The musical life of a shock rocker can be typically summed up as an act that garners great short-term attention and success due to the controversy and with that, the intrigue that surrounds them, however, after this shock value loses its luster, the band quickly becomes a thing of the past. Fair or not, shock rockers then typically have a difficult time transitioning from shock rock musician to musician and being seen and critiqued on their musical talent rather than their on-stage persona.
This may have never been more the case than with Marilyn Manson. With MTV still playing music videos and the Internet not being too far along yet, when Marilyn Manson came out with the 1996 album Antichrist Svperstar, he ultimately crowned himself as the new king of shock rock. This continued through the band's 1998 album Mechanical Animals, when the band shifted from industrial metal to space rock. After the tragic Columbine shootings in April of '99, though, Manson was largely (and wrongly) blamed for the tragedy, and quickly went from proud shock rock king to a man hiding from the world. He fought back in 2000 with the release of the final album in the band's triptych. Holywood, but even though the album won critical acclaim, and with that, awards, sales were not nearly as strong as for the previous two albums, and it was thus the begin of his downturn. After this record, he's said that he lost the fire and motivation he had felt previously, and after the band's release of their 2003 album The Golden Age of Grotesque, it seemed the band was all but finished. Manson then went on to pursue writing, acting, directing, and most of all, painting. In 2007, however, perhaps prompted by a difficult breakup, Marilyn Manson decided to go back into music and released the album Eat Me, Drink Me. While the album received decent reviews, it was quite different from Manson's previous efforts, so long-time fans were initially lukewarm to it, and with reality television becoming seemingly ubiquitous, the Internet becoming the norm, and MTV forgetting what the "M" stood for anymore, it appeared as if Manson would have trouble winning over many new fans through the shock appeal that had been so effective previously. The band tried to instill a bit more of the old shock appeal through their 2009 album, The High End of Low, but as was seen through weak sales, what was shocking in 1996 was far different than what was shocking in 2009, if anything was shocking at all at that point in time. Due to these weak sales, the band and its label parted ways. It was at this point when the band appeared lost, looking for direction. Eat Me, Drink Me played like a classic rock CD based on a story of a failed relationship. The High End of Low came across as a rehash of all the band's previous efforts. All of this led to the band's 2012 effort, Born Villain, which appeared to be a step in the right direction. The album sounded more inspired, better flowing, with experimentation in sound yet the same Manson vibe peering through. Outside of The High End of Low, that's been a constant for Marilyn Manson - experimentation in sound, yet with the same Manson vibe peering through. From the spooky Halloween-esque rock in Portrait of an American Family to the industrial metal in Antichrist Svperstar to the space rock in Mechanical Animals to the goth rock in Holywood to the rock/rap (beat) mix in The Golden Age of Grotesque to the classic/'80s rock in Eat Me, Drink Me to the punk rock in Born Villain, no Marilyn Manson album sounded the same, yet each and every one sounded like Marilyn Manson. The same is true of the band's latest disc, The Pale Emperor, which has a bluesy rock feel to it and may very well be the most complete and best-sounding Marilyn Manson album since 2000's Holywood (or even further back than that).
The Pale Emperor is already receiving critical acclaim and could very well be the album where both Marilyn Manson and music critics accept him as a musician as opposed to just a shock rock musician. That was a big problem for the band between Holywood (2000) and Born Villain (2012). Not only had Manson seemingly lost the ability to shock the masses as he once did and saw sales plummet as a result, but critics also appeared to continue grading his albums on their level of shock appeal, as opposed to the music within them. There was a growing divisiveness in the music critic community on Manson's music. Those that graded the band on their music typically liked the albums they released and those that graded them on shock appeal were usually left disappointed. However, with this latest album, it appears as if the two communities may finally see eye to eye on the matter and now realize that while yes, Marilyn Manson could shock people with his lyrics and antics at one point in his career, there's a reason why he's still around making music - the guy is a great writer, an underrated musician, and album after album, he cranks out good, catchy rock songs. The Pale Emperor is a prime example of that, as it's dark and mysterious, well written and produced, rockin' and catchy, and may very well be one of the band's best albums in their 20+ year history.
I'll now give a track-by-track overview of the album, including my grades for each song:
1) "Killing Strangers" (7.5/10): When first hearing this song, I thought it was an odd choice for being the lead-in to the album. However, after listening to the album all the way through several times, I can now say it's the perfect lead-in. It starts off with a bluesy, mid-tempo yet catchy feel, and transitions to a rather haunting sound and vibe during the chorus. Those two elements are fairly constant throughout this album: Bluesy and haunting. Lyrically, it's intriguing as well, as it appears to tackle the gun violence (rights/obsession) issue: "We're killing strangers, so we don't kill the ones that we love." It's, without a doubt, a solid opening track to this album, and it gives listeners a fairly good feel of what's to come.
2. "Deep Six" (10/10): This is both the second single and the heaviest song on the album. It starts off with a haunting horror picture sound (that too is fairly constant throughout the album) before quickly going into head-bang mode. The pre-chorus sounds like an up-tempo glam rock track from Mechanical Animals before it transitions back into the head-banging chorus. Through three full listens of this album, this may very well be my favorite track. The music is extremely catchy and heavy, but not overly so (as if it were being forced), Manson's voice sounds terrific, and has been quite frequent throughout his career, one has to love the man's wordplay. Toward the end, Manson sings, "LOVE is EVOL, CON is CONFIDENCE, EROS is SORE, SIN is SINCERE" (check out this page for a breakdown of that wordplay). Also, what other rock star mentions Zeus and Narcissus in a song? This is a fantastic song and, unlike many of Manson's songs throughout the years, it has great commercial potential as well.
3. "Third Day of a Seven Day Binge" (7/10): More so than any other track on this album, this song has generated extremely positive responses from critics. This song provides an extremely different sound for the band. More so than the first two tracks, it showcases a perfect hybrid of the Manson of old and the blues-rock influences which inspired him on this record. It's fairly mid-tempo yet catchy, and toward the end of the song, Manson effectively goes from singing to wailing like the Manson of old. Lyrically, this definitely isn't one of the stronger tracks on the album, which leaves me slightly less impressed than many professional critics. However, I can definitely see the appeal, and see it as the third consecutive strong track on the album.
4. "The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles" (9.75/10): This is another one of my favorite tracks on the album. It starts off like a fairly slow yet haunting track off Mechanical Animals before we hear what's known as the "Manson beat," and things continue to pick up during an extremely catchy chorus, where, among other things, Manson sings, "Lazarus has got no dirt on me," before the sound gets even heavier and Manson says, "I'm the Mephistopheles of Los Angeles." I'd be incredibly surprised if this didn't wind up being a single off the album. It may even have more commercial potential than "Deep Six."
5. "Warship My Wreck" (6.5/10): If there's one song I can't ultimately decide on, it's this one. After four incredibly strong tracks to open the album, while I see this one as having potential and appear to like it more with every listen, I don't think it quite matches the quality of the four other songs. It starts with an extremely haunting, horror film type of feel, before coming across as a hybrid of that and a slower track off Holywood. The song becomes its most haunting during the chorus, when the volume appears to get turned up a few notches. During the chorus, however, Manson's voice, while coming across as incredibly raw and emotional, is difficult to listen to at times if one isn't fully in tune with and feeling the song. This along with some fairly weak lyrics (by Manson's standards) leads me to believe this is one of the weaker tracks on the album. It still has a strong sound and vibe to it, however, if one can tolerate the screeches during the chorus.
6. "Slave Only Dreams to Be King" (7.25/10): Things pick back up again with this song. It starts off with a quick-paced, catchy beat, before the guitars kick in and it sounds like a hybrid of a Rob Zombie tune and a song from The Golden Age of Grotesque. Fittingly, Manson sounds like he's speaking into a megaphone during the verses. It's hard not to bob one's head up and down during this song, but while it's catchy and could become popular at some downtown clubs, I don't think it has as much commercial potential as "Deep Six" or "The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles." It's a good song, though, nevertheless, with intriguing lyrics.
7. "The Devil Beneath my Feet" (8.25/10): This is one of the catchier songs on the album, if not the catchiest. It has a stomp-your-feet, perhaps even dance, feel to it. So long as the band creates a censored version of the song, this could again be a future single with potential on a commercial level. The lyrics are kind of a mix, as they're intriguing, yet also somewhat repetitive. In any case, this is quite a fun and catchy tune, which could even have regular church goers singing, "Least I know, wherever I go, I've the devil beneath my feet."
8. "Birds of Hell Awaiting" (5/10): In my opinion, this is by far and away the weakest track on the album. Honestly, I think it's the only weak track on the album. It starts with a similar eerie sound like many other tracks, but then appears to want to do too much and suffers as a result. The song almost comes across as a tune to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, so it's an interesting sounding song, but suffers from a lack of ultimate direction. The lyrics are very repetitive as well. Also, like with the chorus in Warship My Wreck, Manson's voice is somewhat painful to listen to during the chorus of this song. What makes it more painful in this song than the other is the fact Warship My Wreck had a certain flow and increasing power to it, which made the singing in the chorus more fitting and tolerable than it is here. In the end, though, while I find this song intriguing to a certain extent and may give it a few more listens, I have a feeling it will be the only automatic-skip-past song I have on this album.
9. "Cupid Carries a Gun" (9/10): Fortunately, after the weakest track on the album, Birds of Hell Awaiting, comes one of the better songs on it, in my opinion. This is probably the eeriest song on the album. It combines haunting guitars, a mid-tempo beat, interesting lyrics, and Manson never sounding better. The creepy yet catchy verses transition to a powerful chorus, where Manson raises his voice, but to much more tolerable levels than in Warship My Wreck or Birds of Hell Awaiting. While the song was used in the show Salem, I wouldn't be surprised to see it released a single and hear it on the radio. Among the more mid-tempo songs, I think this one has the most potential commercially, especially if it's released as a single around Halloween.
10. "Odds of Even" (7.75/10): Of all the songs on the album, my opinion has improved the most on this one from the first to the second and third listens. Like with Killing Strangers being a perfect lead-in to this album, Odds of Even provides a perfect and powerful close to it. It's one of the slowest tracks on the album, combining a hybrid of bluesy rock and a sound somewhat reminiscent of Mechanical Animals' "Fundamentally Loathsome," before kicking things up ever so slightly with a guitar solo, and then transitioning to an incredibly haunting and powerful close and climax to the song, where Manson continually speaks, sings, and yells, "No one is exempt from the odds of even."
(On the Deluxe Edition are acoustic tracks of "Third Day of a Seven Day Binge," "The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles, and "Odds of Even." The songs are solid, but unless you're big into Manson and/or acoustic, they're not a huge bonus to the already solid album)
Overall: 78/100 = 78%
With each and every listen, The Pale Emperor sounds better, and void of one track ("Birds of Hell Awaiting"), it sounds great all the way through. Marilyn Manson hasn't sounded this inspired and motivated for a number of years and it shows in both his music and interviews. He decided to go in a different direction, experiment with a new sound, yet maintain the Manson beat and vibe of old, and what has resulted is one of the best, if not the best album he's ever released. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's official - the God of F**k is back and better than ever!
Final grade: 4.5 out of 5.0 (Excellent)
This may have never been more the case than with Marilyn Manson. With MTV still playing music videos and the Internet not being too far along yet, when Marilyn Manson came out with the 1996 album Antichrist Svperstar, he ultimately crowned himself as the new king of shock rock. This continued through the band's 1998 album Mechanical Animals, when the band shifted from industrial metal to space rock. After the tragic Columbine shootings in April of '99, though, Manson was largely (and wrongly) blamed for the tragedy, and quickly went from proud shock rock king to a man hiding from the world. He fought back in 2000 with the release of the final album in the band's triptych. Holywood, but even though the album won critical acclaim, and with that, awards, sales were not nearly as strong as for the previous two albums, and it was thus the begin of his downturn. After this record, he's said that he lost the fire and motivation he had felt previously, and after the band's release of their 2003 album The Golden Age of Grotesque, it seemed the band was all but finished. Manson then went on to pursue writing, acting, directing, and most of all, painting. In 2007, however, perhaps prompted by a difficult breakup, Marilyn Manson decided to go back into music and released the album Eat Me, Drink Me. While the album received decent reviews, it was quite different from Manson's previous efforts, so long-time fans were initially lukewarm to it, and with reality television becoming seemingly ubiquitous, the Internet becoming the norm, and MTV forgetting what the "M" stood for anymore, it appeared as if Manson would have trouble winning over many new fans through the shock appeal that had been so effective previously. The band tried to instill a bit more of the old shock appeal through their 2009 album, The High End of Low, but as was seen through weak sales, what was shocking in 1996 was far different than what was shocking in 2009, if anything was shocking at all at that point in time. Due to these weak sales, the band and its label parted ways. It was at this point when the band appeared lost, looking for direction. Eat Me, Drink Me played like a classic rock CD based on a story of a failed relationship. The High End of Low came across as a rehash of all the band's previous efforts. All of this led to the band's 2012 effort, Born Villain, which appeared to be a step in the right direction. The album sounded more inspired, better flowing, with experimentation in sound yet the same Manson vibe peering through. Outside of The High End of Low, that's been a constant for Marilyn Manson - experimentation in sound, yet with the same Manson vibe peering through. From the spooky Halloween-esque rock in Portrait of an American Family to the industrial metal in Antichrist Svperstar to the space rock in Mechanical Animals to the goth rock in Holywood to the rock/rap (beat) mix in The Golden Age of Grotesque to the classic/'80s rock in Eat Me, Drink Me to the punk rock in Born Villain, no Marilyn Manson album sounded the same, yet each and every one sounded like Marilyn Manson. The same is true of the band's latest disc, The Pale Emperor, which has a bluesy rock feel to it and may very well be the most complete and best-sounding Marilyn Manson album since 2000's Holywood (or even further back than that).
The Pale Emperor is already receiving critical acclaim and could very well be the album where both Marilyn Manson and music critics accept him as a musician as opposed to just a shock rock musician. That was a big problem for the band between Holywood (2000) and Born Villain (2012). Not only had Manson seemingly lost the ability to shock the masses as he once did and saw sales plummet as a result, but critics also appeared to continue grading his albums on their level of shock appeal, as opposed to the music within them. There was a growing divisiveness in the music critic community on Manson's music. Those that graded the band on their music typically liked the albums they released and those that graded them on shock appeal were usually left disappointed. However, with this latest album, it appears as if the two communities may finally see eye to eye on the matter and now realize that while yes, Marilyn Manson could shock people with his lyrics and antics at one point in his career, there's a reason why he's still around making music - the guy is a great writer, an underrated musician, and album after album, he cranks out good, catchy rock songs. The Pale Emperor is a prime example of that, as it's dark and mysterious, well written and produced, rockin' and catchy, and may very well be one of the band's best albums in their 20+ year history.
I'll now give a track-by-track overview of the album, including my grades for each song:
1) "Killing Strangers" (7.5/10): When first hearing this song, I thought it was an odd choice for being the lead-in to the album. However, after listening to the album all the way through several times, I can now say it's the perfect lead-in. It starts off with a bluesy, mid-tempo yet catchy feel, and transitions to a rather haunting sound and vibe during the chorus. Those two elements are fairly constant throughout this album: Bluesy and haunting. Lyrically, it's intriguing as well, as it appears to tackle the gun violence (rights/obsession) issue: "We're killing strangers, so we don't kill the ones that we love." It's, without a doubt, a solid opening track to this album, and it gives listeners a fairly good feel of what's to come.
2. "Deep Six" (10/10): This is both the second single and the heaviest song on the album. It starts off with a haunting horror picture sound (that too is fairly constant throughout the album) before quickly going into head-bang mode. The pre-chorus sounds like an up-tempo glam rock track from Mechanical Animals before it transitions back into the head-banging chorus. Through three full listens of this album, this may very well be my favorite track. The music is extremely catchy and heavy, but not overly so (as if it were being forced), Manson's voice sounds terrific, and has been quite frequent throughout his career, one has to love the man's wordplay. Toward the end, Manson sings, "LOVE is EVOL, CON is CONFIDENCE, EROS is SORE, SIN is SINCERE" (check out this page for a breakdown of that wordplay). Also, what other rock star mentions Zeus and Narcissus in a song? This is a fantastic song and, unlike many of Manson's songs throughout the years, it has great commercial potential as well.
3. "Third Day of a Seven Day Binge" (7/10): More so than any other track on this album, this song has generated extremely positive responses from critics. This song provides an extremely different sound for the band. More so than the first two tracks, it showcases a perfect hybrid of the Manson of old and the blues-rock influences which inspired him on this record. It's fairly mid-tempo yet catchy, and toward the end of the song, Manson effectively goes from singing to wailing like the Manson of old. Lyrically, this definitely isn't one of the stronger tracks on the album, which leaves me slightly less impressed than many professional critics. However, I can definitely see the appeal, and see it as the third consecutive strong track on the album.
4. "The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles" (9.75/10): This is another one of my favorite tracks on the album. It starts off like a fairly slow yet haunting track off Mechanical Animals before we hear what's known as the "Manson beat," and things continue to pick up during an extremely catchy chorus, where, among other things, Manson sings, "Lazarus has got no dirt on me," before the sound gets even heavier and Manson says, "I'm the Mephistopheles of Los Angeles." I'd be incredibly surprised if this didn't wind up being a single off the album. It may even have more commercial potential than "Deep Six."
5. "Warship My Wreck" (6.5/10): If there's one song I can't ultimately decide on, it's this one. After four incredibly strong tracks to open the album, while I see this one as having potential and appear to like it more with every listen, I don't think it quite matches the quality of the four other songs. It starts with an extremely haunting, horror film type of feel, before coming across as a hybrid of that and a slower track off Holywood. The song becomes its most haunting during the chorus, when the volume appears to get turned up a few notches. During the chorus, however, Manson's voice, while coming across as incredibly raw and emotional, is difficult to listen to at times if one isn't fully in tune with and feeling the song. This along with some fairly weak lyrics (by Manson's standards) leads me to believe this is one of the weaker tracks on the album. It still has a strong sound and vibe to it, however, if one can tolerate the screeches during the chorus.
6. "Slave Only Dreams to Be King" (7.25/10): Things pick back up again with this song. It starts off with a quick-paced, catchy beat, before the guitars kick in and it sounds like a hybrid of a Rob Zombie tune and a song from The Golden Age of Grotesque. Fittingly, Manson sounds like he's speaking into a megaphone during the verses. It's hard not to bob one's head up and down during this song, but while it's catchy and could become popular at some downtown clubs, I don't think it has as much commercial potential as "Deep Six" or "The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles." It's a good song, though, nevertheless, with intriguing lyrics.
7. "The Devil Beneath my Feet" (8.25/10): This is one of the catchier songs on the album, if not the catchiest. It has a stomp-your-feet, perhaps even dance, feel to it. So long as the band creates a censored version of the song, this could again be a future single with potential on a commercial level. The lyrics are kind of a mix, as they're intriguing, yet also somewhat repetitive. In any case, this is quite a fun and catchy tune, which could even have regular church goers singing, "Least I know, wherever I go, I've the devil beneath my feet."
8. "Birds of Hell Awaiting" (5/10): In my opinion, this is by far and away the weakest track on the album. Honestly, I think it's the only weak track on the album. It starts with a similar eerie sound like many other tracks, but then appears to want to do too much and suffers as a result. The song almost comes across as a tune to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, so it's an interesting sounding song, but suffers from a lack of ultimate direction. The lyrics are very repetitive as well. Also, like with the chorus in Warship My Wreck, Manson's voice is somewhat painful to listen to during the chorus of this song. What makes it more painful in this song than the other is the fact Warship My Wreck had a certain flow and increasing power to it, which made the singing in the chorus more fitting and tolerable than it is here. In the end, though, while I find this song intriguing to a certain extent and may give it a few more listens, I have a feeling it will be the only automatic-skip-past song I have on this album.
9. "Cupid Carries a Gun" (9/10): Fortunately, after the weakest track on the album, Birds of Hell Awaiting, comes one of the better songs on it, in my opinion. This is probably the eeriest song on the album. It combines haunting guitars, a mid-tempo beat, interesting lyrics, and Manson never sounding better. The creepy yet catchy verses transition to a powerful chorus, where Manson raises his voice, but to much more tolerable levels than in Warship My Wreck or Birds of Hell Awaiting. While the song was used in the show Salem, I wouldn't be surprised to see it released a single and hear it on the radio. Among the more mid-tempo songs, I think this one has the most potential commercially, especially if it's released as a single around Halloween.
10. "Odds of Even" (7.75/10): Of all the songs on the album, my opinion has improved the most on this one from the first to the second and third listens. Like with Killing Strangers being a perfect lead-in to this album, Odds of Even provides a perfect and powerful close to it. It's one of the slowest tracks on the album, combining a hybrid of bluesy rock and a sound somewhat reminiscent of Mechanical Animals' "Fundamentally Loathsome," before kicking things up ever so slightly with a guitar solo, and then transitioning to an incredibly haunting and powerful close and climax to the song, where Manson continually speaks, sings, and yells, "No one is exempt from the odds of even."
(On the Deluxe Edition are acoustic tracks of "Third Day of a Seven Day Binge," "The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles, and "Odds of Even." The songs are solid, but unless you're big into Manson and/or acoustic, they're not a huge bonus to the already solid album)
Overall: 78/100 = 78%
With each and every listen, The Pale Emperor sounds better, and void of one track ("Birds of Hell Awaiting"), it sounds great all the way through. Marilyn Manson hasn't sounded this inspired and motivated for a number of years and it shows in both his music and interviews. He decided to go in a different direction, experiment with a new sound, yet maintain the Manson beat and vibe of old, and what has resulted is one of the best, if not the best album he's ever released. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's official - the God of F**k is back and better than ever!
Final grade: 4.5 out of 5.0 (Excellent)
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