Born Villain

Born Villain
Studio album by Marilyn Manson
Released	February 2012
Recorded	2009-2011
Label	Cooking Vinyl and Hell, etc. Records
Producer	Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson chronology
The High End of Low (2009) Born Villain (2012)

Born Villain is the upcoming eighth full-length studio album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It is set to be jointly released in February 2012^[1] by Cooking Vinyl Records and Manson's own vanity label Hell, etc.^[2] Interviews with the band's frontman described that the record would be in a heavier tone than that of previous works, describing the sound as a "suicide death metal" style.

In November 2010, Twiggy Ramirez was quoted as saying "We've got a new album [that we're working on]. It's almost done. It'll probably be out next year. [...] It's our best record yet, I think. I mean, everyone always says that, but I think this is our best work so far... It's kind of like a little more of a punk rock Mechanical Animals without sounding too pretentious." It is Marilyn Manson's first album to be released via Cooking Vinyl.

Background

Born Villain entered the writing phase during "The High End of Low Tour" in 2009.^[3] On December 3, 2010, it was announced that Marilyn Manson had parted ways with long-time label Interscope Records, stating "we've even started writing new songs on the road, so I think people can expect a new record a lot sooner than [you think]."^[4] It was also announced that special one-off concerts were in development for the near future. These performances would see each album from the Triptych (Holy Wood, Mechanical Animals and Antichrist Superstar) being played in their entirety over three different nights in the one venue. The tour would take him throughout the United States and "a few select dates in Europe."^[5]

During an interview with Eric Blair on November 3, 2010, bassist Twiggy Ramirez indicated that the new album was "almost done. It'll probably be out next year. [...] It's our best record yet, I think. I mean, everyone always says that, but I think this is our best work so far... It's kind of like a little more of a punk rock Mechanical Animals without sounding too pretentious."^[6]

On February 24, 2011, the band's longtime drummer Ginger Fish announced his resignation from the group, promoting a search for a replacement.^[7] On September 2, 2011, the album was officially titled Born Villain.^[8]

Production and development

The prospect of an eighth studio album by the band was first confirmed by the frontman himself during an interview with Metal Hammer on December 3, 2009.^[3] He elaborated, "We've just been released from our record contract with Interscope so I think a lot of the creative control on which my hands were tied on a lot of choices—the music videos—things like that. And the first example is the newest video, they clearly wouldn't have allowed me to make that video. So we started writing new songs on the road—a bit like [David Bowie's album] Aladdin Sane—I think people can expect a new record a lot sooner than we [expected]."^[3] On January 24, 2010, Manson confirmed on the band's official MySpace profile that "the new album is officially in motion."^[9] In April 2010, Manson confirmed during his appearance at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards that the band had recorded 13 songs, one of which failed to appear in a television series about vampires. He also mentioned the album in an interview with Full Metal Jackie, where he stated that the album is halfway finished.^[10]

Book and film

Born Villain, a short film directed by actor Shia LaBeouf, was a promotional "trailer" released concomitantly for the then-upcoming album.^[11] The idea for the film originated after Manson and LaBeouf struck up a friendship at a concert of The Kills.^[12] The actor, who "has always been intrigued" with the singer, then offered to direct his next music video.^[12] In order to convince him, LaBeouf gave Manson a screening of Maniac — his directorial collaboration with American rappers Kid Cudi and Cage.^[12] Impressed, Manson commissioned the aspiring director to create a "making-of" video documenting the album's recording and production.^[13][14][15]

Manson and LaBeouf produced the film throughout July 2011.^[11] The film borrows a variety of "very intense, graphic imagery" from a number of sources including Alejandro Jodorowsky's 1973 film The Holy Mountain, Buñuel and Dalí's 1929 short film Un Chien Andalou, Shakespeare and theology.^[12] LaBeouf explained that "we tried to make Manson's 'Un Chien Andalou' macabre 'Macbeth' — that's sort of what that became."^[12] Manson, for his part, described his intention with the film as "both an homage and a mockery of the history of Cinema."^[8] The following month, the film's website announced the project's August 28, 2011, inaugural screening at the L.A. Silent Theater.^[16] Drummer Chris Vrenna has claimed that Born Villain is not a music video but "a full thing".^[11] He also mentioned that the film contain short clips of the album and its own score.^[11]

A coffee table book of photographs, titled Campaign, was also attached to the project.^[12][17] Released alongside the film by LaBeouf's Grassy Slope Entertainment production company through various retailers, the book contains images of Los Angeles taken by LaBeouf and his girlfriend, Karolyn Pho, during a night traversing the city with Manson.^[18] A DVD of Born Villain is also included with the book.^[12]

LaBeouf and Pho took an unconventional approach to promoting the project by vandalizing various locations in the city with handbills of the book and film's promotional posters.^[19] Simultaneously, the book was made available for pre-order and served as a "ticket" to an in-store book signing with LaBeouf and Manson as well as a private screening of the film at niche bookstore Hennessey & Ingalls' Hollywood outlet on September 1, 2011.^[12]

Concept

Unveiled on May 22, 2011, the new CMYK-styled logo is used by the band to signify the eighth studio album and their new era.^[20][21]

According to Chris Vrenna, as of January 2010, the band is "just talking and coming up with concepts" for the album.^[22] In December 2010, Marilyn Manson held a photo shoot session for the album. The pictures leaked onto the Internet on early 2011.^[23]

On May 22, 2011, the band's website underwent a complete overhaul. A short 26 second snippet of a new song, tentatively titled, "I am among no one (excerpt from an undisclosed song with an unreleased title)"^[20] was uploaded to the redesigned main page along with a new logo to signify their eighth studio album and the new era. The logo consisted of the letter M repeated four times in a spiral pattern, each with one long tail. At the end of the long tail is the Chinese trigram ☲ (離 lí) of the I Ching. Read lengthwise or up-and-down, it formed Hexagram 30, "Radiance," also called "the clinging" and "the net". The origin of the character is rooted in symbols of long-tailed birds such as the peacock or the legendary phoenix. The CMYK coloring was also notable with regard to an acrostic formed by Manson, in a journal entry that accompanied the site changes, which spelled out the words "Christianity Manufactures Yesterdays Killers".^[20][21]

Music

Lyrical and musical style

"We will always be our worst audience, until we stop being an audience and start being an artist. Any art is flesh and blood, no matter how you perform, decorate or display it. But we all want the passionate horror of that blood. And blood is what I am here to bring."

—Marilyn Manson, in describing the new album.^[2]

Marilyn Manson attests that the lyrical content of the album will be "more romantic" yet "self-abusive."^[3] Manson also referred to the album as "very death metal," voicing interest in releasing the album differently than previous Marilyn Manson records, and also citing his friendship with Slayer as a vague influence on the record.^[24] On May 7, 2010, both entertainer Rudy Coby and New York-based "fan-turned-friend" artist Nick Kushner^[1] were previewed material from the album, the latter describing it on Facebook as "fuckin' hardcore." Elaborating on the band's musical direction, Manson commented on Twiggy being influenced by his touring experiences in 2009, particularly during the Rockstar Mayhem Festival. On September 10, Manson and Ramirez attended the opening of Kushner's art exhibit at the Studio Servitu gallery in Downtown Los Angeles where, at Kushner's behest, Manson quickly turned the show into an impromptu listening party of the entire album for attendees. Alternative newspaper LA Weekly attended the event and confirmed a release date now set for 2012.^[1] They also gave first impressions of the new music, describing it as "arty, dramatic, salacious, depraved" and "classic Manson".^[1] They further noted the presence of slower tempo songs, the influence of Electronic Body Music and a track with "a super catchy chorus that could do the K-ROQ rounds."^[1]

Release and promotion

The album is the band's first since the expiration of their contract with Interscope Records in late 2009. The album is set to be released in early 2012, according to LA Weekly.^[1]

For much of the early half of 2011, Marilyn Manson removed himself from the public spotlight and ceased almost all communication with his fans or the outside world.^[25]

On June 2011, Manson appeared live via the Ustream broadcast of Fleischer's Universe where he announced that the new album title will be revealed "within a week". He also divulged the lyrics, "The center of the universe cannot exist without edges", of a yet to be released song.^[26]

Marilyn Manson's 13th tour

To support the release of the album, the band staged their 13th tour. It is their ninth tour to spread over multiple legs spanning over multiple countries. As early as June 3, 2011, the Brazilian edition of the Portuguese broadsheet newspaper Destak announced that agents for the band had finalized negotiations for the group to tour in Brazil and other South American countries as part of the SWU Music & Arts Festival beginning from the second week of November 2011.^[27] The festival saw a change in venue and while organizers have yet to finalize details, it was speculated that the launch of the event may be held at the São Paulo municipality of Paulínia.^[27] The tour's 2012 itinerary has been confirmed to include an Australian leg from late February to early March as part of the 5-day 2012 Soundwave music festival.^[28] The summer leg is expected be opened by the Los Angeles-based electro-rock band 9Electric.^[29]

Recorded songs

Marilyn Manson confirmed that the band has recorded 13 tracks as of April 2010:^[24]

• "Born Villain"^[30]
• "Overneath (The Path of Misery)"^[31]
• "I Am Among No One (excerpt from an undisclosed song with an unreleased title)"^[20][21]

References

Footnotes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Lecaro, Lina (2011-09-13). "Marilyn Manson's Born Villain Tracks: We Heard Them First". LA Weekly. Village Voice Media. http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2011/09/marilyn_manson_born_villain_ni.php. Retrieved 2011-09-14. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Marilyn Manson artist profile on CookingVinyl.com". Cooking Vinyl. http://cookingvinyl.com/artists/marilyn-manson/. Retrieved 2011-06-10. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Gill, James (2009-03-12). "Marilyn Manson: "I'm Back With Evan Rachel Wood"". Metal Hammer. Future Publishing. http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/exclusive-marilyn-manson-i%E2%80%99m-back-with-evan-rachel-wood/. Retrieved 2011-01-28. 
4. ^ "Marilyn Manson splits with Interscope". Blabbermouth.net. Borivoj Krgin. 2009-12-03. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=131359. Retrieved 2009-12-06. 
5. ^ Gill, James (2009-04-12). "Marilyn Manson: "We’re Going To Play Each Album On A Different Night"". Metal Hammer. Future Publishing. http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/marilyn-manson-were-going-to-play-each-album-on-a-different-night/. Retrieved 2009-12-06. 
6. ^ Blair, Eric (2010-11-03). "Marilyn Manson Bassist Says Upcoming Album Is 'Our Best Record Yet'". Blabbermouth.net. Borivoj Krgin. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=148750. Retrieved 2011-01-28. 
7. ^ "Ginger Fish Announces Resignation". Twitlonger.com. 2011-02-24. http://www.twitlonger.com/show/8vrp3u. Retrieved 2011-02-24. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "Marilyn Manson names eighth studio album as 'Born Villain'". NME. IPC Media. 2011-09-02. http://www.nme.com/news/marilyn-manson/58994. Retrieved 2011-09-02. 
9. ^ Manson, Marilyn (2009-09-23). [Archived 23 September 2009 at WebCite "Marilyn Manson on MySpace Music"]. Myspace Music. News Corporation. Archived 23 September 2009 at WebCite. Retrieved 2011-01-28. 
10. ^ [1] Youtube.
11. ^ ^{a b c d} Suehs, Bob (2011-08-20). "Army of the Universe: The Interview". Rock N Roll Experience Magazine. Angelfire. http://www.angelfire.com/rock/e4/vrenna.html. Retrieved 2011-08-26. 
12. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Warner, Kara (2011-08-31). "Shia LaBeouf Calls Marilyn Manson Video 'A Cool Diversion'". MTV News. MTV Networks (Viacom). http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1670077/shia-labeouf-marilyn-manson-born-villian-video.jhtml. Retrieved 2011-09-01. 
13. ^ "Marilyn Manson recruits Shia LaBeouf to document new album". Kerrang!. Bauer Media Group. 2011-07-01. http://www.kerrang.com/blog/2011/07/marilyn_manson_recruits_shia_l.html. Retrieved 2011-07-01. 
14. ^ Barshad, Amos (2011-07-01). "Shia LaBeouf Told Regis and Kelly He's Working With Marilyn Manson". Vulture. New York magazine. http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/07/shia_labeouf_told_regis_and_ke.html. Retrieved 2011-07-01. 
15. ^ "Transformers star Shia LaBeouf set to shoot new Marilyn Manson documentary". NME. IPC Media. 2011-07-01. http://www.nme.com/news/marilyn-manson/57704. Retrieved 2011-07-02. 
16. ^ "Born Villain Official Website". Marilyn Manson and Shia LaBeouf. Marilyn Manson. http://bornvillain.com/. Retrieved 2011-08-26. 
17. ^ "Campaign Official Website". Shia LaBeouf & Karolyn Pho. http://www.thecampaignbook.com/. Retrieved 2011-08-29. 
18. ^ "Born Villain (Book + DVD)". Hennessey & Ingalls. http://www.hennesseyingalls.com/hennessey/product.asp?s_id=0&pf_id=B005J24ZHS. Retrieved 2011-08-29. 
19. ^ Rao, Mallika (2011-08-31). "'Born Villain': The Shia LaBeouf/Marilyn Manson Collaboration Has Arrived". The Huffington Post. AOL. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/31/born-villain-shia-lebeouf-marilyn-manson_n_943791.html. Retrieved 2011-09-02. 
20. ^ ^{a b c d} "Marilyn Manson previews eighth studio album online". NME. IPC Media. 2011-05-23. http://www.nme.com/news/marilyn-manson/56835. Retrieved 2011-06-11. 
21. ^ ^{a b c} Manson, Marilyn (2011-05-22). "Rapeture". Marilynmanson.com. Marilyn Manson. http://marilynmanson.com/2011/rapeture/. Retrieved 2011-05-23. 
22. ^ Shlosman, Rafi (2010-01-12). "Interview with Chris Vrenna (NIN / Marilyn Manson)". Vampirefreaks.com. http://vampirefreaks.com/content/comment.php?entry=447&t=Interview+with+Chris+Vrenna. Retrieved 2011-01-28. 
23. ^ "2010-2011 The New Era Imagery". Marilyn Manson. MansonWiki. http://www.mansonwiki.com/wiki/2010-2011_The_New_Era_Imagery. Retrieved 2011-06-10. 
24. ^ ^{a b} Peterson, Marta (2010-08-04). "Marilyn Manson at Revolver Golden Gods Awards Interview". Revolver TV. Future US. http://www.providermodule.com/media/index.php?v=i/2010/revolvertv. Retrieved 2011-01-28. 
25. ^ "Marilyn Manson stars in My Chemical Romance-esque pop video". Kerrang!. Bauer Media Group. 2011-03-18. http://www.kerrang.com/blog/2011/03/marilyn_manson_stars_in_my_che.html. Retrieved 2011-06-04. 
26. ^ Manson, Marilyn (2011-06-21). Marilyn Manson interview on Fleischer's Universe. Interview with Charles Fleischer. John Ham. Ustream.tv. Los Angeles. 
27. ^ ^{a b} Flesch, José Norberto (2011-06-03). "Marilyn Manson comes to Brazil in November". Destak. Cofina. http://www.destakjornal.com.br/readContent.aspx?id=17,98997. Retrieved 2011-06-08. 
28. ^ CK (2011-10-06). "Soundwave 2012! Get Ready For Offspring, Marilyn Manson and Evanescence!". Triple M Network. Austereo Radio Network. http://www.triplem.com.au/sydney/music/news/blog/soundwave-2012-get-ready-for-offspring-marilyn-manson-and-evanescence/20111006-eobd.html. Retrieved 2011-10-11. 
29. ^ Heminger, Stefanie (2011-01-28). "9electric Interview, Opening for Marilyn Manson this Summer". SMNNews. http://www.smnnews.com/2011/01/08/9electric-interview-opening-for-marilyn-manson-this-summer/. Retrieved 2011-06-08. 
30. ^ Croci, Roberto (2011-10). "Marilyn Manson: I'm Incredible". L'Uomo Vogue (Condé Nast Publications) (424): 158–165. http://www.vogue.it/uomo-vogue/stars/2011/10/marilyn-manson. Retrieved 2011-10-14. 
31. ^ "Marilyn Manson - - The Path of Misery press conference- - 2011". YouTube. 2011-11-04. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXpWMd_Fe80. Retrieved 2011-11-16. 

External links

• Official website of the Born Villain film
• Official website of Campaign