Marilyn Manson
Portrait of an American Family

THE REVIEW

Something unhealthy had already been hinted at by the various demo tapes circulated in the early '90s by this band of young rowdies known as Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids, but no one expected such a striking debut from an emerging band, especially in an America that was slowly witnessing the last breaths of a dying genre like grunge.

Farewell to depression, what Marilyn Manson has to offer us is a long emotional trip through our deepest fears, the fears of a society that gradually emerged from the nightmare of the Cold War and now sees the United States as the undisputed rulers of the world. A society heavily influenced by the media, where the only escape seems to come from drug use: this is the world depicted by Brian Warner in "Portrait of an American Family", a vomit-inducing family portrait where TV seems to take over the minds of us poor thinking beings.

Musically speaking, it is an excellent blend of garage, hard-rock, and vague references to doom, all expertly tied together by the charisma and theatricality of Marilyn Manson, the undisputed leader of this new infernal creature. Reminiscences of Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, and Iggy Pop linger in Mr. Manson's provocative behavior, but nothing in the past has been as virulent and direct as a punch to the stomach like the rock of this "Portrait of an American Family".

After an anguishing intro like "The Family Trip", we are jolted by "Cake and Sodomy", a protest anthem against a hypocritical and double-dealing America ("Cash in hand and dick on screen / Who said God was ever clear?"). The bullying in American schools is denounced by Manson in "Lunchbox", a generational anthem that even 12 years after its recording still incites the Reverend's fans to rebel against injustices.
The album, with its highs and lows, presents us with gems of rare beauty like the drugged "Dope Hat", in which Madonna Wayne Gacy's keyboards weave carpets loaded with LSD and amphetamines for young boys escaping an oppressive reality. A worthy breaking point between the two "components" of the album is the subsequent "Get Your Gunn", which with a simple riff and pounding bass line leads us to the more rock part of the album, filled with enjoyable tracks like "Dogma" and "Wrapped in Plastic" (with a vague grunge flavor). The album closes with "My Monkey" (a homage to the infamous serial killer
Charles Manson) and the bland "Misery Machine".

It's 1994, and the times of the Antichrist, of the Manson known and feared around the world as a bearer of immoral principles and corrosive ideals for the younger generations, are still far off. Despite everything, the violent charge of Marilyn Manson is well contained in these sixty-one minutes of excellent music. This was the beginning of everything, the start of a legend, an important chapter in the musical history of the '90s; one cannot pretend otherwise and snub Marilyn Manson's offering, it would be a mortal sin!