Artist: Marilyn Manson
Label: Polydor Records
Released: 2007
It’s been a full 10 years since the release of Manson’s mega-successful album Antichrist Superstar, and in all that time the prince of darkness has served us up characters ranging from a cartoonish freak out to shock the widest possible audience and corrupt American youth, all the way to a social adviser and commentator who worked with producers/directors Michael Moore and Bill O’Reilly. The cherry on top was his marriage of a few years to burlesque goddess Dita Von Teese. Running parallel to his melancholic lifestyle, his music this time around was brewed to match.
Love is harder than hate, you might say as a slogan for the 2003 album “The Golden Age of Grotesque.” This year’s newcomer “Eat Me, Drink Me” is its complete antagonist. On the other hand, this is Manson’s most thoroughly confessional album, and both lyrically and musically, he and his companion, bassist Tim Skold, wade into new, uncharted musical waters. Don’t panic, it’s not a total about-face. Let’s just say that, thanks to his own psychoanalysis and a slightly subtle musical approach, Mr. Manson is leaving his trademark heavy, violent musical vocabulary behind for a moment. That Manson means business this time is also proven by the fact that he simply turned down working with all the producers, advisers and so on who had helped him up to now, and took only his aforementioned sidekick Skold under his wing as help.
His contribution on the album could be called outstanding. Even though most of the songs are slower in tempo, they still carry that infectious dose of pop-metal that Manson has paid a little too little attention to until now. One of the most obvious songs that backs this up is “Heart-Shaped Glasses.” It’s a track tinged with poppy guitars, programmed drums and an almost dance-rock rhythm. If you set aside the gloomy keyboard parts and the vocals (distorted to maximum gloominess), you could easily find a trendy “new wave” counterpart in it. The “new wave” elements are mostly present in hard rock songs like “Mutilation Is The Most Sincere Form Of Flattery” or “You And Me And The Devil Makes 3”. The latter is one of seven songs on the album that touch on his failed love life, straight out of the style of Jesus’ dedication speech to his disciples. The fact that Manson chose the subtle side as the album’s main note is also a first in his short but fruitful musical career. “The Red Carpet Grave” stands out on the new album for its personal, confessional feel. Elsewhere, Manson names cannibalism and a possible car accident (in the style of the liberating film CRASH) as potential ways out of a personal crisis. In short, he mourns his past life and deeds in the vein of: “I kill myself in small amounts/In each relationship it’s not about love/Just another funeral and just another girl left in tears.”
The gem among the autobiographical songs on this release is undoubtedly “Putting Holes in Happiness”. With its melancholic guitar riffs, the song definitely builds sorrowful, moody arrangements. Hardcore fans will probably stay cool and unmoved by this album and its lack of songs that desecrate the name of God and the world’s governmental and social orders. This album probably touched on Manson’s mental maturity, since at 38 the guy is hardly a picture of tireless youthful madness. With the latex and nihilism in short supply, the shock-rocker serves up a hefty dose of confession from a slightly wounded, still “human” persona. Manson simply wants to be loved, and maybe he once even was, or will be!? Who knows? Love usually conquers all.
Overall rating: 8/10
Lineup
Marilyn Manson – vocals, percussion, lyrics, producer, photography, design
Tim Skold – guitar, bass, keyboards, programming, producer
Sean Beavan – final mix
Production
Marlyn Manson & Tim Skold
Track list
1. If I Was Your Vampire (5:56)
2. Putting Holes in Happiness (4:31)
3. The Red Carpet Grave (4:05)
4. They Said That Hell’s Not Hot (4:17)
5. Just a Car Crash Away (4:55)
6. Heart-Shaped Glasses (When the Heart Guides the Hand) (5:05)
7. Evidence (5:19)
8. Are You the Rabbit? (4:14)
9. Mutilation is the Most Sincere Form Of Flattery (3:52)
10. You and Me and the Devil Makes 3 (4:24)
11. Eat Me, Drink Me (5:40)
