Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson
Manson performing at 2007's Eurockéennes.
Background information
Birth name	Brian Hugh Warner
Also known as	Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids
Born	January 5, 1969 (1969-01-05) (age 40) Canton, Ohio, U.S.
Origin	Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Genre(s)	Alternative metal[1][2][3][4] Industrial metal[1][5][6][7] Shock rock[8][9][10] Industrial rock[11][5] Glam rock[5][12]
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, musician, artist, poet
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums, pan flute
Years active	1989-present
Label(s)	Nothing, Interscope
Associated acts	Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle, Goon Moon, Black Light Burns, Rob Zombie, Jack Off Jill, Mrs. Scabtree
Website	www.MarilynManson.com
Members
Marilyn Manson Jeordie "Twiggy Ramirez" White Wes Borland Ginger Fish Chris Vrenna
Former members
Madonna Wayne Gacy Scott "Daisy Berkowitz" Putesky Zim Zum Olivia Newton Bundy Sara Lee Lucas John 5 Zsa Zsa Speck Gidget Gein Mark Chaussee Tim Skold Rob Holiday

Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), better known by his stage name Marilyn Manson, is an American musician as well as an artist, known for his outrageous stage persona and image as the lead singer of the eponymous band. His stage name was formed from the names of actress Marilyn Monroe and convicted murderer,^[13] Charles Manson.^[14][15]

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Music 1.3 Film and television 1.4 Art 1.5 Video games 1.6 Absinthe 1.7 Personal life 1.7.1 Marriage to Dita Von Teese 1.8 Condemnation from PETA 1.9 Lawsuits 2 Controversy 2.1 School shootings 3 Band history 3.1 The Spooky Kids and the early years (1989–1992) 3.2 Portrait of an American Family and Smells Like Children (1993–1995) 3.3 Antichrist Superstar (1996–1997) 3.4 Mechanical Animals (1998–1999) 3.5 Holy Wood (2000–2001) 3.6 The Golden Age of Grotesque (2003–2004) 3.7 Lest We Forget (2004–2005) 3.8 Eat Me, Drink Me (2007–2008) 3.9 Seventh studio album (2008–present) 4 Musical style 4.1 Influences 4.2 Composition and songwriting 5 Performance 6 Discography 7 Filmography 8 Books 9 References 10 External links

Biography

Early life

Manson was born in Canton, Ohio, the son of Barb (née Wyer) and Hugh Warner. His father was a Catholic and his mother Episcopalian. According to his autobiography The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, Manson is of German and Polish ancestry on his father's side. He was raised in his mother's religion,^[16] attending Heritage Christian School, though he later transferred out, graduating from Cardinal Gibbons High School in 1987. In 1990, Manson was a college student attending Broward Community College. He was working toward a journalism degree and gaining experience in the field by writing music articles for a South Florida lifestyle magazine, 25th Parallel, when he met several of the musicians to whom his own band would later be compared, including: My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails.

Music

Main article: Marilyn Manson (band)

Manson formed Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids in Florida in 1989 (the name was shortened to Marilyn Manson in 1992). While with The Spooky Kids, he was involved with Jeordie White (also known as Twiggy Ramirez) and Stephen Gregory Bier Jr. (also known as Madonna Wayne Gacy) in two side-projects: Satan on Fire, a faux-Christian death metal ensemble where he played bass guitar, and drums in Mrs. Scabtree, a collaborative band formed with White and then girlfriend Jessicka (vocalist with the band Jack Off Jill) as a way to combat contractual agreements that prohibited Marilyn Manson from playing in certain clubs. In the summer of 1993, the band drew the attention of Trent Reznor. Reznor produced their 1994 debut album, Portrait of an American Family and released it on his Nothing Records label. The band began to develop a cult following, which grew larger with the release of Smells Like Children in 1995. That EP yielded the band's first big MTV hit with "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)", a cover of the 1983 Eurythmics hit. Antichrist Superstar (co-produced by Trent Reznor) was an even greater success.^[17] In the US alone, three of the band's albums have been awarded platinum certification, three more gold, and the band has had three releases debut in the top ten, including two number-one albums.

Manson first worked as a producer with the band Jack Off Jill. He helped name the band and produce most of the band's early recordings, and also played guitar on the song "My Cat" and had the band open most of his South Florida shows.^[18] Manson later wrote the liner notes to the band's album Humid Teenage Mediocrity 1992-1995, a collection of early Jack Off Jill recordings.

Manson has appeared as a guest performer on DMX's album Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood^[19] and on Godhead's 2000 Years of Human Error album — the only album released on his vanity label Posthuman.^[20]

Manson's latest musical project is a cover of the Danny Elfman song "This is Halloween" that was included on the soundtrack of the 2007 3D re-release of the 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas.^[21]

Film and television

Manson made his film debut in 1997, as an actor in David Lynch's Lost Highway. Since then he has appeared in a variety of minor roles and cameos, including Party Monster; then-girlfriend Rose McGowan's 1998 film Jawbreaker; Asia Argento's 2004 film The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things; Rise; and The Hire: Beat The Devil, the sixth installment in the BMW Films series. He was interviewed in Michael Moore's political documentary Bowling for Columbine discussing possible motivations for the Columbine massacre and allegations that his music was somehow a factor. He has appeared in animated form in Clone High and participated in several episodes of the MTV series Celebrity Deathmatch, becoming the show's unofficial champion and mascot; he often performed the voice for his claymated puppet, and contributed the song "Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes" to the soundtrack album.

In July 2005, Manson told Rolling Stone that he was shifting his focus from music to filmmaking - "I just don't think the world is worth putting music into right now. I no longer want to make art that other people — particularly record companies — are turning into a product. I just want to make art."

He is currently working on his directorial debut, Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll, In the film, he plays Lewis Carroll, author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Rather than a web-only release, he decided to give the estimated $4.2 million budget film a conventional cinema release, originally slated for mid-2007. The film will have an original music soundtrack with previously unreleased songs.^[22] Production of the film has been postponed until an undefined period following the Eat Me, Drink Me tour.^[23]

Art

Manson claimed in a 2004 interview with i-D magazine to have begun his career as a watercolor painter in 1999 when he made five-minute concept pieces and sold them to drug dealers. On September 13-14, 2002, his first show, The Golden Age of Grotesque, was held at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions Centre. Art in America's Max Henry likened them to the works of a "psychiatric patient given materials to use as therapy" and said his work would never be taken seriously in a fine-art context, writing that the value was "in their celebrity, not the work".^[24] On September 14-15, 2004, Manson held a second exhibition on the first night in Paris and the second in Berlin. The show was named ‘Trismegistus’ which was also the title of the center piece of the exhibit – a large, three-headed Christ painted onto an antique wood panel from a portable embalmers table.

Manson named his self-proclaimed art movement Celebritarian Corporation. He has coined a slogan for the movement: “We will sell our shadow to those who stand within it.” In 2005 he said that the Celebritarian Corporation has been "incubating for seven years" which if correct would indicate that Celebritarian Corporation, in some form, started in 1998.^[25]

Celebritarian Corporation is also the namesake of an art gallery owned by Manson, called the Celebritarian Corporation Gallery of Fine Art in Los Angeles for which his third exhibition was the inaugural show. From April 2-17, 2007, his recent works were on show at the Space 39 Modern & Contemporary in Florida. 40 pieces from this show traveled to Germany's Gallery Brigitte Schenk in Cologne to be publicly exhibited from June 28 - July 28, 2007. Manson was refused admittance to Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral), when he was in the city to attend the opening night. This was, according to Manson, due to his makeup. Other sources gave different reasons, however.^[26]

Video games

Manson made an appearance in the video game Area 51 as Edgar a Grey Alien. His song "Cruci-Fiction In Space" is featured in a commercial for a video game, The Darkness. His likeness is also featured on the Celebrity Deathmatch video game for which he recorded a song for the soundtrack (2003). The song "Use your fist and not your mouth" was the credits score of the game Cold Fear as well as Spawn: Armageddon.

Absinthe

Manson launched, "Mansinthe," his own brand of Swiss made absinthe, which has received mixed reviews ranging from critics who compared the drink's odor to sewage water and described the taste as being "as bad as piss"^[27] to coming second to Versinthe in an Absinthe top 5^[28] and winning a Gold medal at the 2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.^[29]

Personal life

Prior to his relationship with Von Teese, he was engaged to actress Rose McGowan.^[30]

Marriage to Dita Von Teese

He had been a long time fan of Dita Von Teese, and was a member of her website. They first met when he asked her to dance in one of his music videos. Though she was unable to, the two kept in contact. On his 32nd birthday, she arrived with a bottle of absinthe, and they became a couple. He proposed on March 22, 2004 and gave her a 1930s-era, 7-carat, European round-cut diamond engagement ring.

On November 28, 2005, Manson and von Teese were married in a private, non-denominational ceremony in their home. A larger ceremony was held on December 3, at Gurteen Castle, in Kilsheelan, County Tipperary, Ireland, the home of their friend, Gottfried Helnwein. The wedding was officiated by surrealist film director and comic book writer Alejandro Jodorowsky. They reportedly exchanged vows in front of approximately 60 guests, including Lisa Marie Presley, Eric Szmanda, Jessicka and Christian Hejnal and burlesque performer Catherine D'lish. The bride wore a royal purple silk taffeta gown, made by Vivienne Westwood, a tri-corned hat designed by Stephen Jones and a matching Mr. Pearl corset. Moschino designed an additional wardrobe for the rest of the weekend, exclusively for Von Teese. The reception music was provided by the retro German band Palast Orchester mit Max Raabe. Guests were invited to participate in skeet shooting, archery and falconry in the days following the wedding. The wedding pictures appeared in the March 2006 edition of Vogue under the heading, "The Bride Wore Purple."^[31]

On December 30, 2006 Von Teese filed for divorce due to "irreconcilable differences."^[32] ET.com and People claimed that Manson was having an extramarital affair with then 19-year-old actress Evan Rachel Wood, who is to co-star in his upcoming horror film Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll, and features in the video for his 2007 single, "Heart-Shaped Glasses."^[33][34] The relationship was confirmed by Von Teese in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, "I get the impression he thinks I was unsupportive, but the truth is I wasn't supportive of his lifestyle, and someone else came along who was."^[35] Manson's alcohol abuse and distant behavior were also cited as cause for the split.^[36] He is reportedly fighting for custody of the couple's three cats.^[37] A judgement of divorce was entered in Los Angeles Superior Court on December 27, 2007.^[38]

Condemnation from PETA

After media comments from Manson that he wears his signature black leather pants 24/7,^[39] animal rights group PETA added Manson to PETA’s, ‘Worst-Dressed Celebrities of 2008’.^[40]

Lawsuits

• In 1997, former guitarist and songwriter Scott Putesky, "Daisy Berkowitz," filed suit against Manson seeking unpaid royalties for his contributions to the band's output up to that period, including the recently released Antichrist Superstar. The case was concluded in 1998, although the outcome was confidential.
• In a civil battery suit, David Diaz, a security officer from a concert in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on October 27, 2000, sued for $75,000 in a Minneapolis federal court.^[41][42] The federal court jury found in Manson's favor.^[43]

• In a civil suit presented by Oakland County, Michigan, Manson was charged with sexual misconduct against another security officer, Joshua Keasler, during a concert in Clarkston, Michigan, on July 30, 2001. Oakland County originally filed assault and battery and criminal sexual misconduct charges,^[44] but the judge reduced the latter charge to misdemeanor disorderly conduct.^[45] Manson pleaded no contest to the reduced charges, paid a $4,000 fine,^[46] and later settled the lawsuit under undisclosed terms.^[47]

• On April 3, 2002, Maria St. John filed in Los Angeles Superior Court accusing Manson of providing her adult daughter, Jennifer Syme, with cocaine and instructing her to drive while under the influence.^[48]

• On August 2, 2007, former band member Stephen "Pogo/Madonna Wayne Gacy" Bier filed a lawsuit against Manson for unpaid "partnership proceeds," seeking $20 million in back pay. Several details from the lawsuit leaked to the press.^[49][50] In November 2007, additional papers were filed saying that Manson purchased a child's skeleton and masks made of human skin. He also allegedly bought stuffed animals, such as a grizzly bear and two baboons and a collection of Nazi memorabilia.^[51] In December 2007, Manson countersued, claiming that Bier failed to fulfill his duties as a bandmember to play for recordings and to promote the band.^[52]

Controversy

In December 1996, a press conference was called by William J. Bennett, Senator Joseph Lieberman, and activist C. DeLores Tucker, aimed at MCA, the owner of Interscope Records. Calling several albums released by the label — including Antichrist Superstar — "profane," "violent," "filth," and "crap,"^[53] the group questioned MCA president Edgar Bronfman, Jr.'s ability to head the label competently while profiting from such material. That November 6, U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management and Restructuring held a public hearing on the effect of violent rock and rap lyrics on youths. Supporters of the band claim it was merely another salvo in Senator Lieberman's declared war on the band. The hearing, chaired by Representative Sam Brownback, featured the testimony of Lieberman and Tucker, and of Raymond Kuntz, of Burlington, North Dakota, who blamed his son's suicide on Antichrist Superstar, which Lieberman denounced as "vile, hateful, nihilistic and damaging."^[53]

In addition, the band's performances have come under fire — the Dead to the World Tour, in particular, was followed by protesters at nearly every North American venue it visited. The band's March 10, 1997 performance in Columbia, South Carolina was canceled "in response to growing public pressure by religious, civic and political leaders who criticized the group's image".^[54] The owner of Calgary's Max Bell Centre had Marilyn Manson's July 25 show canceled, citing "immorality" and the band's "use of animals on stage." Another concert in Portland was canceled a few days later due to Manson's reputation, and the venue's inability to get insurance for the show.^[55]

The New Jersey date of Ozzfest '97, to be held at Giants Stadium, was canceled by the New Jersey Sports and Exhibition Authority, who cited Marilyn Manson's performance as its reason; the event was only held after Ozzy Osbourne himself successfully sued the state, which compelled the authorities to allow the concert. Legislation was introduced and passed in South Carolina and Utah allowing state-operated venues to ban groups like Marilyn Manson from performing and, in at least one instance, in Florida, local schools have gone so far as to threaten expulsion for students in attendance of Marilyn Manson concerts.^[56]

School shootings

Following the Columbine High School massacre, there were accusations that killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were influenced by Marilyn Manson's music. When later evidence was presented that neither Harris nor Klebold were fans of the band, many were led to criticize the media for using the band as a scapegoat instead of analyzing the underlying societal problems surrounding the incident.^[57] In the controversial documentary Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore interviewed Manson about the tragedy. When asked what he would say to the kids at Columbine, or the people in that community, Manson replied "I wouldn't say a single word to them; I would listen to what they have to say, and that's what no one did".^[58] Eminem referenced the controversy in his song 'The Way I Am', which contains the line, "When a dude's gettin' bullied and shoots up his school/And they blame it on Marilyn, and the heroin/Where were the parents at?". Marilyn Manson made a cameo in the video for the song, and even contributed vocals to a guitar-heavy remix.

The controversy connecting Marilyn Manson and American school shootings continued on October 10th, 2007 when 14-year-old Asa Coon opened gunfire on his high school in Cleveland, Ohio. SuccessTech Academy went to lock-down status around 1:15pm, when Coon shot four people; including two students, and two teachers, before turning the gun on himself. Police reports, and student interviews claim that Coon was wearing a Marilyn Manson t-shirt during the rampage. On several occasions, Coon told students and teachers that he did not believe in, nor respect God; instead worshipped vocalist Marilyn Manson. Coon was known for violent behavior, and stood out among a predominately black student body for his appearance -- which included black boots, a black trench coat, black nail polish, and rock t-shirts.^[59] When Manson toured his Eat Me, Drink Me album in late 2007, during certain songs news reports of the shooting were projected onto the screen at the back of the stage.

Band history

The Spooky Kids and the early years (1989–1992)

In 1989, Brian Warner was a college student working toward a journalism degree, and gaining experience in the field by writing music articles for a South Florida lifestyle magazine, 25th Parallel. It was in this capacity that he was able to meet several of the musicians to whom his own band would later be compared, including My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. He met Scott Putesky shortly afterward and, after showing him some lyrics and poems he had written, proposed that they form a band together. Warner, guitarist Putesky, and bassist Brian Tutunick recorded their first demo tape as Marilyn Manson & The Spooky Kids in 1990, taking on the stage names of Marilyn Manson, Daisy Berkowitz and Olivia Newton Bundy, respectively. They were soon joined by Stephen Bier, who called himself Madonna Wayne Gacy; Bundy was replaced by Gidget Gein, born Brad Stewart. In 1991, drummer Fred Streithorst joined the band, with the stage name Sara Lee Lucas.

The stage names used by each member were representative of a concept the band considered central: the dichotomy of good and evil, and the existence of both, together, in every whole. "Marilyn Monroe had a dark side", explained Manson in his autobiography, "just as Charles Manson has a good, intelligent side".^[14] Images of both Monroe and Manson, as well as of others equally famous and notorious, were common in the band's early promotional materials.

The Spooky Kids' popularity in the area grew quickly, largely because of radio DJ Scott David of WYNX-FM, an early fan who eagerly played songs from the band's demo tapes on the air; and because of the band's highly visual concerts, which drew from performance art and used many shock techniques. It was not uncommon to see onstage "naked women nailed to a cross, a child in a cage, or bloody animal body parts";^[60] Manson, Berkowitz, and Gein variously performed in women's clothing or bizarre costumes; and, for lack of a professional pyrotechnician, they would occasionally set their own stage props on fire. The band would dramatically contrast these grotesque theatrics with elements drawn from the culture of the members' youth in the 1970s and 1980s: characters from that era's children's television made regular, often somewhat altered, appearances on Marilyn Manson flyers and newsletters, and were frequently sampled in the music. They continued to perform and release cassettes — shortening their name to Marilyn Manson in 1992 — until the summer of 1993, when the band drew the attention of Trent Reznor, who at the time had just founded his own record label, Nothing Records.

Portrait of an American Family and Smells Like Children (1993–1995)

Main article: Portrait of an American Family

Main article: Smells Like Children

Reznor offered Marilyn Manson a contract with his new label and the opportunity to support Nine Inch Nails on their upcoming headlining tour. The band accepted both offers, and recording sessions for its national debut, Portrait of an American Family, began in July 1993. Working with producer Roli Mosimann at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida, the band recorded a selection of new songs along with material from their Spooky Kids repertoire and, by the end of Autumn 1993, had completed the first version of their debut, titled The Manson Family Album. It was not, however, well-received. The abrasive sonic "rawness" that Mosimann's production had brought to such groups as Swans had failed to materialize on The Manson Family Album; Reznor and all the band's members found it flat and lifeless, and poorly representative of Marilyn Manson's dynamic performances. "I thought, 'This really sucks', Manson explained, "so I played it for Trent, and he thought it sucked".^[60] At the same time, the band was having difficulties with bassist Gidget Gein, who had begun to lose control of his addiction to heroin.

In October 1993, Reznor agreed to rework the production on Marilyn Manson's album, taking them and their tapes to The Record Plant in Los Angeles. Gein, who had been hospitalized after an overdose, was not invited. After seven weeks of mixing, remixing, and rerecording, the album — now titled Portrait of an American Family — was ready to be presented to Interscope Records. Even as the first single "Get Your Gunn" was beginning to receive radio airplay, Gein received a letter declaring his services "no longer needed" by Marilyn Manson after he overdosed on heroin for the fourth time; he was replaced by Twiggy Ramirez, then known as Jeordie White, of Miami thrash band Amboog-a-Lard. In December 1993, Ramirez first performed as the band's new bass player on a week's worth of headline dates through Florida while in Jacksonville, Florida, Marilyn Manson was arrested after being accused by the town's Christian Coalition of violating the town's adult entertainment codes. Both singers were charged with misdemeanors.^[61] On the first date of a fourteen-week national tour opening for Nine Inch Nails, Ramirez made his national touring debut. It was during this tour that Manson had occasion to meet with Church of Satan founder Dr. Anton LaVey. After a cordial meeting, LaVey honored Manson with the title of "Reverend" — meaning, in the Church of Satan, a person who is revered by the church, and not necessarily one who dedicates his life to preaching the religion to others, as with a priest or minister.

In March 1995, the band began its first national headlining tour, a two-month outing with Monster Voodoo Machine as support; this would be drummer Sara Lee Lucas's last tour with the band. Tension between Lucas and Manson had apparently grown as the tour wore on and, on the next-to-last night of the tour, Manson secretly decided to end the show with a flourish: during a performance of the then-current single, "Lunchbox", he doused Lucas's drum kit in lighter fluid and set it ablaze — with Lucas still attempting to play on behind it. (Manson apparently forgot that the band had one more date to play.) Lucas quit the band after the final gig the next night. Less than two weeks later his replacement, Ginger Fish, joined the group, Marilyn Manson was touring again, this time on a bill with Danzig and Korn. That tour ended in summer 1995, after which the band relocated to the new home of Nothing Studios in New Orleans, Louisiana to begin work on the third single from Portrait of an American Family, "Dope Hat". Accompanied by a music video which featured Manson in the role of Willy Wonka in a shock-horror version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the proposed single for "Dope Hat" eventually developed into an hour-long Remix album, Smells like Children. The album's fifteen tracks of covers, remixes, and bizarre sonic experiments also included the band's version of the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", which would prove to be Marilyn Manson's first legitimate hit: the video was placed in heavy rotation on MTV (in stark contrast with the "Dope Hat" video, which MTV had banished to late-night airplay only a few months before) and the mainstream music press was suddenly clamoring to cover the group. A five-month headlining tour followed, from September through February, during which the band began to debut new material like "Irresponsible Hate Anthem", "Minute of Decay", and "Smells like Children". Rumors of a new album circulated widely during this time, and were confirmed when the band returned to Nothing's New Orleans studio in early 1996 to perform what Manson termed "a musical ritual designed to bring about the Apocalypse".^[62]

Antichrist Superstar (1996–1997)

Main article: Antichrist Superstar

Marilyn Manson's second full-length studio album, Antichrist Superstar, was released on October 8, 1996. It was recorded at Nothing Studios with Trent Reznor himself acting as executive producer; the process of making the album was reportedly a long and difficult one, highlighted by experiments allegedly involving sleep deprivation and near-constant drug use in an effort to create an environment suited to the album's moody and occasionally violent content. During this time, antagonism between band members was high, which caused the departure of guitarist and founding member Daisy Berkowitz. With Berkowitz out of the band, Twiggy Ramirez performed lead guitar for much of the recording of Antichrist Superstar, and the group placed an ad seeking a new guitarist for its upcoming tour; Timothy Linton, auditioned for and was given the position. Breaking with the six-year tradition of icon / killer naming structures, the newest member was dubbed Zim Zum – a name derived from Kabbalah^[63], one of the major sources of inspiration for the album.

The album's first single, "The Beautiful People", made a fairly major impact on the alternative rock charts, and created enough anticipation for Antichrist Superstar that the album debuted at number three on the album charts. The year-and-a-half long Dead to the World Tour in support of the album followed; it was the band's longest and widest yet, and included Marilyn Manson's live debut in Alaska, Hawaii, the United Kingdom, continental Europe, South America, Asia and Australia as their fame spread to all corners of the world. In the United States, however, the band was receiving more attention than ever before, and not all of it was positive.

As the tour was getting underway, the band found itself the target of congressional hearings, led by Senator Joseph Lieberman, to determine the effects, if any, of violent lyrics on young listeners. Lieberman would later go on to refer to Marilyn Manson as "perhaps the sickest group ever promoted by a mainstream record company".^[56] In addition, nearly every performance on the tour was picketed by religious organizations, pleading with fans to not see the musician who once said "I think every time people listen to this new album maybe God will be destroyed in their brainwashed minds. . .".^[64]

On November 10, 1997, the band released a remix/live EP, Remix & Repent, featuring new versions of Antichrist Superstar's four singles, "The Beautiful People", "Tourniquet", "Antichrist Superstar", and "Man that You Fear", alongside songs recorded live on the U.S. leg of the Dead to the World Tour. Two unreleased songs from the Antichrist Superstar recording sessions were contributed to film soundtracks: "Apple of Sodom" to David Lynch's Lost Highway, and "The Suck for Your Solution" to the Howard Stern biopic Private Parts. As the year ended, Manson made the announcement of the upcoming publication of his first book, the autobiographical Long Hard Road out of Hell; the book was released in February 1998, along with another live document of the world tour, a home video entitled Dead to the World. The release of the follow-up to Antichrist Superstar was, according to the band, also imminent, accompanied by early rumors of the involvement of Billy Corgan and The Dust Brothers with the as-yet-untitled album.

Mechanical Animals (1998–1999)

Main article: Mechanical Animals

On September 15, 1998, Marilyn Manson released Mechanical Animals, an album strongly influenced by David Bowie. Interscope's promotion of the album was massive, including an enormous billboard of singer Manson as an androgynous extraterrestrial over Times Square, and repeated appearances on MTV and other networks to promote the album and the single "The Dope Show"; propelled by the success of Antichrist Superstar and by this press push, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. The band had recast itself in a new image for this album; setting aside the bleak gothic darkness of the previous record for a more concealed morbidity. Marilyn Manson was now a glam rock band, borrowing its visual presentation largely from Bowie, and from Roxy Music and its contemporaries. By this time, the band had permanently relocated to Los Angeles, and Zim Zum had been replaced by glam-influenced guitarist John Lowery, who joined the band as John 5. After a brief promotional tour, the band set out on the Rock Is Dead world tour with Hole and Monster Magnet as support. The tour, however, would be a problematic one: on March 1, 1999, the three bands played the first show in Spokane, Washington; by March 14, Hole had left the tour and Manson had broken his ankle, forcing postponements of some shows. Jack Off Jill and Nashville Pussy were asked to take select remaining opening slots on tour. ^[65]

Less than three weeks after the tour resumed, two students (Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold) at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado killed thirteen people, and then took their own lives; early media reports declared them fans of "violent" music and video games.^[66] On April 28, out of respect for the victims, Marilyn Manson canceled the remaining dates of the Rock Is Dead tour, and would not reappear in Denver until the 2001 Ozzfest. Manson's song The Nobodies was directly inspired by the shootings.

Holy Wood (2000–2001)

Main article: Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)

The rest of 1999 and much of 2000 was a period of relative silence for Marilyn Manson. The band spent over a year quietly writing and recording in a studio in Death Valley, with only the single Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes — an outtake from Antichrist Superstar^[67] — appearing during that time. On November 14, 2000, Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) was released. Returning to the darker, more visceral sound of Antichrist Superstar, much of the album's content was written in response to the Columbine massacre. Despite much critical acclaim, Holy Wood was Marilyn Manson's poorest selling album. Described by the band as the third part of a trilogy begun with Antichrist Superstar and continued in Mechanical Animals, its overarching theme is an exploration of the relationship between death and fame in American culture, and its lyrics and artwork contain many references to John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald, John Lennon and Mark David Chapman, and even Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth. The Guns, God, and Government world tour expanded upon the exploration of America's fascination with violence, and with the tour's logo — a rifle and handguns arranged to resemble the Christian cross — Manson made no attempt to conceal what he saw as the source of that fascination.

On May 16, 2001, it was announced on the Marilyn Manson website that Manson planned to quote the Bible at his next concert, to "balance out" his violent lyrics, "so we can examine the virtues of wonderful Christian stories of disease, murder, adultery, suicide and child sacrifice. Now that seems like entertainment to me".^[68] On June 21, 2001, Manson did indeed read from the Bible onstage in Denver, Colorado, presenting such passages as Leviticus 20:9 ("For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall surely be put to death") and Psalm 137:9 ("Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones") as a means of comparing rock sensationalism with religious texts on a parallel platform.

The Golden Age of Grotesque (2003–2004)

Main article: The Golden Age of Grotesque

With the "triptych" of the previous three albums now complete, Marilyn Manson was free to begin a fresh project. In 2002, Jonathan Davis of Korn invited Marilyn Manson into a studio to record vocals on a track he wrote entitled "Redeemer". The song, produced by both Jon and Richard Gibbs, was then released on the Queen Of The Damned soundtrack. After finding inspiration in the decadent Swing era of the 1920s, the band recorded The Golden Age of Grotesque that year and the album was released on May 13, 2003. Eschewing the lyrical depth and volume of symbolism and hidden meaning of Holy Wood, the new album was relatively straightforward; in an extended metaphor, Manson compares his own often-criticized music to the entartete Kunst banned by the Nazi regime. New member Tim Skold, replacing Twiggy Ramirez, added a new dimension to the band's sound; he brought with him from KMFDM that band's use of heavy industrial beats, for better or worse — The Golden Age of Grotesque was frequently impugned as derivative of KMFDM and lacking the originality that Marilyn Manson had become known for. The album still managed a number one debut on the album charts, selling over 118,000 copies in the US its first week of release.

Another world tour, the Grotesk Burlesk, followed, which furthered the album's Weimar Republic-inspired theme by adding elements of German Kabarett to the group's performances. Elaborate artwork by Gottfried Helnwein appeared in the band's stage dressing, and the members began appearing both on-stage and off- in designer suits and with fashion superstars.

Lest We Forget (2004–2005)

Main article: Lest We Forget: The Best of

Lest We Forget: The Best of was released on September 28, 2004. It was referred to by the singer as his "farewell" album. It was supported by a series of "greatest hits" performances, the Against All Gods tour. After the release of the single "Personal Jesus", the band made a number of promotional appearances; at one of these, the Comet awards show in Germany, drummer Ginger Fish fell from his drum riser, fracturing his skull and wrist. Former Nine Inch Nails drummer Chris Vrenna replaced him; since his recovery from the accident Fish had been recording and performing with a new band, Martyr Plot, before rejoining Marilyn Manson. John 5 had also been replaced; Mark Chaussee of Fight took over lead guitar on the Against All Gods tour, and was subsequently replaced in the studio by Tim Skold. Though John 5 denied any hostility towards Marilyn Manson following the announcement of his departure, at the band's appearance on the Rock am Ring music festival in 2003 an incident took place between John 5 and Marilyn Manson where Manson deliberately collided with the guitarist, as was part of the singer's stage interaction with him. John 5 however responded with anger, throwing off his guitar mid-song and raising his fists to Manson as if to fight with him, before resuming the song without any further incident. Lest We Forget was certified Gold in 2005.

It has been speculated that Manson's "farewell album" comment may be an indication that the membership of Marilyn Manson may no longer be permanent, and that the musicians who record the albums and play live may, in the future, rotate, as has been the case with Nine Inch Nails and KMFDM. Manson's 2007 album, "Eat Me, Drink Me", was recorded by the core Manson and Skold.^[69]

Eat Me, Drink Me (2007–2008)

Main article: Eat Me, Drink Me

Marilyn Manson's sixth studio album, Eat Me, Drink Me, was released on June 5, 2007, debuting at number 8 in the United States with more than 88,000 copies sold. Released more than four years after The Golden Age of Grotesque, Eat Me, Drink Me marked another change in musical styles that the band has become famous for. The sound was of a mix between his David Bowie styled Glam rock and a Bauhaus styled Goth rock. One remarkable note of the album is that it was written entirely by Manson and Skold in a rented home studio. The album is also the first major label Manson album without Madonna Wayne Gacy (Pogo) as a listed member, making lead singer Marilyn Manson the only original member since Portrait of an American Family. Chris Vrenna, who replaced Ginger Fish temporarily on the Against All Gods Tour on drums will be replacing Pogo on tour for the time being. Marilyn Manson co-headlined a tour with Slayer in order to promote the album with Bleeding Through as the opening act and Deadly Apples on select dates. Rumors also circulated for some time that Marilyn Manson wrote the song "Mutilation is the Most Sincere Form of Flattery" as an attack on the band My Chemical Romance, for his Eat Me, Drink Me release (which he later denied, saying that it was aimed at people in general seeking to imitate him). In another interview Manson stated that "I'm embarrassed to be me because these people are doing a really sad, pitiful, shallow version of what I've done".^[70] In response to this, Gerard Way, the lead singer of My Chemical Romance claimed nothing Manson could say would bring the band down.

On January 9, 2008 Marilyn Manson posted a bulletin on MySpace confirming that former bassist Twiggy Ramirez was rejoining the band, and Tim Skold had parted ways with the band. The duo have apparently started writing new material already. Future collaborations with Skold haven't been ruled out as of yet.^{[71][72][73][74]}

Seventh studio album (2008–present)

The seventh studio album by Marilyn Manson began recording sessions following the band's Rape of the World tour, which ended on March 2, 2008. ^[75]

On November 29, 2007 at The Heirophant, it was reported that Marilyn Manson planned to begin writing songs for their seventh studio album in January or February (2008).^[76] Manson said "after my greatest hits album (Lest We Forget: The Best of) came out I took a long break from music because it was a period where I was not sure who I wanted to be. I left music for a while but that's not an error I want to repeat in the future," and mentioned Kerry King, James Iha former guitarist of The Smashing Pumpkins, and Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as likely contributors.^[77] On January 11, 2008 in the interview Everyone Will Suffer Now at MansonUSA, Manson said "I just feel like there is a big change happening now. It's going to be the one. Eat Me, Drink Me is opening the window and this is going to be the Hurricane Katrina." A new single for this album is scheduled to come out in early January. ^[78]

Since Manson parted company with Skold and reunited with Ramirez, the two, along with Fish and Vrenna are working on the album in Los Angeles ahead of a planned February 2009 release following soon to be announced tour dates. In an interview with Steppin' Out, Manson described the new album as, "very ruthless, very heavy, and very violent".^[79]

On August 14, 2008, it was announced by Manson at a public interview in Seoul, Korea that former Limp Bizkit guitarist and current Black Light Burns frontman Wes Borland has joined the lineup, replacing Rob Holiday on guitars. The band attended the ETP Festival and are wrapping up production on the new album. ^[80]

On October 5th, the band played a special show at the yearly Hot Topic Managers meeting. The show took place at the LA Marriott Hotel by the airport. Manson was over heard comparing the new album to Antichrist Superstar in a party for Scream 2008 Awards,^[81] where he also stated the album is "pretty much finished" with him expecting to release a new song before the end of the year and hoping to release the album around Valentine's Day.^[82]

Marilyn Manson has been interviewed in the recent issue of Revolver Magazine (February 2009). Manson briefly discusses the new album and reveals the titles for two new songs, "I Wanna Kill You Like They Do in the Movies" and "Armagoddamnmotherfuckinggeddon". Manson tells Revolver "I've got my fire back," and the new album "really wipes the floor with everything we've done before."^[83]

A statement was released by Manson on Christmas Eve in order to dispell some rumors that had recently been circulating: "Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to make an announcement. The rumors that I found a 'replacement' for Evan, or that I have a new girlfriend are absolutely not true. I am finishing up my album, and I also have never even met Ne-Yo. I can assure him that he would not want to be associated with something this godless. Get over the holiday so I can happily ruin the new year for anyone that assumed music was going to stay boring and sweet."^[84]

Musical style

Marilyn Manson has come to be known for altering both its image and its musical trappings frequently; the group's sound incorporating, at various stages, elements of spoken-word poetry, glam rock, and — more recently — vaudeville and burlesque. Lead singer Manson was fond of David Bowie, Black Sabbath and Kiss as a young music fan,^[14] but every permanent member of the band has brought his own unique style and set of influences to the band's sonic palette. Attempting to blend the typical heavy metal sound of heavily distorted guitar and kick-drum-heavy percussion with industrial metal's emphasis on electronic musical instruments, and Gothic overtones, Marilyn Manson's music is also marked by tendencies toward unconventional recording techniques and musical experimentation. Furthermore, many of Marilyn Manson's songs include obvious homages to other artist's iconic songs.

Influences

Initially, after being introduced to Big Black by a fellow Miami clubgoer, who would become his keyboard player, Madonna Wayne Gacy, Manson had the desire to form a rock band that used a drum machine — an uncommon technique outside of dance music at the time.^[14] The earliest incarnations of Marilyn Manson used this setup, and produced experimental, drum-heavy compositions similar to Steve Albini's work with Big Black; later, with the addition of a live drummer, the band's composing process, recording techniques, and live performances were by necessity altered. Guitarist Daisy Berkowitz and bassist Gidget Gein, who came from punk rock backgrounds, brought the musicianship and songwriting style of the Jim Carroll Band (whose "People Who Died" was an early favorite cover for Marilyn Manson) and the showmanship of The New York Dolls to the mixture. The result was something that Nothing Records would initially compare to Jane's Addiction,^[85] but which, after the band spent some time at Nothing, would also gather sonic elements from other bands on that label's roster, like Nine Inch Nails and Prick.

Marilyn Manson was also influenced by his mentor who raised his notoriety in the industrial scene, Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor. Reznor started Manson on his record label, Nothing Records, as well as allowing him a spot in his touring entourage.

Evidently, Manson is heavily influenced by the shock rock stylings of such artists as Mötley Crüe, Alice Cooper, Kiss and some of Iggy Pop; however, late influences have come from the glam rock of David Bowie (who Manson claims is his biggest influence), whose chameleon-like ability to shift from one style to another, replete with a new look and musical philosophy, was a characteristic which would also be frequently ascribed to Marilyn Manson by the music press.^[86] Such an influence is exemplified in the similarities between the music videos of Bowie's "The Heart's Filthy Lesson" and many of Manson's videos, such as "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)". (Florian Sigismondi has directed music videos for both Bowie (Little Wonder) and Manson (The Beautiful People and Tourniquet)) The hard rock background of John 5 amplified this aspect of the band's sound in live performance; Tim Skold, a former guitarist, bassist, and vocalist in Shotgun Messiah, later blended in that band's mixture of industrial drums and guitars. Both Manson and Twiggy Ramirez have mentioned the influence of Queen on their more melodic work, particularly on Mechanical Animals and Eat Me, Drink Me, the latter of which Twiggy did not work on.

Composition and songwriting

All of the band's lyrics are written by Manson, whose songwriting style is characterized by a tendency toward misanthropy and attacks on organized religion, as well as by sharp and inventive wordplay. He frequently makes use of puns and double entendres in his writing — for instance, a song on the Holy Wood album, which references the shootings at Columbine High School, is titled "Target Audience"; the album also makes frequent allusions to assassination, and the song "The Fall of Adam" refers to "Abraham Lincoln Town Cars". These witticisms often take the form of neologisms, delivered several at a time in rapid-fire fashion: the title song from Mechanical Animals includes the lines "We were neurophobic and perfect / the day that we lost our souls . . . You were my mechanical bride / my phenobarbidoll / A manniqueen of depression / with the face of a dead star".

Music is primarily composed by the other permanent band members, who at present are Twiggy Ramirez on studio & live bass and occasional studio guitars; and Ginger Fish, on live drums. Until their respective departures from the band, Daisy Berkowitz and Twiggy Ramirez were chief contributors to the compositions, with receiving "music by" credits on every Marilyn Manson album prior to The Golden Age of Grotesque with the exception of Portrait of an American Family, with Berkowitz having shared many songwriting credits with Gidget Gein. According to the albums' credits, every permanent member of the band has had input, at some point, in its songwriting process.

Marilyn Manson often records cover versions of songs by other artists; the band's two most successful singles have been a brooding punk-metal version of Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", and a heavily synthesized "Tainted Love" (as popularized by Soft Cell, though originally performed by Gloria Jones). Notable covers the band has recorded have been by Depeche Mode ("Personal Jesus"), David Bowie ("Golden Years"), Gary Numan ("Down in the Park"), Patti Smith ("Rock N Roll Nigger") and numerous other artists.

Manson has also dabbled in "psychoacoustics", the effect of sound (audible and inaudible) on the mind. These experiments were put to use by Manson when he scored the film "Resident Evil". Of the soundtrack, Manson stated that he used a number of methods to create "tension" in the film, including the use of sounds that, while inaudible to the human ear, still register and affect the brain.

Performance

“

We merely present the audience with a mirror so they can see themselves. People need to connect with something that represents how they feel. I'm not on some moral crusade to do that in particular, but ... everything is coming apart at the seams, and I'm just here to record for posterity. - Marilyn Manson[87]

”

Discography

Main article: Marilyn Manson discography

Filmography

Lost Highway (1997) Spawn (song) (1997) Private Parts (song) (1997) Dead Man on Campus (song) (1998) Jawbreaker (1999) House on Haunted Hill (song) 1999) Clone High (2000) Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (song) (2000) From Hell (score, 2001) Not Another Teen Movie (song, 2001) Life as a House (Song) (2001) Resident Evil (score, 2002) Bowling for Columbine (interview, 2002)

Queen of the Damned (song) (2002) The Hire: Beat The Devil (2003) Party Monster (2003) Doppelherz (director,score) 2003) The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (2004) Saw II (song, 2005) House of Wax (song, 2005) Living Neon Dreams (2006) Rise: Blood Hunter (2006) Funny Games (song) (2008) Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll (acting, directing, writing, score) (2009) King Shot (2009)

Books

• The Long Hard Road Out of Hell (1998)
• Holy Wood Unreleased

References

External links

• Official website
• Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids website
• Marilyn Manson on MySpace
• Marilyn Manson Trilogy Series, Research and Documentary
• Lyrics of :Marilyn Manson by albums
• Manson DEWN
• The Heirophant
• The Nachtkabarett
• Marilyn Manson at the Internet Movie Database
• The Marilyn Manson wiki
• Wikiality Marilyn Manson Truthiness Biography
• Marilyn Manson discography at MusicBrainz

Marilyn Manson Marilyn Manson • Twiggy Ramirez • Ginger Fish • Chris Vrenna • Wes Borland Rob Holliday • Tim Skold • Madonna Wayne Gacy • Mark Chaussee • John 5 • Zim Zum • Daisy Berkowitz • Sara Lee Lucas • Gidget Gein  • Olivia Newton Bundy • Zsa Zsa Speck Studio albums Portrait of an American Family • Antichrist Superstar • Mechanical Animals • Holy Wood • The Golden Age of Grotesque • Eat Me, Drink Me EPs, live albums and compilations Smells Like Children • Remix & Repent • The Last Tour on Earth • Lest We Forget • Lost & Found Demos The Raw Boned Psalms • The Beaver Meat Cleaver Beat • Big Black Bus • Grist-O-Line • Lunchbox • After School Special • Live as Hell • The Family Jams • Refrigerator Singles "Get Your Gunn" • "Lunchbox" • "Dope Hat" • "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" • "The Beautiful People" • "Tourniquet" • "Antichrist Superstar" • "Man That You Fear" • "Cryptorchid" • "Long Hard Road out of Hell" • "The Dope Show" • "I Don't Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me)" • "Rock Is Dead" • "Coma White" • "Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes" • "Disposable Teens" • "The Fight Song" • "The Nobodies" • "Tainted Love" • "mOBSCENE" • "This is the New Shit" • "(s)AINT" • "Personal Jesus" • "The Nobodies: 2005 Against All Gods Mix" • "Heart-Shaped Glasses" • "You And Me And The Devil Makes 3" • "Putting Holes in Happiness" • "This Is Halloween" Videos Dead to the World • God is in the TV • Guns, God and Government Books The Long Hard Road out of Hell • Holy Wood Films Autopsy • Doppelherz • Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll Tours Smells Like Children • Dead to the World • Rock Is Dead • Guns, God and Government • Grotesk Burlesk • Against All Gods • Rape of the World Related articles Band members • Discography • Music videos • Tour dates • MarilynManson.com • Nothing Records • Interscope Records • Trent Reznor • Sean Beavan • Mrs. Scabtree • Jack Off Jill

Persondata
NAME	Manson, Marilyn
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Brian Hugh Warner (name at birth)
SHORT DESCRIPTION	American musician and artist
DATE OF BIRTH	January 4, 1969
PLACE OF BIRTH	Canton, Ohio, United States
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH