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32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Marilyn Manson's Holy Wood is the band at it's best, November 14, 2000
Manson has evoluted since their mainstream debut Portrait Of An American Family, produced by Nine Inch Nails mastermind, Trent Reznor. Since then, we've seen him transforming himself into the american-hated Antichrist Superstar, the beautiful-disgusting alien from Mechanical Animals, and the cynical rock star Omega from that album too. Now, Manson takes his act even further, and blends his two past albums with a new edge that will take 4 or 5 listenings to grow on you and fully expand its petals in your brain. Holy Wood is one depressing and violent take on today's stupid death worshipping through TV and the media in general. Those bozos who picked on the band and on different movies, blaming them for the Columbine massacre, are the same hypocrits that sell you prefabricated Talk Shows, sex driven commercials, and greedy religion; all in one beautiful package that pretendas to pass as morality. Manson shows no mercy to them, speaking about Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold (The Nobodies), Kennedy and John Lenons (In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death), and seducing controversy and danger with no fear (The Death Song). Holy Wood sounds different from ACS and MA, but at the same time it owes its sound to them very strongly. This is not an album which will pass without notice, this is a hammer-in-the-head statement about our dumbness. We can live happily with our families or whatever, but we can be shot in the street by some idiot who doesn't like our skin color our our ideas, just because the whole media culture has posted standards for race, beauty, wealth and all those unnecesary subjects. Buy Holy Wood, watch Fight Club, and you'll get close to the whole idea.Manson is one of the few mainstream artists that makes their audiences think and try to understand further things better than Hit Me One More Time or She Bangs or A.D.I.D.A.S., maybe he's ot the better example for a young generation, but if you're concerned about the kind of music or movies or TV that your children are exposed to, start by showing them that those Britney, Ricky Martin and Oprah dweebs are a danger too. There's always variety for everyone of us.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
in the shadow of the previous albums?, March 8, 2001
I have the album and I enjoy it very much. Picking a favorite is pretty tricky, but it would be a battle between "Lamb Of God", "The Nobodies", "Born Again", "Burning Flag", "The Fight Song", "In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death", and "The Fall Of Adam" (that's on my personal note). This album is less tech and more Rock. It has a good rocking beat and stays pretty heavy at the same time. The cover of Manson with the missing jaw is pretty cool for the symbolism of censorship issues Manson has. I have no doubt that lots of people would want to shut him up or worse. Now I have read a good deal of the reviews here and some love this album. Some love it because its the third part of a trilogy and some hate it because it 'imitates' Antichrist Superstar and/or/mixed-with Mechanical Animals. I can see the different cups of tea that people like here. Some like their taste to stay around the same, such as the music and songs. Some like the same with a little variety now and then. Some want a totally new thing. Then there are some that get bored easily. I love Antichrist Superstar and I enjoy Mechanical Animals and to me Holy Wood really rocks. Artists change and some don't. I like to consider every album its own and I usually don't expect them to be the same or different, if I like what I hear then thats all I need. I like what comes from my stereo when I pop this album in, hopefully you will too.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Most complete album to date, January 3, 2001
A band you either love or loathe, Manson never stray far from their blueprint - the deeply cynical lyrics of the band leader Marilyn Manson, the slow dirge type songs and the high energy two-fingered salute rock songs to mainstream America. Combining the metallic edge of Antichrist Superstar with the Glam-inspired Mechanical Animals has resulted in Holywood, the most complete musical statement the band have made in their highly controversial career to date. The killer one-two of The Love Song and The Fight Song are the standout moments on this very long album. The Fight Song sounds like Blur's Song Two put through the industrial blender to create a Stooges-sounding energy rush. First single Disposable Teens is basically The Beautiful People revisited but still is one of Manson's strongest work. President Dead has an amazing chorus that marks it as one of the most immediate tracks on first listen. Delve deeper and you will find the sequel to 1998s Coma White, titled here funnily enough as Coma Black. If you look at this from a cynic's point of view, a band running out of ideas and from a fan's viewpoint, taking one of Mechanical Animal's finest moments to create a more than worthy follow-up. Burning Flag sounds to similar to Ministry's earlier recordings for comfort but still remains Holywood's most angry track. The Nobodies written in the aftermath of the Columbine massacres is an intent statement of American youth of the 21st century. Early editions of the CD feature an acoustic version of The Nobodies, which sounds like it was recorded live in the studio. The one track that ruins the flow of the album is Crucifiction In Space but that becomes decent after a while. Every track is worthy of a mention, from A Place In The Dirt anthem qualities to King Kill's industrial weirdness. Just like the predecessor, Mechanical Animals, Holywood plummeted down the Billboard charts, which is a shame as this would be highly regarded as a classic rock album if the band were not perceived as some devil-worshipping goths instead of talented musicians they are.
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album Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) 
