Marilyn Manson - Holy Wood (In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death)
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Free Music Notes for Holy Wood (In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death)
Free Music Review: Marilyn Manson just keeps getting better.
Hit: 5 Stars
First of all, let me start out by saying I think the very idea of Marilyn Manson being compared to any other artist currently or ever in the mainstream is as ridiculous as it is overused. From Alice Cooper to Ministry, from David Bowie to Nine Inch Nails, nearly every performer that ever slapped on a dab of black eyeliner has been accused of providing material that Manson has ripped off, and that is simply not true. Marilyn Manson's music is totally unique and stands on it's own, especially in Holy Wood, which I believe is his best work to date. Complete with the chaotic grind of industrial but far more structure; the aggressive power of metal but more intelligence and diversity; and the beauty and emotion of goth but not bogged down by the monotony, the Antichrist Superstar's method to approaching music is all his own.As for the album itself, Holy Wood completes the comcept trilogy that began with Anitchrist Superstar and continued with Mechanical Animals. The macabre journey kicks off with "GodEatGod", a creepy, Gothic ballad that is reminiscent of ACS's Crytochild in it's uniqueness. The songs that follow are amazing both in their musical diversity and their lyrical intelligence. Some, like "Born Again", "Burning Flag" and "Target Audience" perfectly combine the melody and strong song writing of Mechanical Animals with the maniacal anger of Antichrist Superstar. "Fight Song" and "The Nobodies" display with pride the fact that Marilyn Manson knows how to never get old or monotonous, while "Crucifiction In Space" and "Valentine's Day" are clearly designed to be slow and sinister. Lastly, "Come Black", "In the Shadow of the Valley of Death" and "Lamb of God" are beautiful ballads that will stick in your head long after you hear them. There are more, like the old school "President Is Dead", but I'll let you judje the pieces individually for yourselves. All in all, Holy Wood is an epic album that any fan of metal, industrial, goth, or music in general would be foolish to pass up merely because of preconceptions.
Free Music Review: Misunderstood Manson at His Best
Hit: 5 Stars
For the life of me, I will never understand why this album flopped. It is his best album by far. After the angriness of Superstar and glam of Mechanical Animals, this awesome piece of work was ignored. Not only does Manson highten his singing and playing but he lets Twiggy Ramirez loose to do some of the best musical writing the band has ever seen. Never has Manson sounded so polished and yet still so angry.
Holy Wood concludes the trilogy set up by Antichrist and Mechanical Animals. Manson states this is the first in the trilogy, which is true, but he also says the first half of Holy WOod is the beginning of the story, but the last part is the end of the trilogy. Basically it ties everything up. (The story is really complex so if you want the whole shebang with song listings and all e-mail me and i'll send you one. It's definitely worth a read.) The first part of the story is set in the desert and Manson does great by putting this mood in songs like "A Place in the Dirt" and "THe Shadow of the Valley of Death."
Manson's frustration comes through so clearly on this album. He's frustrated with the way he was blamed for Columbine, and instead he rightly blames society for our children't problems in songs like "The Death Song Kids" "Disposable Teens" "The Fight Song" and "THe Nobodies" (my fav. song on the album.) A theme of martyrdom runs through the album with mentions of JFK and Lennon and Christ all being compared to Manson being crucified by the media.
The band is able to combine raw metal sound reminiscent to superstar in songs like "Born Again" and "Burning Flag" yet makes some of the beautiful ballads of their time with "Lamb of God" and "Coma Black". There is never a dull moment musically nor lyically.
The album concludes with the trilogy finale of "Count to 6 and Die" a wonderfully simple yet complicated song about Death and our future. Please give this album a chance. There is so much complexity to this amazing album and so much great music.
Free Music Review: My Favourite CD ever Recorded.
Hit: 5 Stars
It's of such a stripe that you could analyze the meaning forever. Very thought-provoking and it full-on rocks for the 70+ minutes it has on it. The inner booklet is Gorgeous. The songs are inspired. He compares his life as a Rock Star to that of a God or a President or King (etc.), one song even compares people to a gun, and evolution and revolution (apes metaphorically humans who hold new thoughts back, while humans advance our society, this is used in 'Planet Of The Apes' as well). He's very critical of himself and his audience (see: lyrics to President Dead). The lyrics to King Kill 33 will never be out of my head, an actor could use it, it's full of such raw emotion. I think this will be remembered as Marilyn Manson's classic disc. My favourite tracks are 'A Place In The Dirt', 'In The Shadow...', 'Coma Black' and 'Lamb Of God' - about the death of revolutions and John Lennon. 'The Nobodies' is a simple song that can be played loud. 'Holy Wood' is where the ideal people live, and it's Valley is where the undesirables and cast out (disposed of) live. There is a song that greatly describes this point in MM's life, and that is 'You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You', the lyrics match up with Holy Wood's subjects exactly. I love every track except for 'Born Again'. 'Fall of Adam' I think, concerns a crowd, like the villagers (MM Critics) overtaking Frankenstein (M.Manson) and blaming him for something. This CD really can't be judged by one track or two, you should experience the album as a whole, as even the pictures in the booklet help to fit the pieces of the lyrics together. All in all, Well Worth it! There are many more discoveries that I haven't mentioned, fans will be dissecting this album for decades! After a few months you'll know if you either Love it or Hate it (as there is no inbetween), but with this review hopefully you'll Understand it better. There are many more things to interpret, enjoy!Free Music Review: Manson returns with his best CD ever!!
Hit: 5 Stars
The first 4 songs rip: GODEATGOD, THE LOVE SONG, THE FIGHT SONG and DISPOSABLE TEENS...all have in common a subversive surface level aggression. The next song contains some references to JFK and Huxley..where else do you hear those 2 together?? In the song, TARGET AUDIENCE, that's where! It shows how intelligent MM is by putting those 2 icons together. PRESINDENT'S DEAD is a fast cool clip. One of the best moments is IN THE SHADOW OF THE VALLEY OF DEATH, where Manson laments he wishes he could be king..in this song he is!! CRUCIFIXTION IN SPACE has the lament, "This is evolution..the monkey...the man...and the gun..." against a Black Sabbath plodding beat. Brilliant!! THE NOBODIES will be an anthem to the disenfranchised everywhere..a great address to MM's fans!! THE DEATH SONG is a cool industrial number. LAMB OF GOD is another slower/acoustical song that showcases MM's lyrics and storytelling...truly haunting. BORN AGAIN is OK...nothing special to me, yet. BURNING FLAG is a techno/industrial mesh of noise with a driving chorus!!! COMA BLACK and FALL OF ADAM are acoustical songs that are so eerie in their brilliance...again the lyrics are the star. KING KILL is a NINish beat with some distorted vocals. And the last song, COUNT TO 6 AND DIE is genius! The most scariest thing about this song is the end where the only sound is the gun being cocked and shot 5 times with no report...then the sixth trigger is pulled....eerie!!Manson showcases his talent for scathing commentary on the society we live in. The slower acoustical pieces are my faves because the emphasis is on the lyrics and they are just perfectly realized! This is a fitting conclusion to the trilogy of ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR and MECHANICAL ANIMALS...MARILYN MANSON has left the building...in a body bag...or bags. RIP.
Free Music Review: Wow...
Hit: 5 Stars
Four years ago, an artist by the name of Marylin Manson, who at that point in his career had built a large fanbase but was still somewhat in the underground after two albums, released an album that not only made him a Superstar, but an album so incredibly controversial that it immediatly rocketed him to living-legend status. Two years later, he almost totally changed his image for the 80s glam-styled Mechanical Animals which turned a lot of casual fans away because of its softer, mellower, slower sound and put Manson on the receiving end of accusations of "selling out" Personally, I love all the albums, and, believe it or not, Mechanical Animals was my favorite...but each to their own. Anyway, while he touring for Mechanical Animals, the world was shocked by the Columbine massacre...Manson's first thought upon hearing about it was "I'm going to get blamed for this." Sure enough...he was. Not only was it a stupid thing to begin with, it was made even more crackheaded when the accusations continued to rain down even after it was revealed that the young terrorists didn't even like his music. Frustrated, Manson went into seclusion for months...and this album is the result. Bringing Antichrist Superstar and Mechanical Animals together in sound, this album is simply awesome...fans of Manson old and new (as cliched as that is...) should by this album right away. The ONLY complaint I have about it is that many of the songs are a litte too short...but it's still a VERY worthy buy. And for all those hypocritical religious fanatics who condemn the man, go read his lyrics so you at least know what you're talking about...it makes one look incredibly STUPID to condemn something you haven't even tried to find out about about...any way, hope this helped...enjoy the album!!!