Along Came a Spider

Without Alice Cooper, there might never have been the New York Dolls; KISS; Marilyn Manson; Nine Inch Nails; Motley Crue; Slipknot or Rob Zombie... Maybe not even David Bowie, or at least not Ziggy Stardust.

The iconic hard rocker, who literally invented the concept of the rock concert as theatre, returns to what he does best on 'Along Came a Spider', the 25th studio album of a long & illustrious career which began in 1969 with the release of 'Pretties for You' on Frank Zappa's Straight label.

From his first solo album, 'Welcome to My Nightmare' (1975) through releases such as 'The Last Temptation' (1994) + 'Brutal Planet' (2000), concept albums have been a specialty of Alice's. This time he spins the story of a serial killer who imagines himself as the most predatory of all insects, trapping his prey, killing them, then enveloping his eight victims in silk, taking a leg from each of them - a web of intrigue, wrapped around some serious hard rock.

Co-produced by Alice with the team of Danny Saber (Black Grape / The Rolling Stones / Ozzy Osbourne / David Bowie) and Greg Hampton (Bootsy Collins / Buckethead), songs like the opening "I Know Where You Live" & "Vengeance is Mine", featuring a snaking metal guitar solo from Slash himself, evoke such classic Alice anthems as "Is it My Body" & "Under My Wheels", along with landmark albums like 'Love it too Death'; 'Killer'; and 'School's Out'. There's also a patented rock ballad in the tradition of "Only Women Bleed" & "I Never Cry" with "Killed by Love".

'Along Came a Spider' features Cooper's touring band of drummer Eric Singer; bassist Chuck Garric; and guitarists Keri Kelli & Jason Hook. Songwriting was handled by Alice with Saber; Hampton; Garric; Kelli and a few friends including former band member Damon Johnson & Warrant's Jani Lane.

The songs on 'Along Came a Spider' link together elements of serial killers such as Hannibal Lecter; Son of Sam; Ted Bundy; Jack the Ripper; Sweeney Todd and even Norman Bates with Alice himself taking the central part, acting out the murderer's diary - challenging reality inhabiting the identity of a serial killer who imagines himself a spider. As he has in the past, Alice chronicles a classic battle between good & evil, with inevitable results.