Born Villain [CD]

The previous two albums, "Eat Me Drink Me" and "High End of Low", weren't quite on par with the intensity and power of his ealier work. With "Born Villain", Marilyn Manson blends the dark industrial elements of "Antichrist Superstar" with the glam rock funk of "Mechanical Animals", whilst at the same time throwing in something a little different. So what you have is an album which is able to maintain a fresh new sound yet capture the spirit which made his past albums so great. Manson talked of being uncertain about himself in his last years with Interscope, but now departing from the record company, Manson has made a more than welcome return with his latest album.
Of course there are some fans who won't be satisfied with anything he does these days, either because they expect another Antichrist Superstar or because he's more publicly acceptable than he once was. But society changes and Manson continues to adjust his art to analyse those changes accordingly. "Born Villain" has plenty of guts and touches on a variety of genres to bring us the exciting new album that says: "Manson is back".

2012's Born Villain is the eighth full-length studio album by Marilyn Manson. As with the previous two albums it was self-produced, mixed by Sean Beavan and no living drummer is fully credited throughout. The line-up features Manson, Vrenna & Ramirez like the previous album, only now with Fred Sablan on bass. Interestingly though, Vrenna left the band before the album's release.

For many fans, the band's golden period is considered to be The Triptych (Antichrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals & Holywood), a trilogy of three interlinked concept albums that were released at the height of Manson's fame, critical acclaim, cultural relevance and commercial success. Ever since then; after a decade of line-up instability, notably poor live performances and albums that didn't meet many fan's expectations, the band's stock has diminished considerably in the eyes of the media and a large portion of the fanbase.

I wouldn't go so far as to call this new record a triumphant comeback, but it is undeniably strong and consistent, and arguably the best thing he has released in years. I'd urge you to forget any pretentious interviews or music videos associated with it and give the music a fair and honest chance.

If you have liked the last three Manson albums, then Born Villain is certainly worth trying out. The album has some seriously enjoyable songs that would fit well into a live set or compilation album, and isn't overly full of ballads or slow tracks that don't go anywhere. It isn't just a dull dirge... It is louder, more bombastic and more confident than any of the last few records.

Stylistically, It seems that Manson is going for a mix between trying new things and delving into his back catalogue as well. The opening track `Hey, Cruel World...' has a nice catchy chugging riff and even some double-kicks at one point, but there is also a section towards the end that sounds like it would have fit well on Portrait Of An American Family. Then the album-version of `No Reflection' has a whole build-up section in it that is reminiscent of Holywood and there are even a few allusions to Mechanical Animal's style in `Flowers Of Evil' and `Breaking The Same Old Ground.'

There is also some material that is totally new for the band as well; `Slo-Mo-Tion' is unlike any of his older material, `Lay Down Your Arms' borders on Stoner-Rock territory at times and `Murders Are Getting Prettier Every Day' is deliberately in-your-face-heavy.

Overall, I think the right balance has been struck between innovation and giving the fans what they want. The album covers a lot of ground, but crucially doesn't sound confused for all the diversity. There are loads of little moments like the hi-hat being way louder in the chorus or an effect on the vocals coming in the third time around etc that really give the tracks a power and `umph' that has arguably been missing for a while.

In my own personal opinion Born Villain is my favourite Manson album since Holywood. That being said however, this album does not meet the same artistic height as any of the individual parts in the aforementioned Triptych and I suspect that if you only enjoy those albums, this probably won't win you back.

To be absolutely fair, if the band's career consisted of only their debut and then the albums from Golden Age Of Grotesque onwards, then Born Villain would be readily considered a great album as it such a solid, creative and well-made album in its own right. It is only because it has the unfair expectation of having to compete with three albums that have been absolutely beloved by millions of fans for over a decade as well as having to redeem, excuse and justify the aforementioned decade of decline that Born Villain unfortunately doesn't measure up.

In summary; if you try and be objective then the album will seem a lot better than you probably expect it to be, but at the same time there is no getting around that Marilyn Manson has made better albums than this in the past and this record isn't up to the highest standards that the band have set for themselves.

I feel that this is easily his strongest non-Triptych album and if you have given up on Manson in recent years, it is good enough to at least warrant a cautious test-listen. If you have stayed a fan all along however, this will doubtless be an immensely enjoyable album indeed.

I will keep this short and to the point...

Basically this album is more or less in the vein of the last two albums. If those albums really weren't your thing, then this probably won't win you over.

That said, it is closer to his older (2003 and earlier) stuff than those 2 albums. Tracks 4 & 11 are definitely Industrial Metal in the vein of his older stuff. In fact I'd say they're a lot better than the rather contrived "Fight Song" and "Disposable Teens" (sacred cows now maybe, but at the time of release they sounded very unoriginal compared to the curveball that was Mechanical Animals). Pistol Whipped sounds very much like his Golden Age of Grotesque stuff to me.

Manson compares the album to Killing Joke, Bauhaus et al, and I think that's a fair comparison.

The Carly Simon cover is fun.

Overall I enjoyed it much more than High End of Low or Golden Age of Grotesque. If you're a Manson nutter you will definitely find some things to love in this album. For newcomers I'd recommend his 90s albums over this. Not the same as the old days but still a fun album if you're in the mood, rounded off by 4 or 5 really good songs.