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33 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A hard album to rate, July 14, 2005
It's very hard to find the right number of stars when rating Manson's fifth full length album, "The Golden Age of Grotesque." Am I somewhat disappointed with it? Yes. And do I enjoy listening to it? Well, yes, actually. This disc doesn't have the sharp impact that its predecessors had, mostly because the lyrics are a big disappointment. Manson regurgitates his same subject matter (religion, sex, profanity, and killing your parents, etc.), unfortunately many of these words come across sounding like Manson is trying too hard to live up to his infamous name. It's sort of surprising when he tells his fans, on the third track, to "Be obscene!" But halfway through the C.D., as when he shamelessly states "Hold the `S', `cuz I'm an ain't," he sounds a little too predictable. And when he proclaims "We're five middle fingers on one motherf-cking hand" on track 13, whatever shock value has worn off and he now sounds somewhat contrived.
In addition to puffing his chest, Manson takes one too many swipes at the media. The ironic laundry list of controversial terms ("babble babble, b-tch b-tch, rebel rebel, party party, sex sex sex, and don't forget the violence") on "This is the New Sh-t" is somewhat entertaining, but after that, the pop culture jabs grow tiresome.
Finally, lyrically but also musically, nothing new is brought to the table with "The Golden Age of Grotesque." I'm not expecting John 5 to rip off a great guitar solo, but the music on this album is simply recycled from past albums (the same Nine Inch Nails meets nu-metal riffs and drum beats).
But, those complaints aside, "TGAoG" is still a fairly enjoyable listen. The album's second single (and second track) "This is the New Sh-t" is a personal favorite. This song, which is very catchy, begins in a very Manson-esque way, with ominous techno sound effects and a vocal synthesizer. The chorus is the aforementioned "babble babble..." line, and it ends with a few eerie whispers. Track three, the lead single, "mOBSCENE," is even catchier than its predecessor and it might be one of the catchiest songs Manson has ever written. The beginning techno noises are flattened when the crunchy guitars kick in. The chorus, which is a shout-along with a group of female cheerleaders, should be popular in live shows. Next, "Use Your Fist and Not Your Mouth" has an almost Tool-esque riff (which changes to a bobbing riff in places), but this song is a highlight because of its very catchy chorus, in which the volume level jumps. This chorus seems tailor made for getting mosh pits swirling. Finally, "The Bright Young Things" has a wall of electronica over which a woman talks, then Manson whispers, then Manson utters a few spoken words. Some parts are heavy but this song is, more-or-less, a techno.
Most of the rest of the album is a mixed bag. Sometimes it's the overly evil lyrics that drag a song down. Such is the case with track seven, "sAINT." It's very catchy, but Manson keeps repeating lines that begin with "I am..." (i.e. "I am not an artist, I'm a work of art.") Plus, this song has a memorable, but ultimately rather lame sounding refrain: "I've got an `f' and a `c' and I got a `k', too; the only thing that's missing is a b-tch like you." The very next track, "Ka-Boom, Ka-Boom," has stop-start, humming guitars, but a song with the word "ka-boom" in the title should be explosive; and this song is not. Also, "Better of Two Evils" is equally as catchy, but it isn't anything new. Manson's vocals are the exact same on this song, and this song, like most others on here, follows the same soft-loud song structure. Plus, Manson declares here that he is "the better of two evils." That line might have been shocking and controversial... if this song was written eight-or-so years ago. Unfortunately, this song now blurs the line between being a bad ass and being a self parody.
Some songs really fall flat. "Para-noir" simply fails to detonate; whereas "Vodevil" does have an entertaining, fist-pumping chorus, but it ultimately sounds too similar to tracks two and five.
Since many of these songs get by on a big, mosh-worthy chorus, I think Manson might have written this album just so he could have a batch of fresh, exciting songs to take on tour. Or maybe he has simply run out of ideas. Whatever the case, I think he should have spent more time on this album. His devout fans will stay with him forever, but to hold everyone else's attention, M.M. needs to find a new way to shock the listener. This album proves that simply regurgitating past lyrics won't make the listener's jaws drop to the floor.
I recommend "TGAoG" to all of Manson's fans, and you should definitely check this album out if you're an industrial-metal fan. To me, however, "The Golden Age of Grotesque" is a mostly enjoyable listen, but I think it ultimately does not show Marilyn Manson in his prime (in his "golden age"). It just lacks the sharp impact, originality, and intelligent lyrics that its predecessors had.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely NOT the Death of Art, March 25, 2006
Marilyn Manson's music has always been the some of the most esoteric, thought-provoking music out there. His albums are his social commentaries on everything from drugs, to celebrity worship, to religious hypocrisy, and none of it was ever meant to be easy to understand. Manson has always been about finding deeper understanding by thinking for yourself and making your own journeys of discovery, which is EXACTLY what his songs are. Those who found AntiChrist Superstar superficially Satanic and a strong advocator of drug-use and violence, or those who found Mechanical Animals to be a homosexual ripoff of David Bowie obviously never took the time to actually LISTEN to the album. No, Manson isn't a Satanist, no he isn't gay, no he's not telling you to kill yourself. Songs like "Get Your Gunn" off of his first LP ('Portrait')made millions of parents along with anti-violence groups criticize his deadly lyrics (I eat innocent meat/The housewife I will beat/The pro-life I will kill/What you won't do, I will), while the song is really a sarcastic critique on anti-abortion fanaticism. And that's just what his music is: sarcastic. It pokes fun at people too uptight to take a joke, and he does it in a way that feeds off of their own close-mindedness. After all, none of us would have been interested in Manson if he hadn't had caused so much of an uproar so many times. If you take any of his music at face value, then you are TRAGICALLY making a waste of great art. I find it amusing every time I read reviews from some of his more negative "critics". It always seems like they feel frustrated at their very lack of understanding, and it bleeds out of the type in the form of some verbally-abusive desperation. It's very sad when the "angst-filled, suicidal punk teens" who are his fans can write better, more thought-provoking reviews than those who claim to be the "morally-attuned".
Manson's music is an absolutely perfect example of true, pure art. His entire discography offers a very exclusive (since only a few step up to the challenge of trying to understand them) and personal look into the mind of the artist. Through songs of uncontrollable vicious hatred to those of desperate, irrational love, we find a way to wash away the makeup and find just another man in this world wanting to express himself. We feel his emotions through the music, even if they are portrayed in the form of the fictitious characters Adam, Omega, Wormboy and, yes, Marilyn Manson. They are tragic individuals trying to make sense out of a world of pain, rejection, and hypocrisy...sound familiar? We also see him pay tribute to those who have influenced him, for good or ill, and he makes no effort to hide it at all, making less-than-subtle references in his lyrics as well as his image. He's one of the only artists out there COMPLETELY unafraid to tell us all how he feels about someone or something, and he does it in a way that forces you to think about it before you speak. If there's anything Satanic about Manson, it's his independent, un-flinching search for understanding, and his music tries to bring that out in us, the listeners. Unfortunately, some of us are just too stupid, really, to accomplish that. In the end, though it's not always pretty, Marilyn Manson's music is undoubtedly brutally honest both to the listener and the artist himself, and that's more than one can say about a lot of societies preferred "role-models".
The Golden Age of Grotesque is an equal to all of Marilyn Manson's previous albums in terms of hard-hitting sonic brilliance, its dark, yet strangely-illuminating imagery, as well as its cleverly inventive style. Once again, Manson is covering new territory through what seems like almost flawless sonic experimentation. The only difference is, he has chosen not to hide (NOT a criticism) behind the persona of some centralized character in a strange world (in fact, his three previous albums actually all took place more or less in Hollywood, which is strange enough of a place as it is). In a way, this is the first time we have seen Marilyn Manson since the Spooky Kids era, coming out the other end of the cold vaccuum of Hollywood stardom, and he's more than willing to tell us how he feels about a couple things. He's sick of putting up with the bullsh*t of the media and having to constantly explain things that are so clear that even teenager could figure it out (NOT a criticism either), and bashes the mindlessness of the entertainment industry, which tells us all how to live so we don't have to figure it out on our own. Wanna be spoonfed like a child? Let me shove this f*cking spoon down your throat!
This is summed up by the first track of the album, 'This Is The New Sh*t' (I consider Thaeter more of an intro), both through its memorable opening lines as well as the lines "Everything's been said before/Nothing left to say anymore/When it's all the same you can ask for it by name..." He's given up on all these idealistic one-sided mechanical animals and tells it like it is. This is his most straightforward album ever, which is probably why it wasn't received so well by his closest fans. "Be obscene!" goes the cheerleader-like chant in 'mOBSCENE'. And he doesn't fail to do so. Songs like 'Slutgarden' and 'Para-noir' are fueled by dark, depraved sexual feelings. 'Ka-boom Ka-boom' and 'Use Your Fist And Not Your Mouth' show how callous and truly selfish Manson can be, while 'Spade' makes up for it by speaking of abused love and trust. 'Vodevil' is a testament to the artist's highly publicized morally-degrading lifestyle: "This isn't a show, this is my f*cking life/I'm not ashamed, you're entertained". '(s)AINT' expresses feelings of no longer yearning to be accepted, merely wanting to exist without having to please anyone. Nevertheless, despite its foward attitude, the album still retains Manson's signature esoteric style and wordplay, especially in the title track, even more so than his previous albums it seems (for those of you who think his lyrics make no sense at all) and in a much more personal way. This is art at its very best, and Manson makes his epic search for innocence clearer and clearer as his work evolves.
Manson is still at the top of his game here, and no one can attest to that without being as closeminded as his opponents. The only reason I gave this album a 4/5 star rating was because it has one or two weak songs ('The Bright Young Things' and 'Better Of Two Evils') that really aren't that bad, but whose absence would have made the album perfect. Nevertheless, get it. My rating is pointless. It's a true work of hedonistic, depraved art. Needless to say, it's great music to have sex to, which is what good rock 'n roll is all about, isn't it?
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Masterpiece , June 9, 2005
Well, I'm not going to waste time telling you what you all already know about the album, such as its inspirations and mood. Let me be the first to say that I listen to Manson's music from an artistic perspective and not a rock one, and I think that this is a wonderful display of wit and intelligence that is very rare in art today. Manson's not pretentious at all, unlike most modern artists. He's a genius when it comes to wordplay and musical composition (most of the album was composed completely electronically is what I've been told). Also, it was created with the help of avant garde genius Gottfried Helnwein, and it shows. There was also a bonus disc with my copy that contained a film called "Doppelherz", which was brilliant. I love this album, and listen to it not only when I paint, but sometimes even for inspiration. Kudos to Mr. Manson and Mr. Helnwein for creating something so innovative. Buy it if you love good art.
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~ Marilyn Manson
~ Marilyn Manson
~ Marilyn Manson
~ Marilyn Manson
~ Marilyn Manson
by Marilyn Manson 
