominations (album)
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