Marilyn Manson
The Golden Age Of Grotesque

THE REVIEW

Here comes Marilyn, Brian, Manson showcasing his latest "vital" flicker, with scarce musical qualities, but that (at least from what I felt) manages to express a pessimism and an abandonment to inertia that I had not even perceived in "Antichrist Superstar" (which remains forever the band's masterpiece) and prolongs throughout its duration an atmosphere that sounds like a farewell.

This artistic farewell I also understand by reading the lyrics: "Everything has already been said/There is nothing more to say/When everything is the same/One name is as good as another" (The New Shit) and "They know my name/I dance the waltz of the losers/Married to the pain"(mOBSCENE) and "We will be the worms in your apple pie/Pretend to have suffered abuse for our biographies"(THE BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS) and again "Perpetual rebellion without any cause." So somehow this sense of failure that Manson felt during the publication is expressed, and I believe he will never make a CD as qualitatively remarkable as this again... the proof is the lack of content demonstrated by "Eat Me Drink Me," that is, the subsequent album.

The album is a jumble of electronic sounds very similar to those that Rammstein might use, and the industrial style akin to Nine Inch Nails that had always been used to build his style has almost disappeared, as well as the catchy and furious guitar riffs of John 5, and the bass lines of Twiggy Ramirez... in short, the band has been decimated so drastically that Marilyn had to seek the support of Tim Skold, who is not a great instrumentalist and who courageously, despite his limited skills, tries to keep the shack afloat... with not excellent results.

Marilyn still uses his voice masterfully, he can still scream, of course... but the spark that was there once is missing; even the concerts are no longer the same: the first rows are no longer drenched with piss, there's less water against the paparazzi, the fucks are no longer shouted like in the days of "Irresponsible Hate Anthem" and he no longer mimics sexual acts with the girls in the audience like he used to. In short, he is worn out.

It happens to all rockers.