Marilyn Manson
The Golden Age Of Grotesque

THE REVIEW

The reverend is back. But he doesn't scare anyone anymore.

If this had been Brian Warner's (M.M.) debut album, the rating wouldn't be as low as it is below.
Unfortunately, since his musical debut, way too much water has passed under the bridge (5 albums), and his music has evolved little to none, ending up being boring or even making people smile, like something grotesque.
What a shame, because his style was born as a good mix of hard rock (Antichrist Superstar), aggressive electronic (Mechanical Animals), pop tunes for T.R.L., and sensual whispers that exploded into terrifying screams against God, society, the "typical American family," etc. In short, there was enough reason to be cheerful...

All this excluding personal opinions, fierce criticism, ecclesiastical protests, about the character Marilyn Manson (which I don’t want to address in the slightest).
Then the downward spiral. Inevitably.

There is very little to say about "The Golden Age Of Grotesque": phrases full of whispered swear words accompanied by incredibly powerful endlessly overdubbed guitars that sound to the usual rhythm of a Pugliese tarantella (mOBSCENE, just like it was for Rock Is Dead, or for The Fight Song, or for Indisposable Teens, the list would really be long…).
The electronic sounds are interesting, the sound is as polished as always (intro of "This Is The New Shit" for example), but on the second or third listen, they always give the impression of "heard-it-before-elsewhere".

It is a perfect album for some action movie, where dark cars speed powerfully through the streets of some violent Gotham City, but that's about it.
Midway through the album, the ears seek political asylum in the brain.
Turn off the player or put on Bach.