Marilyn Manson
Eat Me, Drink Me

THE REVIEW

Sixth studio album for Marilyn Manson who, through a rather sad period of his life (the separation from ex-wife, burlesque queen Dita Von Teese), retreats with multi-instrumentalist Tim Skold, to create his most intimate and personal work.

"Eat Me, Drink Me," is the chosen title for the album, and this time the sound is more rock but also strongly influenced by glam and gothic.

Cannibalism and vampirism are just some of the themes Manson drew inspiration from for the creation of the work. On the cover of the same, we can find a more fragile and introspective Manson in a pose similar to that of Christ in the famous fresco of the "Last Supper," depicted when he said "eat me, drink me" creating the rite of the Eucharist. The literary work that most influences the album is "Alice in Wonderland," and the title is a clear allusion to this work as well.

Alice indeed ate cookies labeled "Eat me" to become a giant, while she drank small bottles labeled "Drink Me" to shrink.

The idea driving the album is rebirth, redemption, romance, and personal transformation. Manson uses the vampire metaphor to symbolize the emotional state he is in, feeling vulnerable and in need of the vital nymph from the people around him, yet at the same time longing for love, an aspiration he cannot fulfill because, just like the vampire, he always ends up "consuming" the people he cares about most.

Evan Rachel Wood, the girlfriend with whom Manson consoles himself after the divorce from Dita Von Teese, becomes the "Lolita" in the album's concept. In fact, the comparison with Nabokov's novel is not a casual one, as "Lolita" is the second source of literary inspiration for "Eat Me, Drink Me". An example of this is the video for the first single extracted from the album, "Heart-Shaped Glasses (When the Heart Guides the Hands)", in which Evan wears heart-shaped glasses as seen on the poster of the 60s film "Lolita." The video features a sequence in which Manson and Evan kiss in a moving car, an homage to the film "Bonnie and Clyde," whose ideal of love is a source of inspiration for Manson. The most controversial scene in the video, where Manson and Evan kiss and make love covered in blood, is instead an homage to the film "Trouble Every Day," whose plot sees a young woman eating her lovers, to satisfy her sexual appetite.

The symbol chosen to represent "Eat Me, Drink Me" is a spiral heart. This choice can be traced back to the 1935 film "Mad Love," on whose poster a spiral heart appears on the protagonist's eye, a scientist who can give life to his works but cannot create love without a woman by his side.

"If I Was Your Vampire" and "Putting Holes in Happiness" open the album, both excellent. The former is dramatic and full of atmosphere, while the latter is more melancholic and features a good solo. The other best tracks on the album are "They Say That Hell's Not Hot" (very thrilling), "Heart-Shaped Glasses" (the most "pop"), "Evidence" (deep and brash), "Are You The Rabbit?", "Mutilation Is The Most Sincere Form Of Flattery" and the beautiful title-track "Eat Me, Drink Me" which closes the album.

In particular, the album features numerous solos, some of which are really heartfelt and compelling. 

The lyrics of the 11 tracks contained in the album are very introspective and romantic, especially by Manson's standards. They contain quotes from the literary and cinematic works already mentioned as inspirations for the album, and the order in which they are arranged is not random but is indeed part of the concept. In fact, from the first to the fifth track, the story told is of love gone wrong. While from the seventh to the eleventh the story is of a new love. The sixth connects them (just watch the video, which starts with the notes of "Evidence" and ends with the crash of the car driven by Manson and Evan, bringing us back to "Just a Car Crash Away").

"Eat Me, Drink Me" is a dark album, moonlit and haunted by vampires. Manson takes us through the looking-glass and shows us what lies behind appearances, on a journey like "Alice in Wonderland," among his fantasies and reflections, hallucinations, and desires.