BORN VILLAIN

Great album. Arrived undamaged and pretty fast

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.

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 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.

Super fast shipping, decent quality. Thank you

I have heard all of Mansons albums and own all but the first which I hate. The point i'm making is I am not a die-hard who loves everything he does. Many people rate Mechanical Animals, Antichrist Superstar and Hollywood as his best albums and not so much later albums such as Eat me Drink me and High End of low. Personally for me, those early albums were brilliant up to a point and then boring. I have only actually listened to the last song of Mechanical Animals this week, even though ive had it for years. I find it hard going after 9 or 10 songs as many sound alike and seem to go nowhere. Same for Hollywood and Antichrist. Eat me Drink me isnt a bad album. In fact there is only one crap tune on there and the rest is just different. Golden Age of Grotesque was a great album with one or two turkeys.Whereas High End was half good, half crap. Now that we have covered all the earlier albums, lets talk about Born Villain. I bought this album half expecting this to be the last Manson album I ever bought.How wrong I was thankfully. After a few listens this is a great album and I have listened to it 100 times or more this week. Ipod, Car, House, its on repeat. The easiest way to describe it is, Take all the good things about all the other albums and put them on one album and this is what you get - Born Villain. I will always love Golden Age of Grotesque but this is my next favourite even though it is the better album. Not a bad song on it and that includes the cover or 'Your so vain'. well done Manson, nice to have you back.

musicalmente hablando es muy bueno pero me enviaron un cd que ponía literalmente, prohibida su venta uso comercial..... el cd estaba en una funda de cartón sin apenas información, no entiendo como dejan lucrarse a gente con estos productos, y si es así que informen de lo que ofrecen, prefiero pagar un poco más y tener algo original .

Ottimo

Bon, pour débuter cette critique, je vais commencer par le soi-disant "retour aux sources"... La-dessus, je suis assez partagé, perplexe. J'avait bien aimé "Eat Me, Drink Me", et un peu moins "The High End Of Low". Pour ce qui est de "Born Villain", une sensation malsaine se dégage de cet album, c'est indéniable (et rappelle inévitablement Antichrist Superstar). Il en ressort même du sadisme, sur "Pistol Whipped". Mais l'album est relativement plus lent, en général. Plus lent certes, mais Marilyn Manson n'a pas ralentit le tempo partout, comme on peut l'entendre sur "Muderers Are Getting Prettier Everyday", où Manson vide efficacement ses poumons, avec hargne et violence. Bon, quand faut y aller... On attaque donc avec "Hey, Cruel World". Premier titre de l'album, on commence avec du lourd. Passée l'intro, un peu lente, Manson commence à chanter... ou plutôt à parler. Et ensuite, il crie ! Ah, donc on le retrouve, sur un très bon titre qui, par ailleurs, fait partie de mes préférés. Titre phare de l'album, "No Reflection" est le premier single de l'album. Il est bien construit, le clip vidéo est assez glauque, malsain... bref, ce titre devrait ravir les fans qui n'ont apprécié que la trilogie "A.S. - M.A. - H.W."... et les autres fans aussi bien sûr. Pistol Whipped : l'intro est... bizarre. Je crois que c'est le mot qui convient le mieux. Les paroles sont relativement sadiques ("You look so pretty when you cry... ") et la musique est à vrai dire peu complexe. Mais étrangement, c'est un très bon titre, comme les 2 précédents. Si je ne me trompe pas, "Overneath The Path Of Misery" est le premier morceau qu'on a pu écouter de l'album. No, no, no, no, no reason... ça résonne dans la tête, et Manson crie. Le résultat est splendide là encore. Slo-Mo-Tion : à partir de ce titre, le tempo de l'album commence sérieusement à ralentir. C'est le 2ème clip vidéo de Born Villain. Je n'aime pas trop le clip, mais le morceau quant à lui, séduit. Couplets parlés, pré-refrain chanté, refrain crié... ça donne "The Gardener", majestueux, une des pièces maîtresses de l'album. Même si la musique semble basique, le tout est très réussi. On a donc fait la moitié. Hommage à Baudelaire, "The Flowers Of Evil" (8ème titre) était le titre original de l'album : Manson voulait l'appeler "Les Fleurs Du Mal", ça sonne bien aussi en français. Donc on a ici droit à un autre bon morceau, avec un superbe passage où Manson crie plusieurs fois "Your touch is so empty !". Intro très électro, on poursuit avec "Children Of Cain". Musique assez lente là encore, certains n'aimeront peut-être pas mais il n'en reste pas moins un de mes morceaux préférés de Born Villain, avec "Hey, Cruel World" et "Murderers Are Getting Prettier Everyday". Disengaged : selon moi, c'est un des titres qui représentent le mieux l'esprit de l'album (avec le morceau suivant). Pas grand chose à dire, il n'échappe pas aux règles. Il est lent, le refrain est crié... Pareil pour "Lay Down Your Goddamn Arms", lui aussi représente bien l'album. Bon titre, toujours un peu lent, bref on enchaîne : Ah, voilà donc un morceau qui casse la routine : "Murderers Are Getting Prettier Everyday" est rageur, le tempo a bien triplé, on repense carrément à Antichrist Superstar, version moderne. Ecoutez, on ne peut qu'aimer. On arrive au titre éponyme "Born Villain", et personnellement, j'adore l'intro... et la chanson entière, en fait. Quant à la fin, elle doit mettre le feu en concert ! Cet album va malheureusement bientôt s'achever. Dernier morceau de l'album, "Breaking On The Same Old Ground" commence par une boite à musique. Très beau titre, pas plus rapide que la majorité de l'album. Manson finit en beauté par une plainte criée qui prend aux tripes. Piste cachée : You're So Vain, reprise de Carly Simons. En conclusion, je dirais que Born Villain marque une sorte de retour de Marilyn Manson. Mais ça dépend des avis. Certains trouvent qu'il s'enfonce encore plus avec cet album. Pas moi en tout cas, je le trouve très réussi. Certes plus lent, mais aussi malsain et... vilain. Donc à vous de voir !