Beat 'Em Up is Pop's white-hot second-century manifesto, a clarion call to all the young dudes to watch their backs. The album leaps off with "Mask," a song inspired by a backstage fan at a Slipknot concert who inquired of a band member, "Which mask are you?" Pop sets his diatribe ("Irony in place of balls, balls in place of brains, brains in place of soul/Where is the soul? Where is the love?") to a pummeling soundtrack that sounds straight outta his Lust for Life. It perfectly tees up the remainder of Beat 'Em Up. If Avenue B was Pop's bleak look into the abyss, Beat 'Em Up is Pop's examination of his amazing sonic scrapbook. There are elements of his brutal metal period ("L.O.S.T.," "Drink New Blood"), careening rock abandon ("Savior"), and early Stooges punk creationism ("Howl," "The Jerk"). Pop's confidence in his destination has kept him completely unafraid of a false step. Reviled or simply misunderstood, he has never cared if his work is received well, as long as he remains true to himself. Beat 'Em Up is Pop at his best and truest.