MARILYN MANSON |
| Nothing is more
popular than the bashing of a rock and roll icon by the media. Build
them up so that you can tear them down. I haven't read much favorable
about this release and it just baffles me as to why. This is by a very
long shot the best that MANSON has ever produced. All hail the
new MARILYN MANSON now known as, OMEGA and the Mechanical
Animals! Entering a stage that is far too easily comparable to DAVID BOWIE's "ZIGGY STARDUST", Manson, the group and the singer, are at their art-metal peak. The songs are still aggressive but so filled with hooks that several will surely turn into radio crack. The best example being "I Don't Like the Drugs But the Drugs Like Me." The sing along section will echo through high school hallways for months to come. Aye, and there is the rub, this is a considerably more adult album than its predecessors. Though the average teenager will still be able to make mom and dads blood pressure rise just by uttering the name this record was made for an older and wiser audience. College rock? Not quite but certainly much more cerebral in appearance and content. The alien thing that he is doing is much more visually striking than the smeared makeup Satanist schtick. "The Dope Show" is such an accurate depiction of American drug culture that it borders on an anthropological study but no teacher ever dared to rock his students like this. It is also typical of the albums intellectual heaviness. This is the best of an artist who remains under constant attack from all quarters save the only one that matters, the record buying public. Before you pick this up be prepared for something very different and be prepared to think a bit as well. Those of you who like to rock out while working at the computer will be happy to know that the bonus CD ROM portion of the disc contains two water color paintings and a poem read by the creator his self. Released by Nothing/Interscope Records. Review by David Lee |