Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Marilyn Manson 's best songs document a career that is unlike any other that came before him. Mixing a rock 'n' roll mentality with electronic elements and profound lyrics narrating the progression of society in real time, Manson has developed a polarizing identity as both a beloved hero and a reviled villain. Although Manson has experienced major highs and lows throughout his many years in the public eye, he now finds himself rejuvenated and nominated for a 2013 Grammy Award. To celebrate the career of the Antichrist Superstar, we've put together our list of the 10 Best Marilyn Manson Songs: ? 10 'Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes' From: 'Celebrity Deathmatch Soundtrack' (1999) ? ? The full-speed-ahead rock track 'Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes' was never actually included within any Marilyn Manson album. In fact, this track was exclusively released for the official soundtrack of the legendary claymation MTV series 'Celebrity Deathmatch.' Opening up the soundtrack, the song contains some sweet muddy shredding along with the captivating line, “Kill your god and kill your TV.” Listen to 'Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes' ? ? 9 'The Nobodies' From: 'Holy Wood' (2000) ? ? After the Columbine school shooting of 1999, Marilyn Manson was one of many scapegoats targeted by a national media scrambling to make sense of the tragedy. After refusing to publicly speak of the incident as a protest against media sensationalism, Manson released 'The Nobodies' as the third single from his 2000 album, 'Holy Wood.' The song characterizes the Columbine shooters' rise from nobodies to household names, while taking a shot at the media with the line, “You should have seen the ratings that day.” Listen to 'The Nobodies' ? ? 8 'The Dope Show' From: 'Mechanical Animals' (1998) ? ? During the height of Manson's shocking persona, the sonic artist released 'The Dope Show' as the lead single for his 1998 album, 'Mechanical Animals.' The lurching track trudges through the subjects of American materialism, consumerism and the vast emptiness found within corporate control over creativity. In the legendary video for 'The Dope Show,' Manson appears as a sexless, soulless, manufactured product rather than a human being. Listen to 'The Dope Show' ? ? 7 'No Reflection' From: 'Born Villain' (2012) ? ? After going through a self-confessed low point in his career, Marilyn Manson chose to reevaluate his identity as an artist by surrounding himself with nothingness so he'd be forced to create. The result was Manson's best album in over a decade, 'Born Villain.' The album's lead single, 'No Reflection,' is brilliantly claustrophobic and one of Manson's strongest tracks to date. The song has even been nominated for a 2013 Grammy Award. Listen to 'No Reflection' ? ? 6 'The Fight Song' From: 'Holy Wood' (2000) ? ? Although many of Marilyn Manson's greatest works pull the listener into an eerie and uncomfortable, yet beautiful realm ('Speed of Pain' / 'The Last Day on Earth'), the musician has created some true anthems throughout his career. 'The Fight Song' is easily one of Manson's most powerful anthems, showcasing a contagious power along with compelling lyrics such as, “I'm not a slave to a god that doesn't exist / And I'm not a slave to a world that doesn't give a s–t.” Listen to 'The Fight Song' ? ? 5 'Tourniquet' From: 'Antichrist Superstar' (1996) ? ? From the 'Antichrist Superstar' album, 'Tourniquet' begins with the reversed message, “This is my most vulnerable moment.” Manson takes on the metaphorical role of a tourniquet, built on it's physically constricting yet life-saving qualities. Is Manson's message masochistic in nature? Do his lyrics address a relationship with substance abuse? Perhaps both … Perhaps neither. Either way, music is all about personal interpretation, and Manson gives his followers a lot to sink their teeth into with 'Tourniquet.' Listen to 'Tourniquet' ? ? 4 'Disposable Teens' From: 'Holy Wood' (2000) ? ? With a simple but powerful guitar lead introducing the essential track, 'Disposable Teens' was the first single released by Manson in the new millennium. Having penned a multitude of songs inspired by the teenage years, 'Disposable Teens' is one of Manson's greatest lyrical accomplishments, evidenced by lines such as, “And I'm a black rainbow / And I'm an ape of god / I've got a face that's made for violence upon / And I'm a teen distortion / Survived abortion / A rebel from the waist down.” Listen to 'Disposable Teens' ? ? 3 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)' From: 'Smells Like Children' (1995) ? ? Few artists can take another band's signature track and create a brilliant cover with its own distinct identity. Eurythmics released 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)' in 1983, selling more than one million copies of the single in the United States alone. Although the original song is widely known as a masterpiece, Marilyn Manson abducted the synth standard in 1995, stripping apart its pop dermis and filling the void with twisted darkness. Listen to 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)' ? ? 2 'Coma White' From: 'Mechanical Animals' (1998) ? ? There are few songs that dedicated Mansonites hold closer to their warm bodies than 'Coma White.' In the mind of Marilyn Manson, the color white represents a sense of “numbness” felt by the musician from both drug use and public scrutiny. The forefront version of 'Coma White' is found at the end of 'Mechanical Animals,' but there also exists a breathtaking acoustic version of the song, which is essential listening for both hardcore fans and those unfamiliar with Manson's music. Listen to 'Coma White' ? ? 1 'The Beautiful People' From: 'Antichrist Superstar' (1996) ? ? The anthem of all Manson anthems, 'The Beautiful People,' comes in at No. 1 on our list. With a heavy drum presence, sinister chants and an unforgettable guitar line mixed in with Manson's hushed whisper of the song's reprise, 'The Beautiful People' challenges societal materialism, which Manson labels as “the culture of beauty.” Instead of painstakingly weeding out all those he sings against, Manson takes a much simpler route heard in the lyrics, “There's no time to discriminate / Hate every motherf—er that's in your way.” Listen to 'The Beautiful People' ? ? What's Your Favorite Marilyn Manson Song? Which of our 10 Marilyn Manson song picks is your favorite? If your personal favorite didn't make our list, post it in the comments section below! ?
Kevin Winter, Getty Images – Anthrax guitarist Rob Caggiano has announced his exit from the band. [ Loudwire ] – The members of Bleeding Through have revealed they are breaking up. [ Loudwire ] – Oblivion Myth guitarist Chris Selby has been arrested for attempted murder. [ Loudwire ] – The parents of slain Metallica fan Morgan Harrington are thankful for the band’s continued support in trying to find the killer. [ Loudwire ] – Bring Me the Horizon debuted their new song ‘Shadow Moses.’ [ Loudwire ] – The Rolling Stones are weighing a number of offers for 2013 tour dates. [ Ultimate Classic Rock ] – The Beatles ‘ ‘Abbey Road’ has ended a two-year run as the top-selling vinyl album. [ Ultimate Classic Rock ] – Vampire Weekend revealed that their next album will arrive this spring. [ Diffuser.fm ] – Some bands have enjoyed creative rebounds during their run. Check out Diffuser.fm’s list of 10 Albums That Saved a Band’s Career. [ Diffuser.fm ]
Loudwire Loudwire appreciates the support that you, the readers, have given us, and we want to show you how much by launching the new Loudwire VIP Lounge . The new section to the Loudwire website allows you to play games, answer trivia, take surveys and accumulate points in order to enter our many contests. The newly launched Loudwire VIP Lounge lets you earn points in a number of ways. You can visit any of our featured links, check out the interesting info and add the advertised point total to your overall score. The trivia section sends you to particular articles to get an answer for a question that will also add more points on your overall total. For those who like games, especially ones with a little risk to them, there is also the option of accumulating (or losing) some points by trying your hand at Blackjack, Slots or Scratch ‘N Win. You can also add significantly to your point total by offering your feedback. Just simply enter the survey portion and tell us what you think about the topic at hand and you can add to your overall sum. Once you’ve accumulated a certain amount of points, you can enter the various contests in the VIP Lounge. Our current featured contest is an all-inclusive trip for two to see Soundgarden in Seattle. At present, the lounge also features such items as an iPod Touch; a Dyson heater and fan; Diddybeat in-ear headphones; a Samsung Galaxy Tab; gift cards for Amazon, Lowes and Target; a Garmin GPS; a Kindle Paperwhite 3G; a Samsung 40-inch television; an Xbox 360 Nike and bundle and $250 spending cash which you can also enter to win with your points. Check out the new Loudwire VIP Lounge by clicking the button below: [button href=”http://loudwire.com/vip/” title=”Visit the Loudwire VIP Lounge” align=”center”]
YouTube Lemmy Kilmister may be an ageless wonder, but the Motorhead frontman need not worry about his band’s music surviving for the long haul. That’s because the robot band known as Compressorhead does a pretty nifty job of taking on the Motorhead classic ‘Ace of Spades.’ The mechanical outfit is not only quite adept at playing the hard-driving song, but one of the robots, guitarist Fingers, has the headbanging action down pat as well. However, watching Compressorhead play gives you newfound respect for Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee, as it’s noticeable that the robot drummer Stickboy has a few more appendages to pull off what Dee normally does behind the kit. Compressorhead take their “metal” roots to heart, also covering such songs as AC/DC ‘s ‘TNT’ and Pantera ‘s ‘ Becoming ‘ as part of their repertoire. Drummer Stickboy previously performed at the 2008 Big Day Out festival in Australia and will return with the full robot group to be part of the 2013 Big Day Out bill . Watch Compressorhead Perform Motorhead’s ‘Ace of Spades’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/robot-band-marilyn-manson-beautiful-people/” title=”Next: Watch Another Robot Band Cover Marilyn Manson’s ‘Beautiful People'” align=”center”]
Bazillion Points Although there is no inherent discrimination within the metal community, it’s plain to see at any concert that most metalheads happen to be white males. While music genres can become polarizing, the central focus should always be the music itself, as author and black female Laina Dawes set out to argue in her new book, ‘What Are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal.’ Dawes found herself connected to metal music, especially that of Judas Priest , at a very young age, but due to her gender and race, the youthful Canadian metalhead found it difficult to integrate herself into the scene. “Being 11 or 12 years old, I really resonated with the sound of anger and my internal struggles or what I was going through,” Dawes explains to NPR . “I found that listening to the music in my bedroom, being able to feel like you could scream and yell and really express your anger, that really helped me out when I was a kid.” Despite Dawes finding personal salvation within metal as an individual, she faced some unnerving backlash within social circles. “There was a boy who went to another high school,” begins Dawes. “He was really into metal, and we would talk on the phone, and I remember that he said that he wanted to meet me at a shopping mall on the weekend. And he said, ‘Well, what do you look like?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m black and this and this…’ and he hung up the phone. I never heard from him again. [I also remember] my black female friends in high school and their parents wondering why I was wearing a Def Leppard T-shirt or whatever, and really kind of questioning me on my cultural legitimacy as a black person. All of those together made me really understand at a pretty young age that, as a black woman, I’m not supposed to be doing this, and there’s something wrong with me because I enjoy this music.” Despite the barriers Dawes faced, metal has remained the soundtrack of her life. The foreward to Dawes’ book was penned by renowned black female rocker Skin of the British rock group Skunk Anansie. ‘What Are You Doing Here?’ is available for purchase at Bazillion Points Books and various online outlets.
Megaforce Breaking news from the legendary thrash metallers of Anthrax . Lead guitarist Rob Caggiano has left the band to focus on production work. Having joined Anthrax in 2001, Caggiano stuck with the New York thrash band until the group’s ‘Among the Living’ lineup reunited in 2005. However, Caggiano was brought back in 2007, remaining as Anthrax’s lead guitarist until now. The announcement comes as a big surprise, as Anthrax have been experiencing their greatest success in years on the heels of their critically acclaimed 2011 album, ‘Worship Music,’ which just yielded a Grammy nomination for the track ‘I’m Alive.’ Caggiano explains his departure in statement just released by the guitarist himself: I’m extremely proud of my time in Anthrax. Actually, that’s an understatement! We accomplished so many great things together over the years and I shared some of the best times of my life with these guys. As a band, we also weathered quite a few storms along the way. It’s been a wild ride (to say the least) from Day One and I wouldn’t change one single thing about the last 12 years. This is an extremely difficult and emotional decision for me to make but my heart is just steering me in a different direction right now. I’ve always been one to follow my heart in everything that I do and while this might be one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make, it feels like the right one for me at this time. Scott, Charlie, Joey, Frankie (and John Bush) will always be part of my family and this decision doesn’t change the way I feel about that in the slightest. I would also like to say thanks to all the amazing fans I’ve met and hung out with worldwide over the years. You guys always were and always will be the reason why I make music! In this day and age, being a musician isn’t always easy -also an understatement- but the fans truly make it worthwhile for me. I hope to see each and every one of you again really soon. The fact that Anthrax is at the top of their game right now and totally ‘out for blood’ after all these years is a testament to this band’s longevity and conviction! I’m truly honored to have been a part of their brilliant legacy. As for this future, the former Anthrax shredder will continue his career as an in-studio producer: I can’t wait to get back in the recording studio again! Over the years, I’ve been blessed with the privilege of working with a wide range of great bands/artists from Anthrax and Cradle of Filth all the way to Bruce Springsteen, and I look forward to a hopeful continuation of that side of my career while I figure out my next move as an artist. BTW in case anyone was wondering after reading all of this, I do FULLY intend to get back out there on the road very soon in some way shape or form….it’s in my blood! Anthrax have also released their own statement, wishing their friend the best on his new path: Rob has been an integral part of Anthrax for so many years, as our lead guitarist, in a production capacity, but most of all, as our close friend. His contributions to the band have been enormous. While we are sad that he is leaving, we wish him nothing but great success going forward, and hope to share the stage with him again sometime down the road. With the Metal Alliance Tour on the horizon, we have been considering several lead guitarist options, and will be making an announcement on that shortly. Stay tuned for Anthrax’s decision on who will replace Caggiano on lead guitar for the 2013 Metal Alliance tour, along with Caggiano’s future plans as a producer. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/dates-revealed-2013-metal-alliance-tour-anthrax-exodus-municipal-waste/” title=”Anthrax – 2013 Metal Alliance Tour Dates” align=”center”]
Rise Records With 14 years together and seven studio albums under their belt, the California metal band Bleeding Through have announced that they will disband. The band first began as a side project for vocalist Brandan Schieppati’s in 1999, who was a member of Eighteen Visions at the time. Bleeding Through released their latest album, ‘The Great Fire,’ in 2012. Prior to disbanding, Bleeding Through will embark on a farewell tour. Schieppati released an official statement via Blabbermouth.net addressing the band’s decision to go their separate ways: “When you have some success doing something that you love, you never really think about writing a statement about that something coming to an end. Well, that dream that we have had as Bleeding Through has come to an end. I think I can speak for the rest of my bandmates in saying that we always hoped it would end on our terms, and it has. We have been fortunate to have a strong fan base worldwide and have brought joy to many and pissed off many more. As Bleeding Through was always a band that wore the emotion of the music on our sleeves. We cared about everyone like family that ever took the time to listen to our band, support our merchandise and go to our shows. Since 1999, we have been blessed to be able to tour the world, record seven records with some great musical minds, tour with amazing bands and people, work with people with character such as management, booking agents and road crew. Most importantly, we made lasting friends from this journey. We have been honored to be part of a expanding the musical movement of heavy music and hope to be remembered as a benchmark and pioneer of a specific style of music. We have been a band since 1999, and many of us just had life catch up with us in the way of marriages, kids, businesses and other endeavors. We can no longer dedicate what we need to to keep as Bleeding Through going. Personally, I feel doing this band in a part-time fashion is not what this band is about and feel like we have always been an all-or-nothing band. With that being said, and because we have established a worldwide following over the last 14 years, we want to give us and those people one more chance to share in this music together. We are setting up farewell tours. Dates will be up and promoted very soon. To those who supported this band: It has been an honor.” Stay tuned for information in regards to Bleeding Through’s Farewell tour dates. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/bleeding-through-dave-nassie-interview-new-album-the-great-fire-more/” title=”Next: Bleeding Through’s Dave Nassie Talks ‘The Great Fire'” align=”center”]