REVIEW: Eat Me, Drink Me

They say that the second coming of Jesus will follow some worldwide catastrophic event, one that humanity could never hope to bounce back from. Well, I don’t believe in that malarky, and besides, Marilyn Manson’s latest CD is pretty good (Thought I was going to make a joke, didn’tcha?)

As you are probably aware, this latest collection of songs by Manson were compiled and mixed in the aftermath of the singer’s highly publicized divorce from Dita Von Tease, and the beginning of his new relationship with actress Evan Rachael Wood. Anyone going into this CD expecting to hear the same Manson who gave us “The Beautiful People” and “The Fight Song” will probably be disappointed. For this installment, Manson tosses aside the boogeyman aesthetic for something more personal and revealing. They say that on every monster is a zipper running up the back, and with Eat Me, Drink Me, Manson unzips (okay, get your mind out of the gutter) and shows the world what some of his fans may already know: his sensitive (if not brooding) and intelligent side.

You can tell something’s different right from the first track, “If I Was Your Vampire.” The riff is extremely gothic, but… not threatening. Instead of wanting to scare us, Manson invites the listener into his state of mind right off the bat, and keeps us there for the first few songs, repeating the same theme of a pervasive unhappiness from an omniscient point of view. After a bit, it does start to get repetitive, but then the album switches gears as it goes into the first single, “Heart Shaped Glasses”. When I first listened to it, I found it hard to categorize. It reminded me a lot of Depeche Mode or The Clash, but with Manson’s dark tone attached to it. From that moment on, the album pulls itself out of its own funk and gets on with it. One gets the sense that once Manson got those emotions off his chest, he could start singing about other things, like his new relationship with Wood, trashing My Chemical Romance, and something about you and me and the devil making three (?). The album closes just as it opened, on a somber note, with the title track. “Eat Me, Drink Me” is an okay song, something that I describe as a bad Pink Floyd trip mixed with some of the weird ways that the Beatles ended albums at around Sgt. Pepper.

Reaction to the album so far has been mixed. Critics have applauded Manson for writing something from the heart and emotional while his fans would much rather hear the music that makes their parents nervous. While I love a head-banger every now and then, I enjoyed the album on the whole. Certainly, some songs stand out more than others. “If I Was Your Vampire” is a great tune for a depressing mood. It’s no “Beautiful People”, but it works as an opening to the album and the riff hooks you instantly. “Heart Shaped Glasses” is the same way: great riff coupled with vocals and melody that blend together like absinthe and sugar. But for me, the standout track is “Evidence”, the closest thing to a “typical” Manson tune there is. The drum riff is a real headbanger and the song makes you want to get up and jump around (at least me, anyways).

As stated ad nauseam throughout this review and every other review about the album ever published, this is not the same Marilyn Manson that performed in lingerie on MTV and made every Christian parents group piss their collective pants. This is a journey through Manson’s personal life, his emotions, and the real darkness of his creativity. Unlike the rest of the “futile life/slash your wrists” artists, Manson goes beyond the act and makes a striking work of art.