Marilyn Manson – The High End of Low

Review for Nexus Magazine (www.nexusmag.co.nz)

“Antichrist Superstar” Marilyn Manson is back with his seventh studio album The Low End of Low. Like the Green Day album I reviewed last week, this album suffers from many of the same pitfalls. Both artists have been around since the early 1990’s and are both at the stage where they are struggling to remain relevant. It is a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ scenario: if Marilyn Manson were to change his music style, he would be heavily criticised by his fanbase, but if he sticks to the same formula, you get an album exactly like this one! It’s not terrible, but it is sorely lacking inspiration, especially in the lyrics department.

This albums marks the return of Twiggy Ramirez, songwriter and guitarist on some of Marilyn Manson’s best albums, including Mechanical Animals and Holywood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death). After having a break from the band (performing with A Perfect Circle and Nine Inch Nails), he returns to the Marilyn Manson line-up along with his signature glam-rock influenced songs. In fact, the first single ‘Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon’ could easily fit alongside ‘Rock is Dead’ and ‘I Don’t Like The Drugs’ from Mechanical Animals.

Unfortunately, it is Manson’s contributions to the songs that bring down the overall quality of the album. The lyrics are some of the worst he has ever written and the whole ‘shock rock’ theme just sounds more and more forced. Lines like “We’re from America/Where Jesus was born/We’re from America/Where they let you come on their faces” just sound like a strained attempt at finding something shocking to sing about. The lyrical themes are no different from what he has been singing about his entire career: bashing the religious right and American media culture. The sarcastic sneering remarks at both of these targets come across as very stagnant, considering the 100+ songs in his repertoire that cover this already.

It would be unfair to criticise this album without acknowledging its positive points, which there are a few. ‘Pretty as a Swastika’ is a genuinely enjoyable and catchy track as well as the second single ‘Leave a Scar’. Ignoring the painfully strained ranting on ‘Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon’, musically it is a pretty damn catchy song. It is just a pity the rest of the album is so boring. The album clocks in at 72 minutes long, at least 30 minutes longer than it needed to be. The slow 9 minute track ‘I Want to Kill You Like They Do in the Movies’ is almost unbearable by the end, and that only signals the halfway mark on the album! It is not uncommon for Marilyn Manson albums to push the 60+ minute mark, but passive fans or newcomers to the band will be watching the clock every minute after the first five or so songs on this record.

It’s got a couple of good songs, and its great to hear Twiggy back in the band, but this is an album for hardcore Marilyn Manson fans only.

Rating: 2/5