BORN VILLAIN

Brand new. Sealed. Not much to the guts of the cd but the album itself is a subpar entry for the great MM. it was this time in his life that spiraling downhill was getting close to bottom. I needed it for my collection of cds, but worth the listen if you’re a casual fan or fan of industrial metal in general. There’s a lil something for everyone here!

The record is pristine. MM albums are most sought after, great to get 1!!!

I enjoyed the album very much - that being said, I should specify that I liked High End of Low and some songs from Eat Me, Drink Me. I personally do not think that these two albums were total failure (although EMDM sounds a bit homogeneous and lacks the diversity of other MM albums, but still there are some great songs like They Said that Hell's not Hot and Putting Holes in Happiness). I enjoy mellow sound and slow tunes from MM - and well lyrics are something to muse over in spare time. So Born Villain is a mixture of the old and new MM. It has slow parts, but the screams and shrieks are there too. Generally, the promo film Born Villain represents the album - rhythmic, intertwined with verses and chanting and heavy sound in refrain or parts of the songs. There is some different attitude in lyrics - irony prevails over philosophy and the mood is less angry than earlier works of MM. To sum up, you should give it a try - either you worship the Triptych era and hate EMDM + HEOL or you are just interested in MM work without strong preferences. I loved almost all songs - Murderers Are Getting Prettier Every Day being the only exception and You Are So Vain - not as outstanding and memorable cover as other MM covers.

As a fan of Marilyn Manson since the release of 1995's Smells Like Children, one gets use to the change associated with any new Manson album. From the dark and destructive Antichrist Superstar, to the glam and equally emotive Mechanical Animals and even the vaudeville rocker Golden Age of Grotesque - one must get use to the idea that an album may not include all the elements that attracted you as a fan to a previous release. For me, Marilyn Manson hit his stride between the albums Mechanical Animals and Holywood - after which key songwriter and bassist Twiggy left the band. The subsequent albums (2003's Golden Age of Grotesque & 2007's Eat Me Drink Me) had their charm and attracted a new wave of fans, but for me seemed to be missing something crucial. Twiggy returned to his place in Marilyn Manson as principal song writer, and now bassist turned lead guitarist for 2009's High End of Low. Even though it featured the duo responsible for the majority of MM's classic songs, the album felt equally stuck in the emotional state of Eat Me Drink Me, and being divided musically which resulted in it never finding traction as a cohesive album. More a collection of songs, not over thought and recorded in the moment. With the albums released from 2003-2009, while I did connect with some songs on each release, as a whole I never felt that instant attraction. Born Villain, Marilyn Manson's first release after leaving his label of 18 years - is the first album in a long time that feels like Marilyn Manson. An album that does not dare to repeat the past, but instead brings the strengths of albums like Mechanical Animals and Holywood forward to the present. It's clear the style of the band has changed as it always had, but Born Villain is undeniable in it's confidence and it shows in a much more cohesive album. Marilyn Manson has regained his spirit as both vocalist and performer, and delivers his strongest work in years. Twiggy, who in his time away from MM worked with many varied and high profile bands - provides no filler in the compositions. A return to layered and dynamic songs that don't shy away from being willing to turn a song on it's head - giving the most refreshing listen in about a decade. Those who felt the last few albums lacked the atmosphere of earlier ones will have no problem finding a huge return to sonic layers dripped all over this canvas. Born Villain is an album that reminds me of why I enjoy just throwing on a pair of headphones and plunging myself into the depths of a Marilyn Manson album. Born Villain features something for fans of every style of Marilyn Manson. From the punk-rocker Hey Cruel World, to the sleaze-glam of Slo-mo-tion. From the emotive and equally doom rocker Lay Down Your Goddamn Arms, to the metal assault of Murderers. And from Overneath which is as instant MM classic as it gets, to the gloom ballad Breaking the Same Old Ground. Born Villain combines all the band's strengths, and still manages to breathe new life and executes an album that instantly ranks as one of their best.

We are over 8 months into 2012 and I have not heard anything to rival this CD. I have been a MM fan for many years now and have seen him live. Here is how I view the career of one of the best writers ever. There is the unholy trinity of AntiChrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals and Holywood. All masterpieces. I liked Golden Age of Grotesque but felt it was a big step backwards. Eat Me Drink Me I thought might be the end as there was maybe 3 good songs and easily MM's worst offering. When I first heard High End of Low I wasn't sure what to think but, as I wrote in the review for that CD, the more I listened the more I loved it and after 5 times through I saw that this may be the most creative compilation that MM had ever done and indeed is a masterpiece. I felt most fans did not give it a chance and discarded it way too fast. The change in style was brilliant to me. Now, Born Villain goes back to the roots of Manson but mixes the modern edge as well. As has always been the case I like it more each time through. The only song I skip is Slow Motion. The rest is solid and lyrically still brilliant. I've also grown to like the remake of You're So Vain. I did not the first couple of times through. It won;t be the first time MM gets album of the year from me if the last 4 months of this year can't produce anything better. I won't go as far as to call this one a masterpiece but it cracks his top 5 and the top 4 are 5 stars so it's in good company.

My world is less bleak because Marilyn Manson still makes graphic, controversial music that non-conformists can find refuge in, refuge from this senseless, hypocritical world. He does not exactly reinvent himself with each album, but he does change his product enough to keep it from sounding dated, while staying basically on the same page for his fans. The production on this album is livelier, a little less weighty, than that on some of his previous albums. Most of the tracks feature more singing of melodies than I have heard on previous albums. But in general, there is no lack of the things for which Manson has become famous, including dark themes and loud, crunching or searing guitars. My ears pricked up at some sounds and ideas that stand out. "Slo-Mo-Tion" opens with a bass riff that sounds like some early 80's hit (I can't quite remember who or what it was). "The Gardener" and "Breaking The Same Old Ground" both have an ornamental techno background. "The Flowers Of Evil" is set to what is practically a dance beat. For contrast, "Lay Down Your G****** Arms" is loaded with Led Zeppelin blues-rock sounds. And "Murderers Are Getting Prettier Every Day" might be the hardest rocking track on the album; look out because it has police sirens in it that might startle you if you are out driving at night and not too, um, alert. In "Born Villain", when Manson sings "There is a taste for blood/And it's deep inside", I think he means all of us, not just himself. And while we're talking lyrics, "Overneath The Path Of Misery" starts out with a quote from "Macbeth" and manages to mention Oedipus and Persephone too. You gotta love that, backed by hard rock and a sort of tribal beat. In other lyrics that I like, Manson identifies as a supernatural being. In "Hey Cruel World", he says "Creator/Preserver/Destroyer/Ask which one I am." And in "The Flowers Of Evil", he is "running from the bloodless for fear of exile for all of my sorceries that shun the light". I like covers, and Manson's are no exception. On this album we get an industrial take on "You're So Vain". I couldn't help noticing that he sings it as the original was sung by Carly Simon, from the female point of view, with no alteration of the lyrics ("all the GIRLS dreamed that they'd be your partner" and later, "the WIFE of a close friend"). It's no big deal; I'm just sayin'.

I have a few complaints to lodge with Mr. Warner before getting to the good stuff. Number one issue: It seems as if Mr. Warner can not (or will not) learn that less is more. Every single one of his albums (save 2007's "Eat Me, Drink Me") is over an hour in length. What this means is, all of his albums suffer from repetitiveness, even his best works. All I ask is for an artist to get in and get out in 45 minutes or less. "Born Villain" suffers that same bloated corpse problem of clocking in at over an hour (with the bonus track). Number two issue: Mr. Warner can't seem to settle in on a winning formula for success. We want to ROCK! There are always too many mid-tempo or slow tracks that meander and lose my interest. "Born Villain" has several of these from "Children Of Cain", "Lay Down Your G--d--n Arms" and the title track "Born Villain". All of these tracks suffer from being uninteresting and rather dull. Now, all this being said, "Born Villain" has one last problem: It fails to rise to the creative heights Mr. Warner reached with 1996's "Antichrist Superstar", 1998's "Mechanical Animals" and 2000's "Holywood". While I feel that 2003's "The Golden Age Of Grotesque" was his last good album, "Born Villain" seems to be on par with that album. Three and a half stars out of five. "Born Villain" is better than 2007's "Eat Me, Drink Me" (which I feel is one of Mr. Warner's weakest efforts), and 2009's "The High End Of Low". There are several vintage Manson tracks here like the first single "No Reflection" and the excellent S&M romp of "Pistol Whipped", "Overneath The Path Of Misery" and "Slo-Mo-Tion", and even album opener "Hey Cruel World" isn't too bad. However, after these first five tracks the album takes a turn and becomes spotty with "The Gardener", "Disengaged" and "Murderers Are Getting Prettier Every Day" being the best of the rest. So, that leaves "The Flowers Of Evil", "Children Of Cain", "Lay Down Your Arms" and "Born Villain" as speed bumps in an otherwise good album. That's four tracks that derail the second half of the album and give evidence of Mr. Warner's excessive mindset. Cut those four tracks out and re-listen to the album and tell me "Born Villain" doesn't sound leaner, meaner, tighter, more direct and to the point. Heck, you can even add "You're So Vain" if you'd like. And so, let me address "You're So Vain". A cover song of Carly Simon's 1972 classic from her third album "No Secrets". And strange choice when you think that Mr. Warner could have selected any song. So why this one? We may never know. If you were hoping for a spectacular duet between Warner and Depp, well you will be disappointed because you can't really tell Depp is on the track at all. But, one of Mr. Warner's strengths is his ability to put a completely new spin on another artist's song. Just look at what he did to the Eurythmics' classic "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" and Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" and even Soft Cell's cover version of "Tainted Love". Finally, Mr. Warner has not officially made a genre-defining classic album. You know, a five star album. He always seems to sabotage his potential for a career defining moment--an album for the ages. Yet, you feel that he is capable of it. I mean, if Trent Reznor can come up with "The Downward Spiral" why can't Mr. Warner come up with something equivalent? What's strange about "Born Villain" is it is Mr. Warner's first independent label release and you would think that this freedom would have opened up all his creative artistic juices but it did not. This same fate has befallen many other artists as well who seem to need advice and discipline. So here's how "Born Villain" compares to Manson's previous works: 1994 Portrait Of An American Family: Two and a Half Stars 1996 Antichrist Superstar: Four Stars 1998 Mechanical Animals: Four Stars 2000 Holywood: Four Stars 2003 The Golden Age Of Grotesque: Three and a Half Stars 2007 Eat Me, Drink Me: Three Stars 2009 The High End Of Low: Three Stars 2012 Born Villain: Three and a Half Stars

Unequivocally his best work yet. Less screamy and distorted in the vocals than all previous albums, this one has excellent production quality and the music and songwriting are sublime. Manson seems to get even better over time, where he continues to find such continuous inspiration is beyond me, but this album is far superior to anything he's done yet. I've only given it one listen so far and was so blown away I needed another immediately. I'll be listening to this repeatedly for weeks at least, before moving on to something new, but will keep coming back to this one over any of his others, including the Best Of album that used to be my fave (Lest We Forget..the Best of marilyn Manson) for the collection of most of the covers I've enjoyed by him. Other than the bonus track of Carly Simon's You're So Vain, all of these are originals, which I anticipate other artists covering Manson's work this time, especially Slo-Motion and Overneath. I'm eager to see what music videos Manson produces for some of these songs, especially Slo-Motion and Overneath, my two faves from this album so far, though every song is a number one level hit IMHO.