Manson Meant War: Holy Wood

MARILYN MANSON: HOLY WOOD

SCORE: 100/100

Holy Wood sees Manson at his most inclined - with a biting concept, sharp vocals, and harsh instrumental precision, it might just be the most artistic thing that the band had set out to create. 

Acting as the final chapter of the triptych of concept albums that started with Antichrist Superstar, Holy Wood is an album that keeps the strikingly industrial and alternative sound that the band had become known for, with Manson's vocals ranging from snarling bites to eerie croons, creating a drastically versatile atmosphere that goes from foggy to fiery. 

This is an album that I always found to be rather intimidating, from the "chapter" format to the runtime, it's an album that packs a lot of punch and a lot of value into one package that almost manages to be too much to digest all at once. This album spawned plenty more hits for the band with songs like The Fight Song and The Nobodies being the most apparent - but the lesser known tracks here are just as incredibly well put. 

The writing on this album in particular stands out strongly, with songwriting being one of the bands' strongest pieces. This album takes stigmatism and symbolism to a new high, and the degree that the writing is done to here is something that has to be heard and processed to believe. It's an album that is much more than just another "shock rock" project, despite how shocking it may be, it's gruesome, dark, and entirely depraved - but the artistry behind each and every verse is something worth more applause than what is commonly registered. 

Despite being the final chapter in Manson's three-album arc, this album begins the narrative of the story, with the albums telling the story in reverse order - meaning that Holy Wood is the beginning, and Antichrist Superstar is the end of the sickly tale. It's not a fairytale or something of life and love, it's something of hurt, of disgust. It's disgust with the way people are, how people treat one another, and how the world runs. It's a fight against the system. It's a boisterous and bold attack at both wrong and right; and it's an album that shocked the nations to their core.

Manson is what can be regarded as a "scary" figure for many - causing panic of violence and shocking society with something as simple as dark music, from his ominous persona to the heavy, gruesome music created by the band, it's no wonder why they had people in such terror, with this album proving itself as a testimony of how controversial one band can get. 

This album wasn't just an art piece, it was a declaration of war. 

Holy Wood acted as the band's first return to music after the Columbine High School massacre took place - where rumors' were spread about the band being "motivation" for the teenagers violent crimes. In a slurry of media frenzy, panic, lies, and deception, Manson was frustrated and angry at how these lies could be used to tarnish the band's reputation over something they had not even a sliver of involvement in. It was a disgraceful act of cruelty that came from an even bigger tragedy. 

Manson worked to rebuttal the lies and accusations thrown at him through this album, with highlights towards the bands sound and a growth in their style - keeping more of the same while adding a layer of polish and genuine rage to every line. Through a slew of falsifications and accusations, the band came out from the rubble with what is widely considered to be their magnum opus; and for good reason. 

"The [news] media has unfairly scapegoated the music industry and so-called Goth kids and has speculated, with no basis in truth, that artists like myself are in some way to blame. This tragedy was a product of ignorance, hatred and an access to guns. I hope the [news] media's irresponsible finger-pointing doesn't create more discrimination against kids who look different." -Manson [Wikipedia]

Despite it being one of the bands' most well known projects, this came at a time where Manson's career was almost burnt up from under him in a flash. Him and the members of the band were never strangers to controversy, they lived in and relished in it, but this was different - this was a sickening set of lies and media panic that led to the band almost coming undone; but they came out stronger, fighting even harder, refusing to back down.

This album is their most confrontational, their most consistent, and their most angry. It's full of frustration and continues the controversial media war that Manson and the band had been going through for years prior, and it feels like everything unraveled into one showcase of rebellion.