I’ve been dragging my heels on getting this one done all weekend because Marilyn didn’t release this for review until it was released to the public on Friday. So, being the stubborn cu$t I am, I figured if he isn’t in a rush then why fuck should I be. Also, because the title of the album is so long that it takes up half of my usual word count. Obviously, that’s an exaggeration, but this is a Marilyn Manson review, so I’m expecting that everything about this is going to be a little over the top. Especially when the description in iTunes is “Social commentary from a visionary of macabre fantasy” … what?
An intro kicks off sounding like something from a space carnival, a very unsettling one. Marilyn enters the song with some a cappella vocals, well bar the weird intro noise. Shortly after, the band joins in, but not much really happens. This seems to be a bit of a vibe setter, and a not-very-exciting one. Let’s be honest, though, the dude is old, and some would say past his prime.
I’m holding my hopes up though because I do like his new stuff better than his old stuff. Mainly because he has become the creepy as fuck dude that he was always trying to be in his youth. The song does reach a peak as some double kicks and chugging guitars appear to help give it some depth and rhythm. It’s got a level of darkness to it, but not quite as dark as I’d like it yet.
Similar to the opening title track, No Funeral Without Applause opens with some mostly stand-alone lyrics by Marilyn. This one’s got some old-school Manson vibes to it. After taking a couple of days to catch up with this release, I’d heard along the grapevine that this album is a return to form. It’s definitely a form similar to that of an earlier one, that’s for sure.
An upbeat baseline kicks off Nod If You Understand, and it feels like the album is possibly about to gain some momentum. It definitely has, and this one has piqued my interest enough to make me turn up the volume a little. It’s no Deep Six, but it does start edging on those vibes.
As Sick As The Secrets Within is next, and apparently, we all already know this song because it’s previously been released as a single. Well, I’ve never heard it, and I’m guessing a lot of you haven’t either, but it is a single, and it is a little slower than the previous track. Not sure what more to say about it other than that it does sound like a MM single, which is light enough to make the airwaves but still somewhat dark enough to be mistakenly Marilyn Manson. Maybe it’s just that seedy old voice that he no longer needs to put on because it’s just natural now.
Next up is Sacrilegious, which I was hoping would be quite dark due to the name. Turns out that it’s a bit of a pop number. I feel like this song was written for his teenage fans. I’ve got some news for you Marilyn, your fans aren’t teenagers anymore and neither are you. Let’s just stick to the dark old seedy man vibes, yeah?
Death is Not a Costume, let’s talk about that for a second, shall we? I was never a fan of MM due to this very fact. I hated the costumes; I hated the make-up, and I hated the fake imagery and attitude. And then Slipknot hit the scene and made me an instant fan … and a fucking hypocrite. After swallowing my pride, I was able to accept MM’s music for what it was. Music, and a source of expression. This didn’t mean that I suddenly became an instant fan, but It did make me let him get away with his make believe until he became the make believe, and I started enjoying it. Anyway, that was a good song!
Hell doesn’t seem like a fun place to want to be, but it might be a little more fun if ya get to hang out there with Marilyn. Meet Me In Purgatory is Marilyn’s invite for this to happen. Be cautious, though, because in case you didn’t know, he’s a bit of a freak. So, shit will probably get a little freaky there, just like it would if you got into the bedroom with him. So don’t freak, when shit gets freaky. It’s purgatory after all.
I reckon I may have actually heard this next single, titled Raise the Red Flag. It’s the heaviest track so far, which is a shame being that it is the second last song on the album. He should be sorry for that, but I don’t give a fuck if he says he is sorry for that, which he won’t. It is actually a shame because this in my opinion is the best song so far. We all know what opinions are like though, and yes, I am one, and I’m not sorry about it.
Fuck, an acoustic guitar? No one asked for this, this better not be a fuckin ballad. Seems like it is, though, some kind of weird Bowie Manson mash-up-sounding thing. Don’t get me wrong here, I’m enjoying this twisted dark tone, which as I’m typing takes an even darker twisted turn. It’s strangely cathartic, in an exorcism kind of way. Not necessary, but not bad.
Return to form? Maybe, maybe not? I’m not really sure because I didn’t really follow him in his form, so I only know the commercial songs and not the full albums which gained him a cult following. It was enjoyable, though, but I do wish that more of the songs hit the heavy and dark peak that the second last track did. I will go and watch the show though when he comes back through, and hopefully it’s better than that last Soundwave appearance in 2015 where he was bloated as fuck and appeared to be smacked out.
That was a fucking disaster, this album was not.
