IF YOU’RE STILL HOLDING OUT HOPE THAT THE NEW MARILYN MANSON ALBUM WILL ROCK…
Thursday, April 9th, 2009 at 12:00pm by Axl Rosenberg
…don’t.
We still haven’t heard the full album, The High End of Low, but the band has sent out a six song sampler, featuring three songs we’ve already heard and three brand spankin’ new ones. And while the songs aren’t terrible, exactly, they certainly don’t sound anything like the band that made Antichrist Superstar or, um, anything else from the original Twiggy Ramirez-era.
“Four Rusted Horses” is mostly acoustic and “May Be Harmful if Swallowed,” I shit you not, has a very The Strokesian hipster douche chill vibe, with its bare, undistorted electric guitars. The only song that really struck us as being worth anyone’s time is a piano ballad (!) called “Into the Fire” that features a bluesy, simple yet soulful guitar solo that may or may not be played by Wes Borland (And if it is Borland, all I have to say is, why the fuck hasn’t he been playing shit like this his entire career?!?).
Here’s the thing: Manson seems, once again, to be attempting to ape his former producer/mentor, one Mr. Trent Reznor. As Reznor has matured and become a full-on cross-over-into-the-mainstream artist these past few years, his music has lost some of its heaviness; “Discipline” isn’t exactly “Wish.”
That’s not a criticism; I have no problem with artists evolving as long as they continue to make interesting music, and, in my opinion at least, Nine Inch Nails have continued to make interesting music.
But these Manson songs just sound watered down and unmemorable. I’ve listened to them a bunch of times and can’t for the life of me hum them back now. And Manson’s decision to do more singing and less screaming is a dreadful one, because the guy has the shittiest singing voice this side of any given member of Atreyu.
So I know I’m s’posed to reserve final judgement until I’ve heard the whole album, but if these six songsdon’t get our blood pumping and they’re the first ones Manson has released, well, that doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for optimism.
The High End of Low comes out… shit, I have no idea. And I suddenly don’t really care.
-AR
I’d say you’re dead on with this one. At least on his last few efforts the songs were memorably bad. This new batch seems about as in the middle as you can get.
It’s got to be better than the last album, though, right? It was the first of his that I didn’t buy. The downward spiral that started at Antichrist Superstar finally ended at Heart Shaped Glasses for me.
Juggalos like marilyn manson.
This album is going to suck. If I were Manson I’d be calling up John5 and Madonna Wayne Gacy, because without them his music is shit.
I am extremely dissapointed in Manson’s “new shit”
Everything after Antichrist Superstar has just been bland and monotonous to me.
It’s like he’s trying to be mainstream, but failing miserably.
It’s not like Marilyn Manson is even remotely relevant any more, so this isn’t really a surprise.
John 5’s solo stuff is so much better anyway… he’s retardedly talented.
The last MM album I could listen to start to finish was Anti-Christ Superstar. Every album after that had a couple tunes I liked but otherwise sucked.
I caught him on the last tour he did with Slayer. He was decent, but his schtick is tired.
Guess I’m the only one that actually enjoys all the new songs.
Oh well, to each his own
Just curious but what did you guys think of “Eat Me Drink Me?”
Well I’m the weird one and thought that “Mechanical Animals” was his best album. Go ahead make fun of me, but it kicked major ass. I was with him up to Holy Wood, at least a few of the songs, but Eat Me, Drink Me was fucking horrible. I unfortunately agree that the new stuff sounds horrible too. Oh well.
Holy Wood was good in my opinion. But as many of us forget, Golden Age was the worst album, by far, he has ever made. I think it made eat me, drink me seem like solid gold. Ive heard the first three off the new album….Just as bad as Golden Age if not worse. Ive been a huge Manson fan my whole life…. but he is just trying wayy too hard now.
I’m a bit confused here on why AR keeps bringing up the “Twiggy Era” as if Twiggy really had anything to do with Manson’s first two albums. Portrait of an American Family (personally the only Manson album I still listen to) was mainly done by “Daisy Berkowitz” I remember well because I lived in Ft Lauderdale at the time. Trent came in and cleaned up that album but never put any real “reznor” touches into it until Antichrist (which is almost all trent). This whole twiggy thing is blown out of proportion.
I’m a bit confused as to why anything he does is considered worthwhile, I can’t form any connection with any of his music, Antichrist the least of which(Shocking, Trent was involved, what a surprise), in fact I just can’t figure out what the attraction is at all.
Then again I never got The Smashing Pumpkins, R.E.M., or Radiohead.
I will wait to hear it. The reviews on this site always suck.
Well, I’m a few days late to the topic, but I’ll throw my opinion in.
I have heard 4 new songs, and I think they are good. Not great, but still solid Manson.
I have always loved his slower, darker stuff, and I love his glam influences… so most the songs I have heard appeal to this.
Better than “Eat Me, Drink Me” by A LOT!
I LOVE EVERYTHING MANSON HAS EVER DONE AND WILL SUPPORT HIM NO MATTER WHAT – EVERYONE ON THIS SITE CAN SUCK MY FUCKING COCK – FUCK YOU METAL SUCKS YOU OBVIOUSLY DON’T KNOW REAL MUSIC MANSON IS GOD AND IS COMING BACK TO END THIS WORLD!!!
FUCK ALL YOU HATERS
manson is a douche the new stuff is horrible
Finally found a site that I can leave comments without signing up. Thanks to Metal Sucks!
I couldn’t agree more with all those negative feedback about his new songs.
I have to say now I was once his big fan. I was the kind that would wear gothic makeup and clothing, playing his music 24/7 and phasing his philosophy behind his works.
I personally think that Anti-Christ Superstar, Mechanical Animals and Holywood are the best of his. After Holywood his music seemed shifted away (maybe due to the departure of Twiggy and Reznor stopped supporting?). Nonetheless, he could still kind of get his ideas and lyrics come across, and I found that Tim Skold has been adding more KMFDM style into Manson’s music. “Eat Me, Drink Me” wasn’t that bad in my opinion. It might seem kind of half fast and emotional, but I still like the lyrics in most of the songs especially “Putting Holes In Happiness”. They are “graphical”!
So what the hell is up with Manson today? (Where is his film and novel by the way?) Lyrics are plain, idea is lame! What he said in interviews just make him look unintelligent. The new songs are not even close to any songs from his last album “Eat Me, Drink Me” (which was considered his worst already?). He can keep going and sing about how stupid the Americans are, but he certainly needs to know that people around the world, including the Americans, are not as stupid as he thinks to keep buying his shit! I’m not American. I just can’t stand people like Manson who is still trading his own country for money and frame. A 40 year old should be very certain about his acts.
Today we have nothing but clichés. X-Men 4, Batman 6, Spiderman 3, Fast & Furious 4……..
I can’t even think of any good bands nor good music. Now we got Mr. Manson’s “Anti-Christ 2”? LMAO!
RIP Marilyn Manson!
I have to concur with the skeptics here, I’m not sure the rest of the album will be any better than what I’ve heard so far. Not terrible music, but lately I’ve been listening to Antichrist Superstar and Mechanical Animals which are far superior albums. I’m definitely in mourning.
I’ve gotta say: Much, much, much better than the last album…well so far.
I m speechless….these songs suck! i ve been a manson fan forever even got the tattoos, this music he is making now is BAD! His lyrics from the past would slit your wrist now they just repeat. I m not even going to waste my time on this album. He hyped it up to be this big project of HARD HEAVY MUSIC. I dont hear any of that. How do you go from writing COMA WHITE to THE WOW. These songs suck and they all repeat the lyrics… if he did not have a point in the song dont make it. EMDM i liked alot i think it was something new and fresh to the rock scene, but after the ratings on that album you would think he would do some hard shit.
“Coma White”
There’s something cold and blank behind her smile
She’s standing on an overpass
In her miracle mile
[coma:]
“You were from a perfect world
A world that threw me away today
Today to run away”
A pill to make you numb
A pill to make you dumb
A pill to make you anybody else
But all the drugs in this world
Won’t save her from herself
Her mouth was an empty cut
And she was waiting to fall
Just bleeding like a polaroid that
Lost all her dolls
[coma:]
“You were from a perfect world
A world that threw me away today
Today to run away”
A pill to make you numb
A pill to make you dumb
[chorus repeat]
Now here is the new song,
i had a dream, this one i feel the need to mention.
i was happy for a while and i stopped being scared
and ashamed to say what’s on my mind
but you thought i’d change after a while,
you said you’d better treat me different or else..
or else seems like a stupid fucking thing to say to someone like me,
someone like me
wow.
wow.
wow.
wowowowowowowow.
don’t be surprised, i can look you in the eye
it’s hard to take you serious when you take me inside.
don’t be surprised, i can look you in the eye
it’s hard to take you serious when you take me inside.
i’m worse than what you think you’d catch from me
complicated, understated, did you stop and take a look at who you fell in love with?
at who you fell in love with?
it doesn’t matter how many times i say it
it never gets old
that’s why i have to say…
wow.
wow.
wow.
wowowowowowowow.
don’t be surprised, i can look you in the eye
it’s hard to take you serious when you take me inside.
don’t be surprised, i can look you in the eye
it’s hard to take you serious when you take me inside.
it doesn’t matter if you’re going to come
or just going
i never wanted you to come here anyway
there’s a word that’s like you because it can be a noun, a verb, a exclamation or the thing i say when something is unbelievable. when i’m not able to believe how unbelievably unbelievable that you believe you could not be leavable. that’s when i have to say..
WOW.
wow.
wow.
wowowowowowowow.
don’t be surprised, i can look you in the eye
it’s hard to take you serious when you take me inside.
don’t be surprised, i can look you in the eye
it’s hard to take you serious when you take me inside.
….wow SUCKS
I am a huge Manson fan and have been since ACSS. I think that every album UNTIL Eat Me Drink Me is superb. But this album? High End of Low? Has got to be the biggest disaster and disappointment of the year. Eat Me Drink Me was my least favorite Manson album, but even that album was better than this. I still can’t believe how embarrasingly bad and horrible this album is. I’m glad I got to hear it on myspace before i spent money on it. I’m starting to think Manson is washed up. The album is HORRIBLE.
Everything has been said before . Nothing left to say anymore .
I am a fan , and it`s like this . I found out that he released the new album some weeks after it was released . I got it , listened to it and .. it`s not what i wanted and needed . As one needs something , that`s why one listens . And it`s not there . :| Hope some new era will come after the golden era .. Better yet dont do platinum do bedrock era . To those who might say i`m not a fan `cause i did not know abot the new album in time . I did not had the time to .
I guess I’m the unique Manson fan. I hated Antichrist Superstar, really thought it sucked and I ended up tossing it in the trash. My fave CD to date by Manson is Portrait of an American Family. Yes the older shit rocks, but that’s what happens with every band. The man is getting old, so his music is going to change. I like the new CD, not as much as some others but it’s till good to me.