Marilyn Manson Album: “Holy Wood: In the Shadow of the Valley of Death”

Manson's 4th full length album is misunderstood by some as being the sellout mark. This is not true. He hasn't sold out. If you haven't noticed, every Marilyn Manson album is different. Holy Wood is a hybrid of Antichrist Superstar and Mechanical Animals. The result is different and not a rehash. Manson returns to his dark industrial roots with emotion, creativity, artwork, a story and most importantly it makes a point. It makes several of them as a matter of fact. A large portion revolves around America's obsession with guns, violence, JFK, the Beatles, the Columbine Massacre, God and the media. Some of these things Manson has already gone over but here he goes into more detail. You actually may not understand Holy wood at first if you aren't too knowledgeable about the JFK and John Lennon assassinations. Ex: King Kill 33 (a song name) is actually the name of an essay about the JFK assassination. The story revolves around a person Marilyn Manson created who is simply named Adam Kadmon. I could go into all the very deep meanings of every song, but that would take forever and I'm only allowed 1000 words. So instead, I will cover each event/song in the story. I will also cover some of the larger meanings behind some of the songs. Manson had clearly worked his really hard for this record. It contains 19 songs (not including the B-sides on the singles) and a lot of beautiful artwork. And even though Holy Wood is the final chapter in the trilogy, it is actually the first as it is completed in reverse. Antichrist Superstar had 3 Parts and Mechanical Animals had two different views (Alpha and Omega). Holy Wood however, has 4 parts.

The story goes that Holy Wood is this mystical place which is ruled by the rich, beautiful celebrities, and their money. The Death Valley is a terrible place where anybody who thinks differently or artistically is kept. Adam is a character who finds acceptance in holy Wood but ends up engulfed by violence and consumed by his own fame.

A: In the Shadow

God Eat God: It's a song that serves as an intro in some ways. It revolves around how JFK and Christ are viewed similarly to one another.

The Love Song: It displays America as a place filled with everything Adam wants to change.

The Fight Song: "The death of one is a tragedy, the death of a million is just a statistic" is a quote from Joseph Stalin, the beloved dictator of the Soviet Union who is responsible for over 20 million deaths of those sent to work camps in Siberia. Anyways, Adam becomes a performer and wants people to hear him and his views on Holy Wood.

Disposable Teens: Often referred to as another beautiful people, it's still great though, The keyboardist M.W. Gacy contributes to this with additional drums (the GGG DVD).

D: The Androgyne

Target Audience (Narcissus Narcosis): This song has a LOT of meanings. Adam confronts "all the old deceivers" with a list of their crimes and failures.

"President Dead": After becoming popular in the Valley, President Dead says what he thinks of Adam's performances.

In The Shadow of the Valley of Death: A very personal acoustic song, I feel Adam is making decisions.

Cruci-Fiction in Space: Represents the evolution and de-evolution of mankind as we again resort to violence to enjoy ourselves.

A Place in the Dirt: containing references to things like the Holy Grail and Xianity.

A: Of Red Earth

The Nobodies: Obviously about the Columbine tragedy.

The Death Song: Hopelessness, Heaven is vague and maybe God would like to end it all.

Lamb of God: the second acoustic song is filled with references to John Lennon and how if a celebrity is killed then they are thought of as a hero or "martyr and a lamb of god". How the media praises death.

Born Again: Adam Kadmon is disheartened, castigates those who destroy the irreplaceable, reward mediocrity, and hardly seem able to tell the difference.

Burning Flag: A war of the classes. Holy Wood and the Valley are now completely divided.

M: The Fallen

Coma Black a) Eden eye b) the apple of discord: The opposite of Coma White. This is where Adam Kadmon (being a paradox of humanity and divinity) is broken up into individual humans (like the Mechanical Animals era).

Valentines Day: If you are familiar with the ACSS story then you know that this is the same day as the Irresponsible Hate Anthem. It's also about a girl (Coma Black?) who walked into the Valley seeking him.

The Fall of Adam: Adam gives up on saving mankind and hands out guns as shown in the last half which seems to be one of Manson's infamous "bible speeches". First half is acoustic.

King Kill 33: "I am not sorry, and I am not sorry, this is what you deserve" is a Charles Manson quote from his trial. It is asking do we deserve to be saved? After all, it is the savior who must die.

Count to Six and Die (the vacuum of infinite Space encompassing): Very creepy song. Listen to this record for this first time in the dark and this song WILL freak you out.

The Enhanced portion of this CD leads to a website that no longer works. It showed a bizarre autopsy video that will be placed on the CD/DVD version of Marilyn Manson's Best Of album.

I may be wrong in a few parts in this huge 70 minute album, but it's all up to interpretation due to the story being very elaborate. A few people complain of their being a lot of filler here. I disagree. I can listen to the album the whole way through. The only time I have an urge to press the skip button occasionally is when President Dead pops up. We have 19 tracks of Manson music, intellectuality, knowledge and criticism.

I have the album and I enjoy it very much. Picking a favorite is pretty tricky, but it would be a battle between "Lamb Of God", "The Nobodies", "Born Again", "Burning Flag", "The Fight Song", "In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death", and "The Fall Of Adam" (that's on my personal note). This album is less tech and more Rock. It has a good rocking beat and stays pretty heavy at the same time. The cover of Manson with the missing jaw is pretty cool for the symbolism of censorship issues Manson has. I have no doubt that lots of people would want to shut him up or worse.

Now I have read a good deal of the reviews here and some love this album. Some love it because its the third part of a trilogy and some hate it because it 'imitates' Antichrist Superstar and/or/mixed-with Mechanical Animals. I can see the different cups of tea that people like here. Some like their taste to stay around the same, such as the music and songs. Some like the same with a little variety now and then. Some want a totally new thing. Then there are some that get bored easily. I love Antichrist Superstar and I enjoy Mechanical Animals and to me Holy Wood really rocks. Artists change and some don't. I like to consider every album its own and I usually don't expect them to be the same or different, if I like what I hear then thats all I need. I like what comes from my stereo when I pop this album in, hopefully you will too.

I bought this album the day that it came out, and it has gotten its share of stereo play since then. I can't vocalize how pleased I am with Manson's conclusion to the triptych he began with Antichrist Superstar. Despite many fans' disillusionment with the release of Mechanical Animals, I'm sure that many of them will view this as a "comeback" album for Marilyn. That is only partially true though. In all honesty, this album integrates the best elements from the previous two releases: Antichrist Superstar's angry, scathing, gothic sounds; and Mechanical Animal's more melodic elements. As with EVERY Manson album, there are plenty of thought provoking lyrics throughout. In addition to the normal band, Bon Harris (of Nitzer Ebb and Maven) has helped tremendously on the album, working to incorporate various techo/industrial elements into the recording. I would hate to be the producer for this album, because in all honesty, I wouldn't know where to begin to pick the singles. SO MANY of the songs are catchy and memorable (without being watered down in the least) that that task must be quite daunting. One complaint that I have seen voiced is that some of the songs seem too short, which with a nineteen track album, I suppose you run that risk. Personally though, I thought the album "felt" complete and the songs were perfectly sufficient for my tastes.

Manson is known for his brilliance and his willingness to say things that other people are afraid to say, and this album is a testament to that. Despite what many misinformed Christians will think, this album is really not an attack against God so much as an attack against the death-worshiping culture in which we live. The album explores the standard themes of rebellion, mindless conformity, and revolution but goes deeper into the psychology of man and roots out mankind's evolution and propensity towards violence. It is largely a response to the Columbine incident, and several songs undoubtedly delve into the mentality and circumstances that lead to such tragedies...The American attitude of teenagers being "disposable," and not fully valid members of the society in which they live. With literary and philosophical allusions in abundance, the album probes into the notion of the "celebrity death icon," or the fact that by dying you can become immortal in our violence-loving society. It further develops the theme through figures such as Christ, Kennedy, and Lennon and shows how the media exploits death and markets it like any other pre-packaged product.

I absolutely love this album, I just sit and listen to it on my headphones and it is quite an experience. The lyrics are beautifully written, ever song has a great unique sound, and the whole album is trying to say something important about the world we live in today. That is all I could ever want in an album. Here's a song-by-song review:

GodEatGod: Very creepy song that has a very creative sound and a great way to start out the album.

The Love Song: An anthem that you can't resist but scream with Manson too. It's very electrifying.

The Fight Song: One of my favorite songs of all time and the second Manson song I ever heard which made me want to start getting into him. The chorus says it all and it's just a wonderful angry song to sing.

Disposable Teens: I really do like this song even though it got overplayed off of this album, but if you still haven't heard it yet, you're in for a treat.

Target Audience: I heard this song before I bought the album and it encouraged me to buy it. I loved every single word written in this song and think it's just brilliant.

"President Dead": Didn't like this at first, but after a while it gets really catchy and it rocks really hard in your ear. Good stuff.

In the Shadow of the Valley of Death: Quite possibly the most depressing sounding song in the world, which is a great change from the beginning of the album. I love to listen to this when i feel really depressed, it just fits my mood very well.

Cruci-Fiction in Space: This would be such a cool song and on my top 10 list if it weren't for the fact that the chorus gets repeated too many times that i just can't stand it sometimes. Still good though.

A Place in the Dirt: This is one of those songs that I just love and never skip just because I love the instumental sounds it has in it, it's very soothing.

The Nobodies: One of my favorite songs before it even hit the radio (and i hate that they're overplaying it lately cuz it's great song i do NOT want to get sick of) Great lyrics regarding to Columbine and very honest.

The Death Song: This is one of those songs that just rocks! Great sound, awesome lyrics, and just a great song that is highly underrated.

Lamb of God: Beautiful song comparing the death of John Lennon to Jesus Christ switching around words in Lennon's song Across the Universe. I love it!

Born Again: Another one of those songs that just rocks. This one and Burning Flag go together well cuz it's really hard and a lot of yelling is involved. But that's still good.

Burning Flag: Pretty much the same as "Born Again"

Coma Black: Another song that I just find to be beautiful. The only thing that bugs me about it is I really do like the chorus, but it is repeated waaaaay too many times, but i still very much enjoy this song.

Valentine's Day: A great creepy song that is very fun to sing. (even if you repeat "In the Shadow of the Valley of Death" like 50 times.)

The Fall of Adam: In my opinion, the weakest song on the album, I don't really understand it, but still has a soothing sound to it I like.

King Kill 33: Spectacular lyrics put to a mediocre sound, but I put up with the weird sounds in it to just say the wonderful words that I can so relate to.

Count to Six and Die: Great song to end the album that kind of has the same haunting type effect that the first song did. Very spooky, yet satisfying.

So now you know about all of these songs, you gotta go out and buy the best CD god (Marilyn Manson) has ever created. Thank you and goodnight.

So you guys think I am probably goth? You think I am a Satanist? or some freak off the street? Well, NO! I am senior economics and religion major who just loves marilyn manson's music and personality. I was skeptical when I heard about this album, but it proved me completely wrong. The musicmanship and ability of Marilyn Manson, John5, Pogo, Ginger Fish and Twiggy Ramirez is portrayed in its maximum color and brightness. The sound is fresh, rocking, clear and just brilliantly written. The lyrics are astounding, poetic and philosophical. I have not heard a single artist, writer, poet who comes close to Manson's capacity. It comes from a hard working citizen of the world who sees the negativity present todays and is doing his best to change it. I think we all need to applaud him. Thanks Marilyn Manson and band!

Highlight of this album: Valentine's Day