Marilyn Manson has been around since the late ’80s although any recorded material from the band didn’t hit the shelves until 1994 with the release of Portrait Of an American Family. With that album, the band secured their place on the shock stage with lively and condemning theatrics, along with the equally condemning lyrics that were part of the metal grind they excelled at for many years.
After every album, Marilyn Manson (the band) underwent changes that evolved them to points that allowed for the drop-off of a set of fans, but encouraged the acquisition of new ones. As a result, it was hard to pinpoint which fast-moving era of Marilyn Manson you enjoyed most. If you were a die-hard fan, you enjoyed them all even though you still may have appreciated a certain album more than the others.
Fast-forwarding to the new release (and not dissing ANY of the excellent previous works), Marilyn Manson has produced a strong album of songs in the just released (01/20/2015) The Pale Emperor. Without getting into the obvious fact that Marilyn is driven to metaphors in his titling of albums and songs, and his attack of closely held beliefs and ‘out of mind’ undercurrents of our daily lives and occurrences, it can be said that Marilyn Manson has delivered a superior album, his best in quite a long time.
The new album begins with “Killing Strangers”, which starts with their signature guitar and bass heaviness. The song deals with the war violence that has overtaken the world, taking care not to set its sights on any singular wrong-doers, but, rather, lumping them all into one group despite their differences. The song is crafty, and brilliant Marilyn Manson. In fact, it is among their best.
Another of the tracks found on the new set is “Third Day Of A Seven Day Binge” has already made the rounds as a pre-release single. (You can download “Third Day Of A Seven Day Binge” for free by supplying your email address. Click on the website link below, scroll all the way down, and download.) It, too, is a strong track of which the album richly has plenty of. “Mephistopheles Of Los Angeles” represents new Marilyn Manson as well as anything on the album. And with the industrial excellence of “Warship My Wreck”, complete with its ambient vinyl cracks and pops, You get a wide range of Rock and Roll music to dig!
With a healthy ten tracks on the regular album release (more on special editions), Marilyn Manson shows that he just not quite ready to fall away into obscurity. On The Pale Emperor, the band shows off their strengths making this album one to indulge your angst in.
Release Date: January 20, 2015
Label: Loma Vista Records
Website
Availability: (CD, DD, LP)
–Matt Rowe
I listened to this a few hours ago and I agree it’s a solid album. My favorite album from the band is still Mechanical Animals, but I think this one is right up there with that release and Antichrist Superstar.
This is the reason I wrote this review. Because it is an excellent album, I wanted to spur past fans to revisit what they may have written off by now.