Cartoon goth-metal boogieman Brian Warner and his gang return with their first album in three years, and their 10th in all. In Europe Marilyn Manson – the stage name of both the front man and the band - are rightly seen as an industrialised update of Alice Cooper’s horror-film showbiz rock but in the States the country’s more conservative elements really do seem to buy into their cabaret antichrist schtick. This even led to Warner’s articulate and amusing appearance defending himself from accusations of driving the nation’s youth to gun-crime in Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine.
Marilyn Manson’s music has, perhaps, often seemed secondary to their visual impact, especially as Warner/Manson is a witty manipulator of the media, with sidelines in art and film-making. The band’s default setting has always been a pop take on Ministry’s electro-metal hammering, and their best-known tune is an execrable version of “Tainted Love”. Born Villain is business as usual but it has a certain unexpected funk in the rhythm section. Accompanied by long term co-songwriting wingman and guitarist Twiggy Ramirez, Manson comes up with tasty intro riffs, flecked with electronic effects. In fact, most of the songs start with a real groove, but then the stentorian metal hammering takes over.
For the uninitiated – and I can make no pretence to be a devotee of Manson’s oeuvre – most of it bares its teeth without mustering much that’s memorable. However, there are exceptions, notably the enjoyable glam stomp of “Pistol Whipped” and “Flowers of Evil” which has a smashing punk tune and comes on like Patricia Morrison-era Sisters of Mercy. As a general rule, when the singer is adopting his strangled David Bowie imitation and the bass is leading, all is well, but when he steps into death metal growling and the bludgeoning guitars arrive, things grow more predictable. As for the cover of Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain”, featuring special guest Johnny Depp, perhaps the less said, the better.
Watch Marilyn Manson's 'No Reflection'