Band Members:
Vocalist – Marilyn Manson
Guitarist – Twiggy Ramirez
Bassist – Andy Gerold
Drummer – Ginger Fish
Keyboardist – Chris Vrenna
Marilyn Manson (named after the pseudonym of the front man and lead vocalist Brian Warner), is an American Rock band first founded as Marilyn Manson & The Spooky Kids in 1989. They changed it soon after, before being signed to Nothing Records (Trent Reznor’s label). The main things that stand out in his works are the grotesque and macabre imaging that he uses with his words and music videos, and in our generation it comes to no surprise that his fan-base is up in the millions.
Now, there are many who would say that Marilyn Manson is simply to vulgar/strange/horrific to be allowed to perform on stage or even to be able to put out music, but to us fans he is a huge inspiration to our lives. Yes, he may use some explicit viewpoints within his works, but Mr. Warner and his colleagues are the revolutionary minds that we need to change this world for the better. Their lives have been tormented to the point that they no longer feel that they should respect what society claims is normal, but what is “normal” anyway?
Not to stray from the music in this review, let me say that the guitar, bass keyboards, and drum beats within this band’s songs considerably blend with the vocals to the point of neatness. You can almost hear the work which they put forth into the music they have written, which I must applaud. Such order driven into a macabre state is nothing less than perfection in my eyes, and it gives the same feel as the music that we find in the works of Tim Burton’s films (The Nightmare Before Christmas to be more specific).
The vocals are easy to follow, and to give an example let’s take a look at their song Dope Hat:
I peek into the hole, I struggle for control
The children love the show,
but they fail to see the anguish in my eyes
Fail to see the anguish in my eyes
I scratch around the brim, I let my mind give in
The crowd begins to grin,
but they seem to scream when darkness fills my eyes
Seem to scream when darkness fills my eyes, it’s no surprise
Fail to see the tragic, turn it into magic
My big top tricks will always make you happy,
but we all know the hat is wearing me
My bag is in the hat, it’s filled with this and that
My vision’s getting fat, the rabbit’s just a monkey in disguise
Skulls and pills and needles dance before our eyes
They will bite the hand if it is slower than
the quickness of their scrutinizing eyes
Fail to see the tragic, turn it into magic
My big top tricks will always make you happy,
but we all know the hat is wearing me
Chicanery will always make you happy,
but we all know the hat is wearing me
Indeed, there is much metaphorical meaning within the lyrics of this song, but that is another thing which can be admired in Marilyn Manson’s works. Much of their pieces contain wording which is left for the listener to interpret, which can bring much into our thought processing.
Still, no matter how you look at it, these individuals are very talented and gifted, and do not deserve many of the labels put upon them by the media and society. This listener gives them a 10/10 for the amusement which Marilyn Manson has placed into our stereos and headphones. Thank you Brian Warner, Jeordie White, Kenny Wilson, Chris Vrenna, and Andy Gerold. Thank you for being there for the fans, and always giving us music which we can and will enjoy for years to come.
Special thanks to former members Tim Skold, Stephen G. Bier Jr., John W. Lowery, Timothy M. Linton, Scott M. Putesky, Frederick Streithorst Jr., Bradley Stewart, Brian Tutunick, Perry Pandrea, and Wesley L. Borland.