To tell you the truth, I nearly gave up waiting for the next great Marilyn Manson album. After 2003's
The Golden Age Of Grotesque was released my appreciation for the band had started to wane. It felt as if Manson had moved from being the creepy musical genius to a commercial rock star. It just seemed as if the shock and awe factor that made the band so great in the the 1990's had gave way to a generic industrial rock band in the early 2000's. Then after a four year hiatus, the dreary goth rock
Eat Me Drink Me was concieved to subpar fanfare. Don't get me wrong, the album had it's moments (e.g. If I Was Your Vampire, Are You the Rabbit?, and You and Me and the Devil Makes 3), but it really just fell flat when set up against other Manson albums. It just seemed to be more pop-orienated in it's approach rather then the rock sound that graced the previous endeavors. Then, in 2009, the return of Twiggy Ramirez as a full time band member brought the sense of relief that the band was truly whole and back again. Hell, the band interviews hinted at an album that could rival
Antichrist Superstar in it's ferocity. So of course fans expected to see the Marilyn Manson of old. Instead, we were given a stripped down album that felt and sounded more like a compilation of songs then a "whole" album. The only tracks on the album that really stood out to me were Four Rusted Horses, Running to the Edge of the World, Unkillable Monster and I Have to Look Up Just to See Hell.So as you can see, it was understandable that I was somewhat sceptical about the newest Manson title. I was just about ready to give this album up without listening to it when I heard No Reflection on my way to college. It was as if I was hearing someting that would have came out during the
Mechanical Animals era. Oh, it didn't blow me away like some of the better Manson numbers had, but it defintely brought back the nostalgia. It brought me back to the days that I was the run of the mill misunderstood youth trying to find my place in the world. With little to no thought, I went out to buy my copy of Born Villian and have to say that I am impressed so far. From start to finish this album does not disappoint. There is a bit of a slowdown in the middle of Born Villian, but the album picks the pace back up quite quickly. If I were to describe the the feel of this album, I would say that it is a mix between Antichrist Superstar's creepiness and Mechanical Animals' polished production. Don't get me wrong, this album is not without it's own flaws, but they are less noticeable when compared to the last two Manson efforts. My track by track rating would look like this.
Hey, Cruel World...-A blistering opener that kicks you in the teeth. Defintely a fav 5/5
No Reflection-The lead single of the album. If you haven't heard it by now, your not missing a lot 3.5/5
Pistol Whipped-Took a few listens due to the slow start, but defintely a cool track 4/5
Overneath the Path of Misery-Brings back the creepy factor we have all missed since Holy Wood and defintiely a highlight 5/5
Slo-Mo-Tion-Could have been on Mechanical Animals as a single. It's just that good 5/5
The Gardener-Anyone else feel that Manson was channaling his inner Iggy Pop? Pretty good track 4/5
The Flowers of Eden-My least favorite track on the album that slows it down to a draw 2/5
Children of Cain-Wouldn't be a Manson album without some referance to the bible. a bit slow but an overall good song 4/5
Disengaged-I felt this song was a tad bit erratic and unmemorable 3/5
Lay Down Your Goddamn Arms-I can defintely tell the blues inspired this track. Love it 4.5/5
Murderers Are Getting Prettier Every Day-Fast and angry,enough said 4/5
Born Villian-Best track on the album 5/5
Breaking the Same Old Ground-A bit repetitive but still good 4/5
You're so Vain-One of Manson's best cover songs as of late and a good way to end the album 4.5/5
Overall: 57.5/70 = 82/100 = B