Marilyn Manson - The High End Of Low

-David- · 06-23-2009, 03:12 PM

The new album by Marilyn Manson. I approached with caution.

Eat Me, Drink Me, his previous effort, served as a beautifully flawed look into the mind of Marilyn Manson, by actually being Un-Mansonish. It was a love-or-hate scenario when it came to reception.

Now though, he promises a return to original form.

At first, definately not so, as it seems he has not bothered to make a concept album, a formula proving to create his best work (from Antichrist Superstar to The Golden Age Of Grotesque, despite the latter being poorly received).

Now, to the actual music, as one should really forget about his ego and such when it comes to the actual music, although, the music in this case actually makes it hard to forget his ego...

Devour: 3/5
I wanted to like this song more than I did. It starts off very interesting, with a very emotional chorus, very reminiscent of Eat Me, Drink Me. The track kinda plods along sometimes at an understated pace. Good track, however, it ends midway through him delivering a word, ending abruptly and cut-off.

Pretty As A Swastika: 3/5
Very heavy, violently put, and oddly romantic. This track is short and sweet. Perhaps too short, at being a mere 2 minutes and 40 seconds.

Leave A Scar: 3/5
2 tracks in, and it all seems fairly... Well, functional yet toned-down Marilyn Manson. This song, I feel, is the first sign of the album starting to drag and lead down an unfortunate road. It's technically a good song, but, it's very similar to Devour in some respects, and doesn't really bother to be any better.
Perhaps I'm just impatient for a typical stomping Manson song at this stage.

Four Rusted Horses: 2/5
Hmm, this song didn't really click with me at all. I like the variation that Manson tries on this track, but I don't think it is executed as well as it could have been. It would APPEAR that he's not really trying on this album at all, really...

Arma-Goddamn-Mother****in'-Geddon: 5/5
At last, a stomper! This track marries the dark tone of Holy Wood with the glam-rock of Mechanical Animals, and retaining a new squelching beat kind of sound. Not as good as some of his earlier stompers, but here, it comparitively fares as one of the best songs on the album.

Blank & White: 3/5
Good lyrics here, but, again, the execution seems, just... Off.

Running To The Edge Of The World: 2/5
It presents itself as a Four Rusted Horses pt. 2, a kind of cool blue-sy sound that Manson experiments with. Still...

I Want To Kill You Like They Do In The Movies: 3/5
Dark, and good. But at nearly ten minutes running time, it can grow repetitive. It would seem that this was made long purely for the sake of having a ten minute song about violence.

WOW: 5/5
Regardless of the gripes many people have with this song, it is quintessentially a very good song. The problem here being that it sounds VERY un-Mansonish.
But the plodding, sexual, and electronic nature of the song and its sinister lyrics prove to form an excellent song. Although, it may again merely sound better than it is compared to the rest of the album so far. My favourite song on the album. Lyrically challenged though...

Wight Spider: 3/5
This seems like a Blank & White pt. 2, only a bit slower. Again, very, very filler, despite it being in all technicality a good all-round song. One may be lead to believe that Manson put little passion into the majority of this album, saving it for the few-too-many ballads that all sound the same.

Unkillable Monster: 3/5
The first genuinely good ballad on the album, but we're nearly finished now. Good all-round, relatively misleading title.

We're From America: 4/5
The beginning is very atmospheric indeed, and is what grabbed me initially. The song seems to get repetitive, and after Arma...Geddon, it remains one of the two stompers on the album. Only two. Not to say that stompers are Manson's ONLY forté, but this album is very down-tempo and slow, and despite him having made some very good ballads, this album so far just seems like a half-try. Lyrically unsubtle, like many songs on this album, which is relatively new for Manson...

I Have To Look Up Just To See Hell: 2/5
I don't want to have to say this, but it sounds almost exactly the same as FRH and RTTEOTW.

Into The Fire: 5/5
Very good ballad, the best ballad. It really should have been the only ballad considering the formula of an attempt at blues that Manson has tried. It is delivered excellently and emotionally. Brilliant song.

15: 4/5
Seeming more like an afterthought or an epilogue than anything, this is a good and emotional song. Not much more could be said about it.

Overall: 3/5
When it's good, it's quite good actually. There are no "bad" songs here. Just not enough brilliant ones. He seems to have lost a certain fire, he's not subtle anymore, although this could prove a double-entendre of sorts, it very well could be that this was intentional. It sometimes feels like a less-good version of Eat Me, Drink Me at times, or a remake even, with Twiggy replacing Tim Skold. Essentially, it's a bridging album, I think this was used more as a wake-up call for Manson than anything, and that the next album will (hopefully) prove better. I like this album, but I most certainly would not have bought it, rather downloaded it, or picked at it on iTunes. I will listen to it more, and update my review of certain songs, IF NEED BE...

Arya Stark · 06-23-2009, 03:21 PM

I'm subscribing to this. I can't finish reading this right now, but I love Manson. [=

Raust · 06-23-2009, 07:17 PM

I thought the same as you did on the album. It was good, but like you said he's sorta losing that fire he once had.

Son of JayJamJah · 06-23-2009, 07:55 PM

Nice review dude!

Check out the album reviews forum for some ideas on formatting your review to attract more readers.

Most people here are too lazy to read them unless they were specifically looking for said review.

06-23-2009, 03:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
-David- Groupie Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Ireland Posts: 10	Marilyn Manson - The High End Of Low The new album by Marilyn Manson. I approached with caution. Eat Me, Drink Me, his previous effort, served as a beautifully flawed look into the mind of Marilyn Manson, by actually being Un-Mansonish. It was a love-or-hate scenario when it came to reception. Now though, he promises a return to original form. At first, definately not so, as it seems he has not bothered to make a concept album, a formula proving to create his best work (from Antichrist Superstar to The Golden Age Of Grotesque, despite the latter being poorly received). Now, to the actual music, as one should really forget about his ego and such when it comes to the actual music, although, the music in this case actually makes it hard to forget his ego... Devour: 3/5 I wanted to like this song more than I did. It starts off very interesting, with a very emotional chorus, very reminiscent of Eat Me, Drink Me. The track kinda plods along sometimes at an understated pace. Good track, however, it ends midway through him delivering a word, ending abruptly and cut-off. Pretty As A Swastika: 3/5 Very heavy, violently put, and oddly romantic. This track is short and sweet. Perhaps too short, at being a mere 2 minutes and 40 seconds. Leave A Scar: 3/5 2 tracks in, and it all seems fairly... Well, functional yet toned-down Marilyn Manson. This song, I feel, is the first sign of the album starting to drag and lead down an unfortunate road. It's technically a good song, but, it's very similar to Devour in some respects, and doesn't really bother to be any better. Perhaps I'm just impatient for a typical stomping Manson song at this stage. Four Rusted Horses: 2/5 Hmm, this song didn't really click with me at all. I like the variation that Manson tries on this track, but I don't think it is executed as well as it could have been. It would APPEAR that he's not really trying on this album at all, really... Arma-Goddamn-Mother***in'-Geddon: 5/5 At last, a stomper! This track marries the dark tone of Holy Wood with the glam-rock of Mechanical Animals, and retaining a new squelching beat kind of sound. Not as good as some of his earlier stompers, but here, it comparitively fares as one of the best songs on the album. Blank & White: 3/5 Good lyrics here, but, again, the execution seems, just... Off. Running To The Edge Of The World: 2/5 It presents itself as a Four Rusted Horses pt. 2, a kind of cool blue-sy sound that Manson experiments with. Still... I Want To Kill You Like They Do In The Movies: 3/5 Dark, and good. But at nearly ten minutes running time, it can grow repetitive. It would seem that this was made long purely for the sake of having a ten minute song about violence. WOW: 5/5 Regardless of the gripes many people have with this song, it is quintessentially a very good song. The problem here being that it sounds VERY un-Mansonish. But the plodding, sexual, and electronic nature of the song and its sinister lyrics prove to form an excellent song. Although, it may again merely sound better than it is compared to the rest of the album so far. My favourite song on the album. Lyrically challenged though... Wight Spider: 3/5 This seems like a Blank & White pt. 2, only a bit slower. Again, very, very filler, despite it being in all technicality a good all-round song. One may be lead to believe that Manson put little passion into the majority of this album, saving it for the few-too-many ballads that all sound the same. Unkillable Monster: 3/5 The first genuinely good ballad on the album, but we're nearly finished now. Good all-round, relatively misleading title. We're From America: 4/5 The beginning is very atmospheric indeed, and is what grabbed me initially. The song seems to get repetitive, and after Arma...Geddon, it remains one of the two stompers on the album. Only two. Not to say that stompers are Manson's ONLY forté, but this album is very down-tempo and slow, and despite him having made some very good ballads, this album so far just seems like a half-try. Lyrically unsubtle, like many songs on this album, which is relatively new for Manson... I Have To Look Up Just To See Hell: 2/5 I don't want to have to say this, but it sounds almost exactly the same as FRH and RTTEOTW. Into The Fire: 5/5 Very good ballad, the best ballad. It really should have been the only ballad considering the formula of an attempt at blues that Manson has tried. It is delivered excellently and emotionally. Brilliant song. 15: 4/5 Seeming more like an afterthought or an epilogue than anything, this is a good and emotional song. Not much more could be said about it. Overall: 3/5 When it's good, it's quite good actually. There are no "bad" songs here. Just not enough brilliant ones. He seems to have lost a certain fire, he's not subtle anymore, although this could prove a double-entendre of sorts, it very well could be that this was intentional. It sometimes feels like a less-good version of Eat Me, Drink Me at times, or a remake even, with Twiggy replacing Tim Skold. Essentially, it's a bridging album, I think this was used more as a wake-up call for Manson than anything, and that the next album will (hopefully) prove better. I like this album, but I most certainly would not have bought it, rather downloaded it, or picked at it on iTunes. I will listen to it more, and update my review of certain songs, IF NEED BE... __________________ - Last edited by -David-; 06-23-2009 at 03:25 PM.*

06-23-2009, 07:17 PM	#3 (permalink)
Raust Music Addict Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1,411	I thought the same as you did on the album. It was good, but like you said he's sorta losing that fire he once had.