Marilyn Manson – We Are Chaos

Marilyn Manson

We Are Chaos

Loma Vista Records

Industrial/Alternative Metal/Goth

FFO: Rob Zombie, Nine Inch Nails, Rammstein, John 5, Ministry, KMFDM

There will be a lot of us who remember when Marilyn Manson was the scourge of Middle America; parents, pastors and teachers riled themselves, fanned by the likes of Ricki Lake and Montel Williams over the self-proclaimed ‘God of Fuck’ who was corrupting their teenage sons and daughters. That was over 20 years ago now and whilst that may seem like the blink of an eye, for Manson, the excess and fame had become bloating and although he never really went away, he did struggle to match his earlier work. But, for the last few years, Manson has been on something of a comeback with strong reviews from critics and fans alike culminating in his most recent work ‘We Are Chaos’.

                Anyone expecting ‘We Are Chaos’ to sound like ‘Mechanical Animals’ or ‘Antichrist Superstar’ will be disappointed and can take their sardonic tone elsewhere, for what Marilyn Manson has delivered with ‘We Are Chaos’ is an exceptionally mature, adult album. Of course, there are still sounds of industrial and Goth in there, it wouldn’t be Manson without it; but those teenagers which frightened their elders are now level-headed adults with families and employment and that is Manson’s market. Tracks such as ‘Half Way & One Step Forward’, ‘Keep My Head Together’ and ‘Broken Needle’ still manage to touch that early Manson magic, but are delivered through a contemporary edge that is thought provoking, extremely listenable and very enjoyable with a large replayable factor. Furthermore, at this most versatile, Manson delivers one of his best songs in years with ‘Don’t Chase the Dead’, a wonderful chameleon of a song that hints of what Marilyn Manson would sound like had David Bowie been involved in the songwriting and therefore, expands ‘We Are Chaos’ into the realms of appealing to older fans who may have initially written off Manson as nothing more than ‘noisy music for children’.

                ‘We Are Chaos’ shows a sleek Marilyn Manson, one pushing forward into the future, saluting his past but aging gracefully with it and like a fine wine, this album is tasteful, mature and something to thoroughly savoured.

Adam McCann