Here comes another Marilyn Manson album. You can almost hear a pin drop, can’t you? The question for us was why not release this on Halloween? That would have been a pretty good marketing ploy. Perhaps he’s trying to shake off that dark persona. Listening to the album, however, leads me to believe otherwise.
Antichrist Superstar was Manson’s shining moment. Mechanical Animals was his chance to travel from Trent Reznor to show he could do it on his own. It sparkled, but didn’t necessarily shine. Holy Wood is experimental for Manson, but it just doesn’t fit as well.
Holy Wood does rock. You only have to listen to “The Fight Song”, “Born Again”, and “The Death Song” to realize that. I found “Disposable Teens” to be tidier and more rhythmic. A few other notable tracks are “Valentine’s Day” and “The Nobodies”, which reflected upon Columbine (“we are the nobodies/ we wanna be somebodies/ when we’re dead/ they’ll know just who we are”).
Produced by David Sardy (Helmet) and Manson, Holy Wood has its strong points. Its layers will take some time to dissect. However, Manson still hasn’t touched the genius achieved by Reznor behind the board. The problem is that Manson can’t possibly shock us anymore, or can he? I’m sure he can, but he isn’t. The only real shock I could imagine is Manson making a pop album or working with Reznor again. I pray for the latter.
+ rae gun
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