Released in the US on September 18, 2001, Dragontown marked Cooper’s twenty‑second solo studio album and the second chapter in the dystopian, industrial‑leaning world introduced on Brutal Planet. Co‑produced by Cooper and Bob Marlette, the album pushes deeper into mechanised riffs, bleak narrative vignettes, and a heavier sonic palette that defined his early‑2000s reinvention. An October 2001 Kerrang! review praised its weight, atmosphere, and thematic ambition, framing it as