Poems
Welcome to my obscure temple for poetic madness .
Come, enter … but only at thine own risk - for this is a place haunted by the ghosts of twisted memories and heretic fantasies.
A place where the restless souls of the wicked and the dammed still whispers and the roar of ancient beasts still echoes…”
The Aeon Of Leviathan
The Golden Age of Grotesque
The Aeon Of Leviathan
The Aeon Of Leviathan
O, demonic toughs roaming the vineyards
The warriors of Baccus sharpening their swords
Morning mist covers the ravines
The earth is coloured red by the spilled blood of the guards
And the fire temple lies in ruins
Hecate , benear me
As the full Moon is rising
As the icy drizzle covers our faces
And the Adepts of Cthulhu stand armed and ready by the shore
Where is the guardian now ?
Hanging on his cross - rotting away
His sheep run in self-denial
Balam the terrible knight of pain took their hands so they would never again pray
Night gaunts , come from every direction
Let the Books of light burn
This is the Aeon of Leviathan
The beginning of Astral insurrection
Shatter the spheres
Slay the slaves
A tempest of violence
The western gate opens wide
Yes , the end is finally here
This is the Armageddon of fools
Jesus ,Mohamed , Moses , Jehovah and King John where but tools
To sepererate the weak from the strong
Let them rot in heaven , cold and sterile space
Lifeless void - their peaceful paradise Who are they to judge us
To tell us we where wrong
Maskim Xull
Horned shadows rising up from the fast
Kadath- mixing past and the future with present
Opening deep deep volts that kept the thirteen wicked spirits
They spoke unto us since we came to be
In tongues of dead races
The wrote the book of Doom on parchment made from angel’s skin
It lies there surrounded by pillars of ebony
Clothed in cures and necromantic dust
In the seeping city of Nightmares - Ry ‘ Lyeh
We , the fiew who know of Him
Give praise to the dark lords , thy gave us knowledge and lust
Phoenix dies again the end of the Golden age
Weakness has obliterated the priests and rightious
Powers are now bestowed upon the Black mage
*
)0+ Levaithan +E
Manson
Deserving of a Second Glance
I. Introduction
It is often said ‘ Marilyn Manson , love him or hate him’ . I say , know some thing about him before you judge , if that is what you must do.
The following is a little something I wrote as a tribute to Marilyn Manson. It gives you some idea of the depth of some of the band’s work.
It is often disputed if Marilyn Manson (as a band or as a person) really is Satanic or not. I will let the reader decide that for him/herself. Of course that decision may be premature since I will only cover the official albums released my Marilyn Manson and this will fail to give you all the perspectives.
Too many people judge the band and it’s front man on first glance , a superficial act indeed . Marilyn Manson deserves a second glance .
Please let it be know that I am not trying to convince you wither or not Marilyn Manson is Satanic or not , this is but a small homage to a brilliant band that has and will continue to inspire me …
Still I think it may be relevant to place this here ,on the Satanic Room if not to learn (more) about the artist then for the simple reason that Marilyn Manson is a Church of Satan priest . ( He was ordained a Church of Satan reverend in October 1994 by Anton LaVey)
Marilyn Manson has always been critic in his views and aside from some good rock music he has also putt across the message of “ be what /who you want to be” .
As a band Marilyn Manson has come a long way , yet it always had distinct feel to it .Considering all the (bad) press the band has (had) it’s quite an accomplishment to re-invent a band so many time and staying true while still sounding fresh after ten years !
Marilyn Manson has show tremendous talent and is walking , screaming proof that WILL power can make you what YOU want to be.
Make no mistake , this work is only a glimpse of Marilyn Manson . It is far from a complete work . It mainly focuses on the music and it’s effect. Call it an accessible summary of Marilyn Manson. After reading this you will be better off than most blind/ idiot critics , but there is much more to Marilyn Manson than meet the ears or eyes . ..
This is but a humble homage - but I hope you enjoy and possibly learn something.
II. A Short Piece of info on the Albums
-Prologue -
The Ohio born Brian Warner gets sent to a Christian boring school. There the tales of the Apocalypse and eternal damnation have a great impact on the young boy.
In the high school era , Brian is place in a public school. Looking up to bands like KISS, Black Sabath , Dr. Hook and David Bowie, he mainly focuses in art and reading the works of Nietzsche, Huxley , Freud , LaVey and Crowley. After moving to Florida he becomes a local rock journalist .
After some time he decides that he want to be the one answering the questions. With a friend of his he start a project called ‘Satan on Fire’ . Later this would evolve in to Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids . The band members chose strange transsexual names that where mixture of a Female pop-icon and a male killer. Brian takes on the pseudonym of Marilyn Manson . - A combination of timeless beauty- icon Marilyn Monroe and the notorious leader of the murderous Manson Family , Charles Manson . The combination of such strong contrasts of love and hate and American pride and disgrace was bound to give sparks and draw attention. This began the story that would lead to the Decade of Shock.
Portrait of an American Family (1994)
The debut Marilyn Manson album appeared in 1994 and it was produced by Trent Reznor of the Nine Inch Nails.
It was pretty low budget project that took allot of time and work. Yet after all these years it still stands and it isn’t a record Marilyn Manson would have to be ashamed of - as it is often the case with a band’s debut album , mostly due to over ‘production’ that rapes the artists’ views.
All by all this album has a seventies rock-meets the dark nineties sound to it which one would not expect knowing it was produced by one of the leading figures in the Industrial scene.
A fact that seems to be loved by many, is that the album (and allot of NIN material) was recorded in the same house wherein the murder on the pregnant Sharon Tate was slaughtered by Charles Manson’s the family.
The album’s title is based on a group of conservative Christians that wanted to censure the band and in the same way a reminder of Charley Manson’s Family .
Just as one of the first songs ever written by Marilyn Manson , the track My Monkey which seems to be a plain nursery rime but is in fact inspired by the lyrics written by Charles Manson for is musical exploits.
The track was about to be cancelled from the album because the issue of the Manson Murders was to sensitive to touch and the label didn’t want to get involved in a lawsuit. But after allot of fighting they managed to keep the track .
This holds the true basis of the band’s intend to show the hypocrisy of (American ) society .
The track Dogma for instance is a critical song dealing with the hysteric witch -hunts held by the media and the compulsive self-medication of the ‘happy civilians’.
Various influences can be traced back to Crowley and LaVey .
On the track Get Your Gun Manson refers to ‘the good-guy badge’ which is a word first used by Anton LaVey - founder of the Church of Satan.
The song Misery Machine has ‘the abbey of Thelema’ in it’s course -Crowley ,doubted ‘the wickedest man in the world’ designed a religion called Thelema that would destroy Christianity.
The observant eye will also notice the little 666 dice combination and the pentagrams on the album’s sleeve.
The central metaphor used on The Portrait (as well as on it’s succeeding EP) is nothing more that seemingly innocent …candy. However Marilyn Manson uses this as a metaphor for drugs and other forbidden fruits .
The similarity is striking when you think of it - both candy and drug give you energy rushes but afterward make you feel bad. Children are often addicted to sweets and will go through tremendous trouble to them - just like the junk does for drugs.
Marilyn Manson also used the candy-metaphor powerfully in Sweet tooth a song that deals with an unhealthy relationship.
NOTE ; if you want the literal core of the Portrait of an American Family album than you should read the statement in the sleeve … it’s short ,powerful and honest!
The Smells Like Children EP ( 1995)
The Smells Like Children EP is what MM called his attempt to (re)capture his innocence /childhood.
This a collection of covers and re-mixes and what Marilyn Manson himself calls ‘a children’s record for adults’.
The contents on this EP is a varied one , build up out of samples taken from Charley and the Chocolate factory, and other children stories written by Dr.Seuss and what seemed to be a porn sample (this is the total contents of the track ;Fuck Franky).
Also the comparison Marilyn Manson drew between candy and medication / drugs is ever present on the EP in a tack entitled “ May Cause Discoloration of Urine or Faeces “ - being what sounds like a taped phone conversation of a mother and her daughter over what heart medication she should take .
Covers of Patty Smith’s Rockn’ Roll Nigger and the infamous “White Trash( get down on your knees )” smashed between re-mixes of tracks from their debut album made an odd sound indeed.
However it was the cover of the Urithemix song Sweet Dreams( are made of this) that got the band on MTV and made the existence the band known to the world .
Antichrist Superstar (1966)
Antichrist Superstar is probably the most memorable Marilyn Manson album to date .
This album was a concept album in every way possible …
It was recorded during a painful road filled with drugs, mind games ,nightmares and (self)mutilation.
On this album Marilyn Manson takes on the role of The Antichrist superstar or in biblical terms Lucifer . By channelling himself into a persona he found in easier to” tell the story from the fallen angel’s point of view” and one of the inspiration in the writing process was his strange grandfather ( the main focus on of the lyric on Kinderfeld). Thus this album had an autobiographic tension to it - it told the story of the transformation form Wormboy to the superhuman Antichrist Superstar in three cycles .
Singles where released such as Tourniquet and the saddening Man That you Fear but none where as timeless and (ironically ?) ‘catchy’ as The beautiful People , a song dealing with ,what Marilyn Manson called body-fascism.
The controversial tour which followed the album’s release carried the name of The Dead To the World was a dynamic , shocking extravaganza that would not only become a soar memory that was carved into the collective spirit of Christian American protesters but also a trade mark for “typically Marilyn Manson outrage” .
The show featured the bad dressed in military uniforms , the singer mounted on a speech-stand wearing a business suit while ripping a bible apart and screaming the hell out of his lungs . Then huge banners bearing the SCHOCK sign (note that the colours used for the banners - white, orange-red and black are the same colours used for the Swastika insignia. This not generates a strong resemblance with Fascism but also proves that this combination still serves it’s “compelling” purpose very well ) of the Antichrist Superstar would unravel . And the singer /Antichrist Superstar/ priest of Church of Satan would make the audience raise their fists at his command in a way that resembled a fascist rally to a chilling extend .
This flirtation with fascism created an enormous outrage (in conservative/ Christian America that is ). And some even thought that their hero had gone to far this time and fallen pray to an extreme form of megalomania .
Some pointed out that his (seeming) promotion of fascism was in conflict with his LaVeyan ideals. Since fascism oppressed the individual is was against the principles of Modern Satanism as it focuses mainly on individuality .
However MM soon explained to those who didn’t get it (or those who choose not to see the irony ) that he was not a racist ,nor a fascist. He doesn’t judge people on their race or religion but on their intelligence. This is fare because anyone is capable of becoming as intelligent as they want to be - you can learn want you want to learn by sheer will power even if natural IQ differ.
The idea of Fascism he derived from the (often subliminal) message the media promotes . Thus it was a parody on America and how it’s hypocrisy of ‘freedom’ is actually little (if not) less than a commercial invented by passive fascists.
The Antichrist Superstar is a personification of extremes - a superman or the übermensh as Nietszche called it. Marilyn Manson isn’t promoting national socialism but held a sinister parody on a fascistic rally with his Dead to the World tour.
The whole concept of the album was to bring about the Apocalypse - if this is in a fire-hail-holy judgement-world war III kind of way or simply in your own head is up to you. But the whole principle of all apocalypses , including the Biblical one is than in order to make something better and new , the old must be destroyed or purged. That is what the Antichrist Superstar album is about - three cycles of death , ultimately leading to the evolution of Wormboy to Antichrist Superstar.
Marilyn Manson himself has stated that the run of Antichrist Superstar is not over , it is still to be completed. Every time someone plays the record a new chapter is added to the concept - and the listener is once step closer to the apocalypse.
"People look at the Apocalypse as the world being
destroyed, but I look at it on a different level...
maybe God will be destroyed in their heads and they'll
become themselves and go through the same transformation
I did, where you are a worm and you become something
that's much stronger.” -Marilyn Manson 1996
Omega And the Mechanical Animals (1998)
A rather shocking new style for Marilyn Manson- breaking away from the last record’s heavier ,darker ambience to a sourly flavoured kind of Glam Rock Manson was told to sell out by some fans .
Simply because the this record smelled more like decadent synth-rock than the experimental , rougher sound to which they got accustomed to on Antichrist Superstar .
Fans said Marilyn Manson had lost it’s edge for aggressive and depressive lyrics and traded it for commercial ambiguity. Manson on his part defended that if you read into the song of the album that may seem the most uplifting , you will find the most devastating material on the album.
Marilyn Manson’s look also changed considerably from the demonic, angry Antichrist to a white androgynous model. MM took on the role of “Omega” the android-like creature that experienced the world ‘like and infant’.
Yes, confusion was great - nevertheless this record had not failed as some thought it would. Because of it high ‘polish’ it was easily accepted by a different (bigger ?) audience as well . Marilyn Manson got one step closer to it’s goal ‘to become something the mainstream hates - and to become part of it only so you can change what it’s about”.
The clip for the hit-single “ The Dope Show” for instance featured gay cops and monstrous doctors. One might interpret this as the goal in practice ; testing boundaries, shocking while entertaining at the same time. Also the number 15 has a significant meaning on this album - it’s no coincidence that in the tarot the 15th card is that of the Devil (again represented by the androgynous Baphomet).
Also, according to Manson one could see this album as a parallel to Jesus Christ like you could draw a parallel between Antichrist Superstar and Lucifer .
Mechanical Animals was the second part of the trilogy - MM’s long term project which includes Antichrist Superstar , Mechanical Animals and Holy Wood ( on which more later).
Drugs were used as a metaphor on this record more than anything going from track titles such as “ I don’t like the Drugs (but the drug like me ) “ and “The Dope Show” to the booklet which is illustrated with pills , drugs and the cd itself that looks like a giant pill.
Mechanical Animals may seem devoid of Satanic Imagery or some occult codes but it is not - all be it much less and more subtitle that on the previous record .The androgynous ‘thing’ which is the centrepiece of the sleeve and cover can be interpreted as a reference to Baphomet- the idol of the temple knights which symbolises Satan.
Holy Wood ( in the valley of the shadow of death ) ( 2000)
This album is a response to the Columbine shootings for which Marilyn Manson was (unjustly) held responsible be cause he had ‘inspired’ the two teenage murderers and because they would allegedly have been fans of the band.
Instead of avoiding all gun-related violence , Manson made the American gun culture one of the key themes of this record. Most notably the album spawned the following “ Guns ,God & the Government tour” .
Other themes are the horror of celebrity and of course the constant theme in Marilyn Manson’s work ; the hypocrisy of white , Christian America .
Holy Wood is the first part of the three-part story but it’s chronologically the last chapter.
The concept Holy Wood was initially to be adapted to a film but no one was willing to risk the production such a violent theme. Later on it became a novel , which to this day is due in release… Manson decided to make it into an album as this process demands a minimum of recourses .
In this chapter Manson takes on the role of Mercury / Adam.
The alchemy sing for Mercurius became his new initial. This sign represented not only a substance told to be ‘pure than gold’ but also represented the planet Mercury in astrological terms. Note that mercury was also called Hermes ‘the messenger of the Gods’ and was called Aiwas ( Satan) by Aleisther Crowley who regarded Aiwas as his personal guardian spirit.
Manson also made a bolder link to the old occultism of Eliphas Levidel with his outstanding sleeve decoration representing the Tarot combined with American Icon such as JFK and the band in a disturbing ,yet intriguing fashion.
The cover of the album featured a cross over between the Tarot and Jesus- with the image of Marilyn Manson , crucified with a broken jaw. With this picture alone he made a powerful and bold statement on the Media.
As Marilyn Manson compares himself to loved America icons who became martyrs/ celebrities mostly for their tragic end. (such as Elvis Presely and Marilyn Monroe )
This was another brilliant sample of Manson’s contemporary use of (Satanic)magic if not just beautiful artwork !
Holly Wood spawned three singles ; Disposable Teens , The Fight song and the much later released ;The Nobodies .
The first single had two clips - one of the band performing with wild fans that where brutally beaten off by crucifix-clubs held by semi-robotic security officers. However this violence was relatively suggestive and thus suitable for MTV yet , it seemed it was a tad too MTV as the clip barely made it to Europe’s MTV new and then faded away into obscurity.
The second clip for Disposable Teen featured Manson himself as a bizarre ‘evil pope’ as he wore robes that belonged in the Vatican wile the band joined in to eat a man that could /would be a symbol of Adam , being eaten as a sort of perverted last supper .
The Golden Age of Grotesque (2003)
After Holy Wood things got pretty quiet for awhile around Manson. Then ,the cover of the eighties anthem ‘Tained Love ‘( original by Soft Cell) surfaced on the soundtrack for the comedy; “Not another teen movie”.
When news got it that Twiggy Ramirez , Marilyn Manson’s best friend and base player ) left the band concerns began to rise.
Still, after delay the new MM album came in early summer 2003.
This time MM has drawn his inspiration from the decadent Berlin in the thirties . This record borders close to cabaret and Electro- rock ,and unusual combination that (like any of MM records ) needs time to sink in before you can appreciate it for what it is .
Like Mechanical Animals it’s sound seems uplifting , but it’s far darker than you imagined at first sight (hearing).However the comparison between the GAOG and Mechanical Animals may not be the best to make ; there are similarities but the Golden Age of Grotesque is much harder and aggressive.
Also this time , for the first time since Portrait an American Family , MM hasn’t put himself in a Character ( like Omega or Mercury ) but poured it out of ‘himself’ - his lyrics being inspired upon his dreams and experiences . He would now go under his own initials “MM”.
The first release of the album was ‘mObscene’ - and it was a hit ; it went straight to the charts and was in the daily top 5 for over two weeks.
Then came ‘The New Shit - which was applauded as well as rejected by more rap-oriented listeners. Basically it bore confusion for those who where not familiar with MM and didn’t see past Hate Pop.
Since Marilyn Manson has usually released three singles per album tradition suspects another single will follow. Which track it will be ? hard to predict on past albums it was the catchiest songs but here it’s hard to pick the catchiest songs…
The GAOG cd was also accompanied by it DVD counterpart , a short film by Marilyn Manson entitled “ Dobbleherts” . A wonderful 30 min . of strange hypnotising and amusing work games and a delirious vision .
III. Some Lyrics
From Portrait of an American Family an Smells like Children E.P;
Seen review by Heer Walewein
Get you Gun
“I had to wear this mask because you could not handle me /here is my real head “
-Organ Grinder
“I am the all American Antichrist / I was born and raised in America/ America hates me for what I am/ I am you shit , you should be ashamed of what you have eaten”
-Rock’n Roll Nigger (intro)
From Antichrist Superstar ;
“ Your world is an ashtray / the more you cry your ashes turn into mud
/without the thread of death there is no reason to live at all /
“….salvation ha,ha,/No forgiveness ha,ha,/no salvation ha,ha,”
-The Reflecting God
“We hate Love /we love hate “
Irresponsible Hate Anthem (intro chant )
“You Poison all you children the camouflage you scars “
“ You might as well kill yourself you are already dead “
“ When all of you wishes are granted /many of you dreams will be destroyed “
-the Man the You Fear
“Pick you finger and it’s done /the moon has now eclipse the sun /The angel has clipped it’s wings/a time has come for better things”
Cryptochild
Cut my head off / It grows back hard /I am the hydra / Now you will see your star !
- Antichrist Superstar
From Omega and the Mechanical Animals ;“ I can tell you what they say in space /that our earth is too grey
/sometimes we walk like we where shot /through out heads by love”
“ It’s a great big white world /and we are drained of our colour /we use to love ourselves /we use to love oneanother “
Great Big White World
“ All that glitter is cold /
God is a number you can not count to /You are post-human and hardwired”
-Post-human
“You where from a perfect world / a world that threw me away today”
Coma White
“O look you’re like a VCR /stick something in to know just who you are”
New Model (model no 15 )
Trade all the living for more safer dead / anything t belong
- Rock is Dead
From Holy Wood ;
“Nothing suffocates you more than the passing of everyday human event /
I’m not a slave to a god that doesn’t exist /I’m not a slave to world that doesn’t give a shit”
The Fight Song
“ Fuck yourself and you racy sheep / I am not sorry / this is what you deserve / You never accepted and or treaded me fair /You never gave me a chance to be me ”
King Kill 33
“ Join the crowd that wants to see me dead / right now I feel I belong for the first time/ We are all just star and we are waiting /we are all just scared and we are hating /we are all just stars on you burring flag ”
-Burning Flag
“We are the nobodies / we wanna be somebodies / when we're dead, /they'll know just who we are / Yesterday I was dirty / wanted to be pretty / I know now that I'm forever dirt /We are the nobodies / we wanna be somebodies / when we're dead, /hey'll know just who we are /Some children died the other day /we fed machines and then we prayed “
- The Nobodies
From the Golden Age of Grotesque ;
“I’m not an artist I’m a fucking work of art “
- (s)aint
“The Day that love opened out eyes /we watched the world end “
- mObscene
“this isn’t music / and we’re not a band / we ‘re five middlefingers on a motherfucking hand “
- the Bright Young things
“exhale ,inhale let all hail *hail * / It’s a depraved new world”
- Ka-boom Ka-boom
IV. Setting the Record ‘Straight’
Marilyn Manson has been accused of abusing and recycling old success to his advantage. Many people find think themselves top notch critics when pointing out that Marilyn Manson ‘got big’ with the cover of Sweet Dreams . It may be good to note here that the band had released their (relatively) successful debut album the past year and that Sweet Dreams was on the Smells Like Children E.P. which was a collection of remixes and covers. Manson gave full credit to the original musicians . The close listener ( few critics are ) may notice that Manson slightly altered the lyrics of the song to ‘some of the want to use you , some of them want to be abused’ dragging the song to an even darker level of depravity. However the song’s lyrics where already pretty dark and grim , a fact that went largely unnoticed on it’s original release.
Of course the cover of the Sweet Dreams would get more ears and eyes than their previous clips for Dope Hat or Get Your Gun . - That’s MTV for you.
Marilyn Manson has often been accused of ‘faking’. Manson, like anyone has his heroes and inspirations. Ok, say the critics, ‘he fakes them’ ! Alice Cooper and David Bowie are often brought up. Cooper because of his transsexual stage name and extreme use of mascara. Bowie , as the Thin White Due ,did function as a key inspiration for this Mechanical Animals album. But instead of labelling it ‘faking’ one might also call it a homage. Besides the similarities between Marilyn Manson and Bowie, there is no doubt that Marilyn Manson and David Bowie are two different creatures !
Manson is not trying to hide that certain people have had a significant influence on him. He explores and adds elements he find interesting and ads them to the witches brew that is Marilyn Manson. But even is he ‘fakes’ , if you take elements of Nietzsche , LaVey , Bowie, Crowley, Darwin, Huxley, Manson , Monroe, Lucifer and Jesus and mix them together in one person ( subtracting Brian Warner’s own personality) you are bound to get a pretty interesting character. That’s a fact no critic can get around.
Marilyn Manson has been accused of a long line of perverse crimes and has collected a thick layer of gutter press, slander and brain dead rumours. The singer has a great sense of humour and relativity , “My philosophy with rumours” ,he said in 1996 ,” is ; at least hey are talking about is “ - Here are some of the more hilarious , yet still widely spread rumours on the man. “ Marilyn Manson is a transsexual” ,” Marilyn Manson is Cher” , “ Marilyn Manson played ‘Paul’ in the Wonderyears series “ , “ Marilyn Manson is an android” and possibly the most well known lie “ Marilyn Manson had two ribs removed so he could give himself oral sex “. Ok that last may sound ‘realistic’ to some perverse minds but if we look at it logically ; Manson would thereby put his vital organs in a pretty vulnerable position, thus he would have to wear some kind of protection if he values his life . Usually, during shows Manson has always been jumping around in a corset or a brown panty with some leather straps and a bare torso … have us seen any ribs missing on foto’s or during live concerts ? And o , yes why would he have to give himself a blow job if he is such a celebrity ? !
V. Dancing with the Antichrist
When people ask me about Satanic rituals, they say, "Do you stand around in a burning pentagram and have naked girls?" And I say, "Yeah, but that's not in a satanic ritual - that's lunch."- M.M
Ozzy Osburne was one of the first rockers to take on the mantle of the showbizz antichrist. However, Black Sabbath’s Prince of Darkness bit was staged on no actual source or Satanic conviction , it was a mere gimmick .
Many bands followed that same tradition , most notably The Rolling Stones , Led Zeppelin (filtration with Crowley based activities) ,KISS and Slayer . After all Satan Sells and the Devil always has the best tunes.
Is Marilyn Manson different or is he just another rehab born-again Christian in the making ?
To be honest, the answer to that question can not be answered with complete certainty until the man in question stops ticking. This is so because you can’t really judge a man until you can get all the facts and simply because you never know what he is going to do next . - Searching the net, the pro’s and con’s are overwhelming .
Christians have always pointed the finger at the band . If not for his appearance alone then because of his ‘outrageous’ behaviours then it’s because of the gender confusion which he creates (for them). Then again it might solely be because he was ordained a (i)reverend of the Church of Satan by it’s founder , Anton Szandor LaVey .
Since the early days of the band , Christians have protested against their gigs and tried to boycott and censure them. This led to the title of their first album which was a parody on the AFA ( American family association ) .
Fanatic Christians have come up with shit loads of slander and accusation towards the band. Going from on-stage rape , endorsement of drugs, abortion and suicide to encouragement to self-mutilation and murder.
The abortion accusation was a deformation and selective quotations from an interview in which Manson was asked his opinion on the matter. By stating that abortion is an individual choice and no case is the same - fundamentalist Christians found an offence ( ? ).
Marilyn Manson has openly talked about his drug use , not a perfect theme for impressionable teens ? Well first of all, he isn’t as hypocritical as many other celebrities are and he doesn’t try hide it. Also, teenagers will experiment with drug , they don’t need a rock star to tell them to. Besides those who ‘do it cause he told me to’ are to weak of spirit to think for themselves and would have done it due to group pressure anyway (if not that alone) .
On self-mutilation various discussion can be held. If they will actually change anything is a different matter .
The issue was mainly brought up when two hard-core Marilyn Mason fans who openly showcase their
scarfication . On had carved MARILYN all over her forearm and her best friend had MANSON cut into her skin.
Once more I employ the reader to think logically . - Manson doesn’t wish his fans ill , he needs them. If not for support then for his income alone ! The truth is that these who individuals, like many others have a emotional stress which they can not process. Thus they cut themselves as a distraction from the actual pain. This would imply that the world has cut them off in some way. Manson is not to blame here, if anyone then it’s the parents, for not listening to their children or helping them with their problems. And might I ad that there are a whole lot of “I love MJ”- cutters out there ?
The murder claim , which rested on nothing of reason or evidence was made after the Columbine shooting.
Many articles have been written on this , and I wrote some myself (in Dutch) , so I won’t go in depth on this (again). I’m pretty sure than by now everyone has seen the complete STUPIDETY that this tragedy triggered.
The bottom line was , that two teens got fed up with the pressure and drag that is High School ,so they decided to pup some led into classmates before taking their own lives. How does Manson fit into this ? He doesn’t . After the twin shooters had given white America another gunfire trauma , they took their own lives. This didn’t leave the media with a scapegoat and they had no one to hammer to the wall. ( the system was confused) Many ‘reasons’ where given to the Columbine incident ; Drugs , TV ,comic books and Satan where the most prominent. However these amorphous reasons couldn’t satisfy hysterics . Soon enough they played the media-roulette and singled out Marilyn Manson as thé cause of the tragedy. The thought of changing the laws on firearms didn’t really occur to anyone - no , “it was the rock star that made them do it”…
Later on, the killers labelled where ‘Goths’ , simply because they allegedly wore long black raincoats on the day of the massacre. Again proof of complete dis-information in themedia camp .- Marilyn Manson doesn’t make Gothic music ! His music may not be labelled at all. However a combination of (glam)Rock and perhaps metal to some extend ( in my local library he is classified under metal ) ,but not Goth . Manson is too mainstream to be really accepted as Gothic by Goths . The uninformed media however sees every kind of black make up or ran out mascara as Gothic . The claim where bogus but that didn’t stop world press from boycotting the band. Newspapers and magazines asked not to buy any of Manson’s records. Manson became a global scapegoat for something that was completely out of his hands .
But is Marilyn Manson , Satanic (in the LaVeyan sense )?
Manson’s main message is to be the best you can be and to believe in yourself. The main theme is his music is that the world is a shit hole and you are the biggest dot of light (star) there is. Even if the world treats you bad you have to go on and be the best you can so that you may later be the important one who will have everything you critics desire. His lyrics tell us Not to be victimised and to take an active role. To look deeper into things and not let everything pass by at first glance. To find you own way and be yourself no matter what the others might think. - I don’t know about you but I think this fits well into Modern Satanism.
To put rumours to rest , Marilyn Manson is still a member of the Church of Satan (I have assurances by CoS rev. Michael Rose on this ) .
Marilyn Manson has always fought corporate America and it’s white, white hypocrite Christian face .
Satanic or not , Marilyn Manson has always tested the boundaries of morality to push them further and is undoubted and antichrist. If it wasn’t sexual deviance or violence, then it was martyrdom that fuelled the so-called shock-rocker to expose the festering hypocrisy of the modern day conservatives .
Opinions vary , but labellers run in confusion . How does one label a band that can go from cartoon-like fiends to the Abusers of pop who then return a the horsemen of the Apocalypse only to become the mechanical animals of Glam Rock, and later resurrect themselves as if crucified by the Shotgun ?
What label is big enough to fit ‘ Glam -rock-hate-pop-industrial-metalic-eperimental-crypto-satanic-…’ ?
How does one classify a cryptic, cynic, sing -along ? How does one hold down the harlequin of deviance who survived global excommunication ?
Labelling is challenging , but soon obsolete… Marilyn Manson manages to re-invent it/himself time and time again , without losing it’s heart. Over the last decade , Marilyn Manson has risen from the backwaters of Florida to world fame. Along the way they became the target of slander, rumours and cold hard hate. Yet they managed to use this as a weapon and use the bad biblically in their advantage. It only happens so rarely that a ‘shocking’ band has such an intelligent and articulate front man. It’s no secret that that’s why the band continues to survive and evolve ; the media ,just can’t kill them off.
I am the Hydra ,now you will see you star ‘
Appendix
If you are interested in learning more about Marilyn Manson then I recommend the following material ;
Directing Marilyn Manson - by Gavin Braddeley (2003) PlexusBradley is a very talented writer as he proved with his astonishing debut “Lucifer Rising” ( which I highly recommend !) and is a proud ireverend of the Church of Satan.
This book covers the Manson history from the start from Spooky kids up to Holy Wood and to the preparations for The Golden Age of Grotesque. And it shows facts , backgrounds and different angles which are not only stimulating but addictive to read. It’s also packed with tons of photographs .
The Unauthorised Biography of Marilyn Manson - (1998) ChromeAn audio biography that consists out of 8 chapters . The intro music is a bit of a turn off for MM fans I think - but as a compensation there is a mini-poster included in the cover .
It focuses mainly on the forming of the band , how young Brian meets his (former) band members. Little info however on the music - this is a bit disappointing since it comes on a CD but it’s pretty informative.
It covers MM from the early Spooky Kids days to Mechanical animals .
The Long Hard Road Out of Hell - Marilyn Manson and Neil Stauss - (1998)This is Marilyn Manson’s autobiography , oc-written with Neil Stauss who was a journalist for Rolling Stone Magazine.
When searching the internet I recommend the following site ;
www.marilynmanson.com > Official Marilyn Manson Website
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