Customer Reviews

Mechanical Animals

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

Whereas "Smells Like Children" and "Antichrist Superstar" got Marilyn Manson and friends lableled "Shockrock," Animals is the most shocking of all- it is brilliant. Previous releases had promise, like the sing-songy "Dope Hat," insanely catchy "The Beautiful People" and anguished "Tourniquet." All of those tunes were masterfully produced by maestro Trent Reznor, and showed. Those tunes were surrounded by dreck, especially on the first album, but Superstar was good and showed promise.

Here, Manson proves he has kept his ears open and left the Nails' nest. He is still standing on the shoulders of giants, musically, as this is easily a Bowie tribute album, atmospheres that could be sampled from Brian Eno show up, and he uses Trent's tendency to throw a strange piano or noise line into the scathing rockers. Like NIN, He also buries the most honest and naked lines under static or effects.

"The Speed of Pain," "Disassociative," and "Fundamentally Loathsome" are tuneful, melodic numbers that show real anguish and yearning. Little Mary has been under a deluge of sex, drugs, and God for so long, he can't tell them apart. All the lyrics could be about a drug, a girl, but when it the last line has been snorted, are probably the same. "When you hate it, you know its real, but when you love you know you can't feel." Manson wants to love, but is so lost in this "Great White World, (the opener, which sets the 'space oddity' theme) he haphazardly abuses sex and dope to numb the pain of not being able to find love. If that isn't universal, I don't know what is.

Incredibly sarcastic views of America and Christianity are thrown in the mix with enough deft humor to keep this from being a Rage Against the Machine album. Influences abound, but they aren't deprecative. Manson shows he was ready to take Trent's much needed training wheels off. While Reznor created an alien genre of music with "The Downward Spiral," Manson takes existing genres (funk, cock-rock, glam and goth) and makes them alien. Stunning.

I haven't heard much of Manson's earlier production, so I can't say if he has "sold out" or "gone mainstream". But whocares? Shouldn't it be the music that matters? Some people seem to care only about Manson's former image and dis his new record because it perhaps isn't as dark and aggressive as the earlier ones. Those attitudes can, in some cases, blind some people from seeing the good sides of this awesome record. The songs on this CD are really versatile and offer something new everytime I listen through it. This is also one of very few CD's that don't have any ****** songs on it (usually there's at least one or two). My personal favorites are "Mechanical Animals" with the really great acoustic parts in it along with Mansons melancholic singing, "I Don't Like The Drugs" with the funky-sort-of-beat and the in-your-face lyrics, "Fundamentally Loathsome" with it's spooky keyboards and the awesome ending and "Coma White", which is perhaps THE best song on this record. I just LOVE the lyrics in that song, not to mention the fantastic guitar playing as well. Lyrically I think this album is great. All the songs contain something about drugs though, but it doesn't bother me. It's really hard, I think, to categorize this record, but I think it rocks and therefore I also call it rock (hard rock, that is). Last, but not least, a message to all you prejudgmental people out there! You're so busy judging Manson's looks that you don't even give his music a chance! I feel sorry for you all if you can't accept people's differences. When I tell people that I listen to Marilyn Manson, their first reaction is often : "What...? Are you outta your mind? That guy's a .... psycho! Crossdressin'...quot; My advice: If you get hit - don't turn the other cheek. Hit back, and as hard as you can. Freedom of thought and speech is something worth fighting for.

Marily Manson!!! He is one of this decades greats musicans, weather you enjoy his music or not you must addmit this simple fact. Although he is one of the most contraversial band that is in the music secne. I recently went to the Detorit concert and I must say that he has a great prefromance and he sounds get live. People dis his ways because they don't understand them, some times I don't either. Some people think he is a fake, some don't. I have all his CDs, imports too, and every CD has a different sound to it. MECHINICAL ANIMALS is just another on of his many sounds. Some think that he is a sell-out because this CD is total different than the previous CD. I enjoy both of them, it just depends on what mood I'am in. Overall a really like this CD; it shows imagination and creativeness.

MARILYN MANSON FAN FELIX DETORIT MICHIGAN

This is the first Marilyn Manson album I have ever bought. Although I haven't been too impressed by his past recordings, I am truly a fan now. This album is incredible, to say the least. After hearing "Dope Show," I was wonderfully taken by its Bowie-like styling, reminding me of the Bowie I grew up on (others have commented the same). But "Mechanical Animals" is not a crass ripoff; it's a deep, texturized homage, if you will, to what made Bowie so unique and stellar in the 70's. Mostly, it reminds me of "Diamond Dogs," with its surreal future society concept and trippy, echoey sound. Manson is writing about the state of being with the rich & infamous in LA, which is surreal in itself, and at times it's a lethal indictment of the rock'n'roll lifestyle: "User friendly f***ing dopestar obscene /will you die when you're high" from "User Friendly" which is, to me, a valid question to the excesses that that lifestyle can offer. Although the title "I Don't Like The Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me) sounds like advocation for abuse, it's really metaphoric and deals with the hollowness of "normal," milquetoast, Kathie Lee Gifford-like existence that breeds conformity and non-individualism. My only criticism of this album is in this song; my guitar god Dave Navarro has a barely audible solo at the end. Should have been prominently featured. My favorites are "I Want To Disappear" and "New Model No. 15" which totally, flat out rocks. All the songs are hard rocking, somewhat metal, but there's such movement to them that I can't compare it to today's dinosaur-rock throwbacks like Metallica. It's more like Nine Inch Nails, carrying on the Bowie comparisons. It's just like when I was a wee square peg in this round hole world wallowing in a sea of Led Zeppelin and Foghat when I was 'saved' by Ziggy Stardust. Marilyn has made it all fresh, original, timely, and totally his own. This won't be out of my CD player anytime soon. Hope the neighborhood doesn't mind too much.

In my opion, This is one of the best cds I have ever had. There is a something for everyone in this. There are tecno, hard rock, and some depressing songs that make you think about life. I would encourge anyone thinking about buying anything by Marilyn Manson, to get this cd.

I have to say that Antichrist Superstar was a very appealing showcase of just how ugly a person can make themselves and still be beautiful. To paraphrase a bit, it seems Brian Werner came up from Hell, plucked his eyebrows on the way grew some boobs and then he was David Bowie - with boobs. I know that the second Bowie saw that costume he probably hit himself in the head with a copy of NEVER LET ME DOWN several times and screamed, "Why in Bloody Hell didn't I think of that when I was posing for the inside cover of ALADDIN SANE????"

I have decided that MECHANICAL ANIMALS is sort of a joke that Brian is playing on us. It's a tribute album of sorts. It's a jigsaw puzzle of David Bowie and Iggy Pop and a few others...Mainly Bowie. DOPE SHOW? It's a knock of perfume version of the Iggy stomper NIGHT CLUBBING. THE SPEED OF PAIN has the under tones of a Pink Floyd tune until you get to that taffy pull with the flute, then we are talking WIDTH OF A CIRCLE for sure...ROCK IS DEAD? Tastes like a compote of JEAN GENIE and CRACKED ACTOR. I DON'T LIKE THE DRUGS??? I can't be the only person out there that hears FAME getting funky loose on the guitar in that one. I WANT TO DISAPPEAR is a concoction with SUFFRAGETTE CITY as an ingredient. NEW MODEL? I think Ric Ocasek has been here.

MM borrowed visually and melodically from the Master of Borrowing, and that's OK. What he was unable to recreate was the atmosphere of the early Bowie units. Good Bowie has an unsettling quality to it. Mechanical Animals is much easier to listen to right off the bat than most classic Bowie. I like this MM offering. I figure if Bowie isn't going to be Bowie, some one has to be...

This album kinda had me worried when I borrowed it off a friend to have a listen before i bought it. There was a strange mix of bowie-style sounds, hard rock, and some old-fashioned depressing tunes. I gotta say, i didn't like what i heard. However, being a Manson fan, i still bought the album anyway. Now, a almost a year on, it remains one of my favourite albums of all time.

If you're new to Marilyn Manson, a tatster of his music, this album IS NOT for you. get Antichrist Superstar, or, even better, Holywood [*****]. But, if you like Bowie, if you're a Manson fan, or if you're a fan of strange music, get it now.

I just listened to this album the other day and think that it is still one of the best albums that Manson produced. It's original, rhythmic, and still rocks.

awesome to be able to buy your favorite old cds for around $3 : )

Mmmmmm, this was good, but not the best Manson CD ever, if you want my opinion, if you have never bought a Manson CD and you want to, buy this one last, get Portrait or Antichrist Superstar, or even Semlls Like Children, this ones good, but I expected a little better. None the less, this is still worth buying, thank god Marily has finally got over his obsession with burning tyhings!(lol) But, as I said, this is a good CD, it mixes harmony with Metal, buy it, enjoy it, just dont expect it to be as good as Antichrist Superstar