Review Summary: And I can't feel your tits.
I picked this album up the day after it was released, and I wasn't much of a fan of it until I went back to it a year or two later. This is by far not his best album, having to compare to Mechanical Animals, Golden Age of Grotesque, Eat Me Drink Me, and Holy Wood. Nevertheless, it is an instant classic in my eyes. The way the album progresses like a story is pure gold.
I feel like the whole album is played in a dark empty room, with its grainy sound and gravely sounds.
Song-by-song review:
Hey, Cruel World.... (8/10)
No, not the classic Pink Floyd song, this song kicks off Born Villain on a pretty heavy note. Basically, this song kicks ass. The tile noise at the beginning, and the little guitar coming in, mixed with Manson's quiet voice fading in makes anyone want to listen to more of it. It turns into a typical Manson verse with tons of power chords and screaming, and moves into a very similar chorus. Amazing song to start the album with, made me want to keep going indefinitely.
No Reflection (10/10)
Manson's early-released single from this album, and one of his newest music videos, also one of the best songs on the album. It's the first song on the album that has a quiet beginning part, and slowly fades into the rest of the song. I can never keep my foot still listening to this song. It has a little bit of a different feel then the other songs. It's like he took a step back in time to Antichrist Superstar, and started talking about dead babies and cutting yourself. Still, instant classic, perfect single, and great song.
Pistol Whipped (7/10)
Same as No Reflection, and tons of other songs on this album, it has a very slow beginning. 45 seconds of train tracks. Then quiet guitar fades in and he starts breathing (kind of like Disengaged, later in the album) and singing about... What? Someone's crying? He's hitting someone?? What the *** is going on with this song? It makes the album get very, very dark extremely quick. And we like that. That's why we listen to Manson.
Overneath The Path Of Misery (7/10)
Okay, he's doing the same thing as he did on Portrait during Prelude (The Family Trip). It's another slow start song, but then you hear noises going off, and BAM the guitar hits you like a brick. Did not expect it. This is the song that they did the music video of that was called Born Villain, you know the one where he shaves the women's heads, and then the kid kills his grandfather? Anyways, he moves into the chorus soon after the first verse, and it's kind of just him obnoxiously screeching, then saying he's overneath. That's the only part of the song I don't particularly like. Not at all a bad song though, very enjoyable.
Slo-Mo-Tion (10/10)
As soon as it starts it has some sort of camera noise, then some bass sliding in. Once all the instruments come in, and the verse starts, it sounds like a really high pitched bass string doing the notes. It's the same thing until the chorus, and the chorus tells us what this song is about. Porn. As soon as we realize that, it does some chunky guitar stuff, then onto the next verse. It took me a while to actually get into this song, but once the music video was released, I was all over it. It's one of my favorites off the album, definitely worth a single.
The Gardener (10/10)
I've heard a lot of things about this song. It's (supposedly) about the book The Great Gatsby. It sounds like a very low quality podcast at the beginning, then the bass comes in and fills you up. It goes on sounding normal for a while, but the chorus makes this song my favorite on the album. The way it slowly leads up to it, and then it comes in full force. It actually was the first song I heard on the album, and ever since then it's been my favorite.
The Flowers Of Evil (8/10)
This is another one of the slow to start songs, and bass comes in. But this song sounds a little different, it's faster paced, and there's way less guitar than the other songs. He's growling at you, until he starts singing full throttle, and then it picks up and runs straight into the chorus. It's a simple chorus but it's a great one. An amazing song that's easy to get really, really into.
Children Of Cain (7/10)
He moves back into his slower, more electronic sounds. This is one of those songs that I really don't understand. I enjoy the slow, noises flying everywhere sound that this song has. It sounds like it picks up into the chorus, but it's just as slow as the other parts of the song. I enjoy this song less than the others, but it's certainly not a bad song at all.
Disengaged (8/10)
I mentioned this song earlier. It starts out with some drums and him... Breathing. Then it's got some really slow, soft verses, and it doesn't ever pick up that much. Until it hits the chorus. The chorus of this song sounds a lot like the Pistol Whipped chorus. Loudest part of the song, then drops off suddenly. Actually this song is extremely similar to that song, in the way it's done. Love this song, another one of my favorites.
Lay Down Goddamn Arms (9/10)
I really love this song. It has some more guitar than the other songs. It has an angrier tone than the others and it's always at a faster pace, and in a pissed-off sort of state. There's not much more I can say, but I like this song a lot, it makes me want to smash my head into the wall, or do something angry.
Murderers Are Getting Prettier Everyday (8/10)
I personally feel this song is a little too obnoxious, but it has some really cool guitar parts, and the vocals are really well done in this song. It's another one of the songs that he sort of takes a step back into the past. It sounds a lot like Little Horn off of Antichrist. The chorus is really cool, and this song constantly makes me want to drum with it. It's way too catchy, it's contagious.
Born Villain (9/10)
He takes a step down and shows he's ending the album soon. I don't know what to say about this song. It has a really cool guitar part throughout the verses, and the part where he says "become" over and over again is really cool. This song has a really deep meaning to it, which is that you never know what kids are going to grow up to become. Or what you will turn into at any time.
Breaking The Same Old Ground (10/10)
An amazing finisher. A classic. A slow star song. Another one. But it's very good. It changes pace really fast as it hits the chorus. I really enjoy how it cuts off at the end with him yelling. Oh. The albums not over. It says it it's, but it's not we got another song left!
You're So Vain (10/10)
A song featuring Johnny Depp, wow that's new. Turns out Johnny Depp loves playing music, and he's friends with Marilyn Manson. Well anyways, this is a cover of a song, and it's a great cover at that. You can hear Johnny Depp in the chorus faintly, and when he says "clouds in my coffee" very faintly. Great cover, I love it,
Classic album, one of my favorite Manson albums out of all of them.
