Our favorite shock rocker returns to the conceptual realm on his 25th album, with a tale of a serial killer who wraps his victims in silk (that's the color of their eyes, no less) and cuts off one leg to use in creating his own arachnoid appendage. "Spider" might not make you forget "Welcome to My Nightmare," but it's nevertheless a cheerfully twisted yarn delivered with a full-on dose of guitar rockers ("I Know Where You Live," "Catch Me If You Can," "Wrapped in Silk"), the requisite ballad ("Killed by Love"), a soaring anthem ("Salvation"), a bit of Beck-flavored groovery ("Wake the Dead," co-written by Ozzy Osbourne), some sly humor—see "(In Touch With) Your Feminine Side"—and nods to Cooper's glam rock past in "I'm Hungry" and "The One That Got Away." The tale ends with a terrific twist—but we won't tell you here, just in case Spider is reading.—Gary Graff