The High End of Low is a very important album for Marilyn Manson. The nineties were his golden age – Antichrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals, and Holy Wood were all great albums that offered a unique sound. Unfortunately he’s recently began to falter; The Golden Age of Grotesque was laughably bad and Eat Me, Drink Me was entertaining but ultimately nowhere near his former greatness. After a string of disappointing releases, this new release is Manson’s opportunity to prove to the world that he hasn’t lost his touch.
Right out of the gate, this album presents itself as much different than anything else he has ever released before. “Devour” opens up the album in a very melodic and pop-ish fashion. If it wasn’t for Manson’s unmistakable vocals, I wouldn’t have recognized what artist it was. Thankfully the album doesn’t stay this way for long and the interestingly titled “Pretty as a Swastika” is a few notches up on the heavy scale and is a surprisingly solid track with a much more traditional Marilyn Manson sound that ends too soon.
No matter how much you buy into Manson’s evil persona and image, the reason I’ve always enjoyed his music is because underneath the controversial lyrics and industrial noise there was always a great pop sensibility. No matter how heavy his music would get, it would be irresistibly catchy. He sometimes almost felt like a modern day David Bowie, especially on Mechanical Animals. The interesting thing about this new release is that he seems to be embracing this more melodic side of his sound. Even though he would often compare this album to Antichrist Superstar in interviews, in truth, it’s much closer to Mechanical Animals in style. The High End of Low continues with this melodic, poppy sound for much of its run time. To those who only loved him for his “dark god” persona and the controversy, there is no doubt that this album will deeply disappoint you. But for those of you, who like me, always loved his music because it was fun and catchy while still interesting, you’ll probably find this album to be worth a listen.
When I say this album is “poppy” I don’t mean it’s uninteresting. On the contrary, Manson tries out sounds that have rarely if ever entered his music before. “Four Rusted Horses” is a blues-influenced ballad, “Running to the Edge of the World” sounds like something Oasis would write and “I Want to Kill You Like They Do in the Movies” reaches over 9 minutes long. On the flip side, songs like “Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon” and “We’re from America” (probably the best of the album) retain the more classic Marilyn Manson sound.
That’s not to say this album is without its flaws – believe me, it has plenty. While he is definitely trying out new things a lot of it doesn’t really work. The album is at times quite bland and repetitive. The lyrics never really jump out as anything special, the album should have been much heavier, and at over 70 minutes it can sometimes feel like a chore to get through, losing its steam about halfway through. All of that being said, if you’re a fan of his music it’s probably worth giving a listen, just to see how much his sound is changing. Ultimately the album is a mixed bag, but one that will surprise you and be worth giving a listen to.
Rating: 3/5
Track listing:
- Devour (3:46)
- Pretty as a Swastika (2:45)
- Leave a Scar (3:55)
- Four Rusted Horses (5:01)
- Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon (3:39)
- Blank and White (4:27)
- Running to the Edge of the World (6:26)
- I Want to Kill You Like They Do in the Movies (9:02)
- WOW (4:55)
- Wight Spider (5:33)
- Unkillable Monster (3:44)
- We’re from America (5:04)
- I Have to Look Up Just to See Hell (4:12)
- Into the Fire (5:15)
- 15 (4:21)
