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Marilyn Manson - The Golden Age of Grotesque  The Hobo Review

Marilyn Manson - The Golden Age of Grotesque 
Label: Nothing/Universal
Rating: 

The renowned shock rocker Marilyn Manson (real name Brian Warner) has instilled fear into the hearts of mothers everywhere since 1989, but with his latest release we’re left to ask – has the music taken a backseat to the image? 
 
Manson broke through to the world in 1994 with his release Portrait of an American Family with the help of Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor. The follow up album Antichrist Superstar (1996) kicked off a slow downward spiral. Mechanical Animals failed to match the two previous studio efforts and Holywood – while slightly palatable – made many question how much long Manson would last. 

 Notorious for acts like tearing up bibles, constantly being arrested for nudity violations, vandalizing hotel rooms, assaulting an editor of Spin magazine and rubbing his crotch on security guards, Manson had become the new face of Satan – even given honours by an established Satanic church in the United States. 
 
But fourteen years after it all began comes the release of Manson’s fifth full length LP The Golden Age of Being Grotesque. To many it seemed that predictable gimmicks were slowly morphing with popular culture, and that Manson’s brand of eerie gothic metal was slowly becoming more and more radio friendly. 
 
The album is aptly represented by the single “mOBSCENE”; crisp and full guitars, Manson’s signature vocal style and dark industrial drum beats, the result being rather likeable, radio-friendly tracks. Songs like “Use Your Fist And Not Your Mouth”, “(s)AINT”, “Vodevil” and “Sultgarden” follow that predictable structure.

The lyrics however, are the biggest letdown on the album - take the song “This Is The New Shit”. The verse lyrics are sung to the effect of “rabble rabble bitch bitch rabble rabble party party sex sex” and so on. While it becomes vaguely clear that Manson is attempting to make a statement about the state of pop-music, the immature lyrics and almost obsessive preoccupation with image let him down. 

The chorus of “New Shit” demonstrates how attractive Manson has made his music. By conforming to several elements of numetal, he creates a heavy and confronting vibe to which he is able to instill a catchy hook. Naturally, echoes of albums past ring throughout the entire album. The din of the days of industrial metal can be heard in tracks such as “Para-noir”, “Doll Dagga” and the albums title track. 
 
However throughout most the album Manson’s ‘evil’ and ‘violent’ persona is amplified to the point of satire - “Hold the S cause I am an Aint”. His constant attempts at portraying himself as an anti-artist like Cooper grow tiresome, as does his half-hearted swipes at the media.
 
The album follows Manson’s inevitable embracement of popular music. The more palatable tracks and traditional numetal structures match perfectly Mtv’s recent announcement that they consider Manson to be the “only true artist in the 21st century”. While some of the tracks of Grotesque are enjoyable, the album still leaves listeners with a sour distaste for the hypocritical and comic nature of Manson’s image. 
 
Old fans that still await a comeback of the old demonic Manson remain with their desires unfulfilled, finding only a stuffed, bright red plush toy imitation in their hands to help pass the time. “Doll-Dagga Buzz-Buzz Ziggety-Zag”? What has the dark overlord become?
 

Tracks: Intro  This Is The New Shit  mOBSCENE  Doll-Dagga Buzz-Buzz Ziggety-Zag  Use Your Fist And Not Your Mouth  The Golden Age Of Grotesque  (s)AINT  Ka-boom Ka-boom  Slutgarden  Spade  Para-noir  The Bright Young Things  Better Of Two Evils  Vodevil  Obsequey (The Death Of Art)

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