Kings County has just premiered their new video for their rendition of Marilyn Manson’s classic ‘The Beautiful People’, dropping tomorrow. Kings County is one of those established signature sounds. Instantly recognizable with a mix of rock, metal, and gritty guitar buzz, smothered with sensible hooks and rebellious beats and rhythm that fits any stage from club to stadium with equal fervor.
The video surely emulates the vibe of Manson, while channeling the sheer originality of everything that has become a part of Kins County. Industrial mixed with desolation filtered through that storied lens that makes everything relevant again.
Re-making a song like ‘The Beautiful People’ is a tricky task. Taking it just enough into this era with said signature sound while retaining enough to make the track accessible and likeable to those that love the original, while highlighting the still relevant lyrics and message, is tricky, to say the least. What Kings County does, and does well, is take it ahead in the right places while still retaining everything that made the original what it is, classic. Fuck the feels and spin the wheels, is how I would put it. Let the song breathe and increase the heartbeat. Kings County shows us that the best way to remake a song is to re-envision it, from the ground up.
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About Kings County & ‘Beautiful People’
Kings County has re-imagined Marilyn Manson’s 1996 single, “The Beautiful People”, dropping May 9, 2025, where the track still resonates in today’s music world.
Kings County is Rob Dexter (Vocals, Bass), Steve Bell (Guitars, Vocals), Joe Lopez (Drums), and Bill Kania (Guitars, Vocals).
Rob says, “We’ve always been fans of shock rock, even going back to the days of Alice Cooper and all of his antics. Marilyn Manson was just an extension of this, except he rose out of the 1990s. In the end, it comes down to the song. “The Beautiful People” has this raw tribal feel to it that was quite infectious. Our whole idea was to throw on some modern ripping guitars and some great screams, and there ya go, the making of a great remake.”
The band’s main intent was to take an almost 30-year-old proven song, modernize it, and bring it to life today, while still keeping the essence and integrity of the original track. Rob says, “This all started with how we initially recorded it with producer Chuck Alkazian. Thunderous drums make for a great foundation to build the song. After layers of heavy guitars and those signature Marilyn Manson screams, you’re all set up for one bad ass recording. Sonically, we surpassed all expectations.”
Kings County knows that it takes a great song to create a great video, which is what they did with “The Beautiful People”. They were so blown away by how the recording came out that they knew they had to work with music video director Jon Vulpine again, who has created magic with their last four videos.
‘“The Beautiful People”, video idea came together fairly easily. Jon’s location scout found an awesome abandoned building in Rome, GA., which used to be an old mill from the early 1900s”, says Rob. “Whenever you get a safety briefing before you enter a building, you probably should be concerned, and that’s exactly what happened here. The building had huge holes in the floor that dropped down 30 feet, broken stairs, glass, and a ton of dust, not to mention the asbestos warning. Being in the Atlanta area, Jon was able to put together a veteran crew who were on break from filming “The Walking Dead”, Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” and “Cobra Kai.”
Besides creating killer songs with incredible videos, there are a few things you may not know about Kings County. Rob and guitarist Bill Kania both played in the band for illusionist Criss Angel. They did it for 3 years, and it was quite the experience for them. Drummer Joe Lopez is the only member who isn’t from New York, where the band originated. “We met Joe after we made the move to Florida. Joe is also the only bilingual member. Another surprising thing people might not be aware of is that the band started as a house band for Disney World. It’s hard to believe Disney would welcome a hard rock band like us, but we surely were.”
Currently, Kings County has another single coming out following “The Beautiful People” and is planning for the future by keeping busy. Rob says, “The last five years have flown by in a blur. There have been so many recording sessions, traveling, and performing live. We hope to keep writing music and creating more videos that people appreciate and continue to support.”
LINKS:
https://linktr.ee/KingsCounty
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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSaG_L5KmHY9nxfvALuzPsA
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