MARILYN MANSON, MASTODON AND IHSAHN ALL RELEASE NEW ALBUMS
Marilyn Manson – We Are Chaos
I am a huge mark for Manson’s work. While others have poo pooed albums, I’ve loved almost everything he’s released. Like most every band I enjoy, I always find something that I like off of each of his releases. That tends to be most of what he’s releasing.
This album sees the long rumored collaboration with Shooter Jennings come to fruition. Manson has always had a partner for each phase of his career. Twiggy Ramirez, Tim Skold, Tyler Bates, and now Jennings have all helped bring different Manson eras to life. Eat Me, Drink Me kicked off a part of Manson’s career that I’ve always felt emulated artists like Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, and especially David Bowie.
Now I know people will go ape shit reading that “oh my God, how can you compare him to Bowie?” Quite easily, everyone of the artists I have compared him to, especially Mr. Jones, have all been chameleons throughout their careers.
Sure you know Manson for Antichrist Superstar, much like you know Bowie for The Rise And Fall Of Ziggie Stardust And The Spiders From Mars. But you also know Bowie for Low, Let’s Dance, Blackstar and others. They’re all very much Bowie album, but, all of them being different from one another.
RELATED: MARILYN MANSON BORN VILLAIN ONE OF THE TOP ALBUMS OF 2012
Manson has done the same throughout his career, you look at the Bates era, the aforementioned Eat Me, Drink Me, Mechanical Animals, or Born Villain, these all veer off course from the industrial hard rock that helped propel Manson to stardom. They’re all different from one another, and although not identical to Bowie, I do think that it’s a huge influence on him.
With all of this said, this album is the closest Manson has gotten to making a Bowiesque album. At the same time, it is the closest he’s come to recreating the pomp and circumstance of Antichrist Superstar and Holywood.
To further my point, publications like NME who have almost always given Manson’s work mediocre to low grades have given this album five out of five stars. Oh dear what will the Guardian and other publications that have made it their prerogative to shit all over Manson do now?
I recommend checking this album out if you’ve enjoyed Manson in the past. His rabid, die-hard audience will do so regardless of how good or bad a review may be.
Here’s Marilyn Manson with “Don’t Chase The Dead” off of We Are Chaos:
Mastodon – Medium Rarities
Given the title you can probably guess what this release is all about. It is a compilation of covers, live tracks, and songs that have appeared on elsewhere like various soundtracks. In other words, tracks that are not on other Mastodon albums.
The album also includes guest appearances from Neurosis’ Scott Kelly, and Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers. The one surprise is they didn’t include the recently released “Rufus Lives” off of the Bill And Ted Face The Music soundtrack.
Mastodon is another band that has a die-hard following. Although a lot of fans will have some of these tracks, it is cool to have them all tied up nicely in this release.
Here’s Mastodon with “Fallen Torches” which features Scott Kelly of Neurosis:
HERE ARE SOME OTHER RELEASES THAT MY INTEREST YOU
Neal Morse – Sola Gratia
Skeletal Remains – The Entombment Of Chaos
Aborted Fetus – Pyramids Of Damnation
EP
Ihsahn – Pharos EP
Ihsahn is another artist that has not conformed to the norm. When people think that black metal is all that he does, he incorporates saxophone. He comes up with riffs that are more reminiscent of Dokken then his former band Emeror. This EP is made up of three original songs, and two covers. One from Portishead, while the other was originally done by A-Ha.
This EP showcases yet another fascet of what Ihsahn can bring to the table. It may piss off some hardliners, but so be it, Ihsahn further demonstrates that trying to attach one genre to him is foolish.
This is Ihsahn with the help of Einar Solberg covering A-ha’s “Manhattan Skyline”:
Eskimo Callboy – MMXX EP
Cryptodria – Better Left Unsaid
REISSUES
Skillet – Victorious: The Aftermath Reissue
Mondo Generator – Cocaine Rodeo Reissue
Johnny Thunders – Que Sera Sera: Resurrected Reissue
Aether Realm – Tarot Reissue
Come join the discussion Mars Attacks Podcast on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
