Marilyn Manson "Holy Wood (In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death)" (2000)

Having really enjoyed "Antichrist Superstar" & "Mechanical Animals" I was rather hesitant to listen to this record which I remember listening to many years back, and not being particularly impressed. Whatever my thought were then, they are certainly not relevant now that I have connected with Manson's music. "Holy Wood" is the first of 3 records released in reverse order. Confusing, but conceptually these albums are linked and acclaimed as Manson's golden era, or creative peak, following a decline in popularity with later releases which I am considering checking out since Ive grown a lot of respect for a musician who's music is intelligent and thoughtful despite its grotesque and confrontational presentation through art and aesthetics.

Holy Wood is consistent with their style established so far, but represents a more condensed and metallic approach. The overall mood is darker and at times feels rather pessimistic through Manson's hopeless lyrics. The band bring a more traditional rock feeling forward with riff oriented guitars, either distorted or clean, being a bigger focus than the keys and synthetic sounds that brought a lot to the tracks on the past two records. The drum machine is the most diverse element, offering variety and creativity through different kits that guide the tracks they are utilized on with driving energy. The straight forward approach serves the record well, there is no shortage of ideas and the tone of the distorted guitars sounds ripe with hate. There a lot of aggressive energy on display focused through Manson's iconic lyrics.

"Well I'm not a slave, to a god, that doesn't exist. I'm not a slave, to a world, that doesn't give a shit". Lines like this got stuck deep in my mind and despite delivering some of his best hooks, I felt it came in smaller quantities with a lot of the better tracks appearing at the beginning of this record. Holy Wood has some of Manson's most aggressive, abrasive and catchy tracks, but across the course of the record there were quite a few numbers that couldn't quite match the intensity laid down by the love and fight songs. Overall this album offers up more of what I've grown to love about this band, but as an album it falls short of previous works.

Favorite Tracks: The Love Song, The Hate Song, The Death Song, Burning Flag

Rating: 6/10

Marilyn Manson "Mechanical Animals" (1998)

Having highly enjoyed Manson's breakthrough album "Antichrist Superstar" I was initially skeptical about their other releases which fell far behind the commercial success of Antichrist. I was quickly reminded that sales are no indication of the content as this album quickly grabbed my attention and took me on a ride, before i knew it i was hooked. My preconceptions were shattered and what initially struck me about this album has become very clear after several spins.

On this record the band as a whole move in a much more focused and expressive direction with Manson stepping up his game vocally, his presence is stronger and lyrically his poetry hits home hard with some deep messages and ideas. A couple of moments stuck in my mind, on the track "Coma White" he expresses a sorrowful message about self destructive personalities through an unforgeable chorus "A pill to make you numb, a pill to make you dumb...." its a dark realization delivered in a sing along format that ends the album on a emotional deep. On the track "Mechanical Animals" Manson chimes in beautifully with the soaring guitar riff in a heart in mouth moment. Across these songs his artistic expression is deep and meaningful, delivered with more sensibility.

Instrumentally the band are right behind him, moving the direction away from the metallic Industrial sound, more towards an Alternative Metal / Rock sound with the Industrial element paining intricate sounds and details along side the core instruments. At times the songwriting is pure class, forging charactered songs that compliment Manson well. For example "The Dope Show" has a brooding base line that builds a shady atmosphere with some unusual synthetic sounds, painting a vivid picture in the listeners mind. Theres a lot to talk about as many of these songs have great creativity in the instrumentals. Production wise everything sounds fantastic, in general i was blown away by this album and looking forward to Holy Wood.

Favorite Songs: The Dope Show, Mechanical Animals, Disassociative, User Friendly, Coma White

Rating: 7/10

Marilyn Manson "Antichrist Superstar" (1996)

In my youth Manson was a popular and controversial figure who's music I never really gave a go. I'm unsure as to why his genius never appealed to me then, but having recently watched some documentaries about his music I've learned hes a very intelligent and articulate person. Understanding a little more about the person behind the peculiar self imagery has really opened the door for me and i decided to start with the album that transformed him into a sensation. This being the bands second full length rocketed into the charts upon its release and has remained as their best selling album by far.

The album as a whole has is an artistic and creative expression packaged into a metalic, rockable sound layered with an Industrial aesthetic that give this one a unique and instantly identifiable sound. Manson's presences in these songs is poetic, through his somewhat unexceptional voice hes engages my attention with many thought provoking lines delivered with emotion and intent. Manson is almost self prophetic, with many lyrics retaining to being a controversial figure of hate that he became on the albums release. These lyrical statements often reflect whats wrong with societal values and they are delivered with a cunning artistic expression. One of the more comical lines has stuck in my mind "I wasn't born with enough middle fingers", we have all had days like that. Theres a lot to relate to on this record if you have an alternative perspective of humanity and society.

Manson's poetic presence maybe stealing the show but the instrumentals are worthy of merit too, across the record theres a lot of variety in instrumentation and flavor as the songs drift from rock head bangers to moody movers. The instrumentals keep a strong feeling together despite offering some decent variety with electronic leads shifting focus with the crunchy guitar tones. Theres lots of detailed sounds and noises adding depth to all these tracks and the rhythm section is refreshing, offering some more inventive and unexpected patterns utilizing a large pallet of sounds from an industrial themed drum machine. It all comes together so well, this album is devoid of filler with most the tracks bringing memorable beats, riffs, melodies and lyrics. I now see what the fuss is about and I'm excited to listen to more!

Favorite Songs: Torniquiet, Little Horn, Deformography, Angel With The Scabbed Wings, The Reflecting God

Rating: 8/10