Alright, so I know that I'm probably the only one who cares about this, but I feel like making a thread anyway. Plus, I feel that this is worth a look even if you are not a Manson fan or feel like his best days are behind him.
The Pale Emperor is the new album from Marilyn Manson. In short, I think it is the best one since the peak Manson years, and it could possibly even rank among those records. Word is a lot of people/media feels the same. So far the worst reviews are just mildly complaining that it doesn't pack a punch (and those people are totally missing the point and direction this album is taking).
Before I go into the new album, let me discuss my feelings on the rest of them so you have an idea of where I am coming from.
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Portrait of an American Family
Positives: Absolutely classic Manson tracks on here. It's very interesting to hear the early sound of this band today.
Flaws: The tracks that are duds are really cheesy and forgettable. Never understood why some Manson fans insist this album is the best.
Antichrist Superstar
Positives: There's a reason why this album made Marilyn Manson a household name. Not even counting tracks like "The Beautiful People" this album is a classic album that was made from art through adversity.
Flaws: I guess the pacing can seem off at times, and songs like "Wormboy" sound like if Weird Al did a style parody of the band. Seriously, the chorus says, "When you get to heaven/you will wish you're in hell."
Mechanical Animals
Positives: Underrated album. Very underrated. I've said this before on the forum: Manson could have easily phoned in another dark a spooky album, but chose to make a half glam rock album and half melodic emotional driven powerhouses.
Flaws: Not many people realized that the glam stuff was Manson poking fun at himself. As much as I like the album, it took me awhile to get used to the jarring shifts in genres.
Holy Wood
Positives: A brutally dark album that showcased what the band learned with the second and third albums. This was a grower for most, as it was around this time album sales started to suffer, but ultimately this became the best selling album in terms of worldwide sales. This was Manson's equivalent to larger than life concept album.
Flaws: Couldn't help but feel the imagery shifted back to a darker tone since Mechanical Animals turned off a lot of the metalhead crowd. Also dipped too much into mixing the styles of the last two albums, so many songs are too reminiscent of other hits.
Golden Age of Grotesque
Positives: Manson teamed up with KMFDM's Tim Skold to great some nifty industrial-like songs. Since the second, third, and fourth albums all were part of a self contained story, it was refreshing to see Manson branch off in a new direction.
Flaws: This is where songs started to become forgettable. Overall, the album is solid, but where it fails are tracks that don't go anywhere and material that BARELY went in said new direction.
Eat Me, Drink Me
Positives: It has some good moments on here. Tim Skold actually still was working with Manson, but this wasn't a repeat of industrial-like songs.
Flaws: Definitely the weakest Manson album by far. This was the longest break between Manson albums and it was created in a weird time in Manson's life where he felt the need to start a relationship with then 19 year old actress Evan Rachel Wood when he was 40. He basically made the album for her (as well as a recent failed marriage). Brushing aside his personal life, most of the album just sounded off and very forgettable.
The High End of Low
Positives: Twiggy is back in the band! Who is that? Only the guy who wrote the music for ALL of Manson's hits. This effort tried to experiment with some weird tracks, and it was nice to see Manson having fun again with more high energy songs.
Flaws: This album should have cut a good 4 or 5 tracks. The duds on this one are just embarrassing. It was cool that Twiggy was back, but maybe he doesn't have the songwriting chops he used too...
Born Villain
Positives: ...or maybe he does! This album was an EXCELLENT return to form. There are tracks that sound like older Manson material, but in this case it works since it was so long since those days by this point. There is even a speed metal track in this one!
Flaws: Again, the duds are DUDS. Not enough to ruin the return to form, but just having a few songs that sound like your best years isn't enough to save the day completely.
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And that brings me to The Pale Emperor. Manson FINALLY makes a record that tries something new (in terms of comparing the album to past works) and does it without relying on having songs that sound (or try and fail) like material from the 90s and early 00s.
Major credit goes to Tyler Bates, who basically did everything musically for this album. Who is that? Well, this dude has scored plenty of movies, including Guardians of the Galaxy. Manson said he was aiming for a more cinematic feeling for this album, and it really shows. If Manson is up for a 10th outing, I hope Bates sticks around.
The only flaws I can think of (and one of them doesn't personally bother me) is that Manson fans looking for more of a high energy deal probably won't dig this. Also, Manson tends to repeat lyrics a bit too much for my liking on this one.
When reading general impressions across the internet about this album yesterday, I saw a person say that this album is a "slow burner." That's the best way to describe it. Manson doesn't feel out of place making a more bluesy, raw album here. It stands on its own regardless if you are like me and are intimately familiar with the band's history and the man himself, or if you never listened to a single Manson track in your life.
To finish this off, I am going to post three tracks from this album and very brief thoughts.
This is the single from this album. Love the moody, smoky feeling I get from it.
This is the closest the album gets to older Manson material, and definitely the most energetic song. Still, fits in with the album perfectly.
This is simply one of my favorite songs off the new album. Just has such a nice groove. I love the guitar so damn much.