Marilyn Manson
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the musician. For the associated band, see Marilyn Manson (band).
Not to be confused with Marilyn Mason or Marlyn Mason.
Parts of this article (those related to Abuse allegations) need to be updated. The reason given is: New things happened in 2024 (Marilyn Manson Ordered to Pay Evan Rachel Wood’s Legal Bills). Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (February 2024)
Marilyn Manson
Manson performing in 2017
Manson performing in 2017
Background information
Birth name Brian Hugh Warner
Born January 5, 1969 (age 55)
Canton, Ohio, U.S.
Genres
Industrial metalindustrial rockalternative metalhard rockgothic rockshock rock
Occupation(s)
Singersongwriteractorpainterwriter
Years active 1989–present
Member of
Marilyn Manson
Spouse(s)
Dita Von Teese
(m. 2005; div. 2007)
Lindsay Usich
(m. 2020)
Website marilynmanson.com
Signature
Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band that shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since its formation in 1989. Known for his controversial stage personality, his stage name (like the other founding members of the band) was formed by combining the names of two opposing American cultural icons: actress Marilyn Monroe and cult leader Charles Manson.
His music released in the 1990s, including the albums Portrait of an American Family (1994), Antichrist Superstar (1996) and Mechanical Animals (199 cool , earned him a reputation in mainstream media as a controversial figure and negative influence on young people.[1][2] In the U.S. alone, three of the band's albums have been awarded platinum status and three more went gold, and the band has had eight releases debut in the top 10, including two No. 1 albums. Manson has been ranked at No. 44 on the list of the "Top 100 Heavy Metal Vocalists" by Hit Parader and, along with his band, has been nominated for four Grammy Awards – Manson himself earned an additional Grammy nomination for his work on Kanye West's Donda (2021). Manson made his film debut as an actor in David Lynch's Lost Highway (1997), and has since appeared in a variety of minor roles and cameos. In 2002, his first art show, The Golden Age of Grotesque, was held at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions center.
Manson is widely considered one of the most controversial figures in heavy metal music, and has been involved in numerous controversies throughout his career. His lyrics were criticized by American politicians and were examined in congressional hearings. Several U.S. states enacted legislation specifically banning the group from performing in state-operated venues. In 1999, news media falsely blamed Manson for influencing the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre. His work has been cited in several other violent events; his paintings and films appeared as evidence in a murder trial, and he has been accused of inspiring several other murders and school shootings. In 2021, multiple women, including his former partner Evan Rachel Wood, accused Manson of psychologically and sexually abusing them, allegations he denied.[3]
Early life
Brian Hugh Warner was born in Canton, Ohio, on January 5, 1969,[4] the son of Barbara J. Wyer (died 2014)[5] and Hugh Angus Warner (died 2017).[6][7] He is of English, German, Irish, and Polish descent,[8][9] and has also claimed that his mother's family (who hailed from the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia) had Sioux heritage.[10]
As a child, he attended his mother's Episcopal church, though his father was a Roman Catholic.[11][12] He attended Heritage Christian School from first to tenth grade. In that school, his instructors tried to show children what music they were not supposed to listen to; he thus fell in love with what he "wasn't supposed to".[citation needed] He later transferred to GlenOak High School and graduated in 1987.[citation needed]
After relocating with his parents, he enrolled at Broward Community College in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1990. He was working toward a degree in journalism, gaining experience in the field by writing articles for the music magazine 25th Parallel.[13] He also interviewed musicians and soon met several of the musicians to whom his own work was later compared, including Groovie Mann from My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. The latter became his mentor and produced his debut album.[14]
Career
Music
Main article: Marilyn Manson (band)
The band was formed in 1989 by Warner and guitarist Scott Putesky,[15][16] with Warner writing lyrics and Putesky composing the majority of music.[17] Warner adopted the stage name Marilyn Manson and, alongside a revolving lineup of musicians, recorded the band's first demo tape as Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids in 1990.[18][19] The group quickly developed a loyal fanbase within the South Florida punk and hardcore music scene, primarily as a result of their intentionally shocking concerts; band members often performed in women's clothing or bizarre costumes, and live shows routinely featured amateur pyrotechnics, naked women nailed to crucifixes, children locked in cages,[20][21] as well as experiments in reverse psychology and butchered animals remains.[N 1] Within six months of forming, they were playing sold-out shows in 300-capacity nightclubs throughout Florida.[23] They signed a record deal with Sony Music in early 1991, although this deal was rescinded before any material was recorded for the label. The band instead used the proceeds of this deal to fund the recording of subsequent demo tapes, which were released independently.[24]
Left to right: Twiggy, Gacy and Manson performing at the "A Night of Nothing" industry showcase, 1995
The name of the group was shortened to Marilyn Manson in 1992, and they continued to perform and release cassettes until the summer of 1993,[20] when Reznor signed the act to his vanity label Nothing Records.[25] Their debut studio album, Portrait of an American Family, was released in July 1994.[26] Manson later criticized Nothing Records and its parent label Interscope for a perceived lack of promotion.[N 2] While recording b-sides and remixes for the album's proposed third single, "Dope Hat", the band decided to issue the resultant material as a standalone release titled Smells Like Children.[28] The record included their cover version of the Eurythmics's "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", which established the band as a mainstream act.[25][29] The song's music video was placed on heavy rotation on MTV,[30] and earned the band their first nomination for Best Rock Video at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards.[31] Their second studio album, 1996's Antichrist Superstar, sparked a fierce backlash among Christian fundamentalists.[32] The album was an immediate commercial success, debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 and selling almost 2 million copies in the United States alone,[33][34] and 7 million copies worldwide.[35][36] Lead single "The Beautiful People" received three nominations at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards,[37] where the band also performed.[38]
For 1998's Mechanical Animals, Manson said he took inspiration from 1970s glam rock, and adopted a wardrobe and hairstyle similar to David Bowie.[39] He said he did this to avoid being portrayed as a "bogeyman", a role which had been ascribed to him by mainstream media following the band's commercial breakthrough.[32] Interscope's promotion of the album was massive,[40] with the label erecting enormous billboards of Manson as an androgynous extraterrestrial in Times Square and the Sunset Strip.[39] Lead single "The Dope Show" was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards.[41] The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200,[42] but was the lowest-selling number-one album of 1998 in the United States,[43] with sales of 1.4 million copies in the country as of 2017.[44] The album was not well received by longtime fans, who complained about its radio-friendly sound and accused the vocalist of "selling out",[45] and Interscope were reportedly disappointed with its commercial performance.[N 3]
Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) was a return to the band's industrial metal roots after the glam-influenced Mechanical Animals,[47] and was the vocalist's response to media coverage blaming him for influencing the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre. The album was a critical success, with numerous publications praising it as the band's finest work.[48] Despite being certified gold in the United States for shipments in excess of half a million units,[49] mainstream media openly questioned the band's commercial appeal, noting the dominance of nu metal and controversial hip hop artists such as Eminem.[50][51] A cover of "Tainted Love" was an international hit in 2002, peaking at number one in several territories.[52]
The Golden Age of Grotesque was released the following year, an album primarily inspired by the swing and burlesque movements of 1920s Berlin.[53] In an extended metaphor found throughout the record, Manson compared his own often-criticized work to the Entartete Kunst banned by the Nazi regime.[54] Like Mechanical Animals in 1998, The Golden Age of Grotesque debuted at number one on the Billboard 200,[33] but was the lowest-selling studio album to debut at number one that year, selling 527,000 copies in the United States as of 2008.[43] The album was more successful in Europe, where it sold over 400,000 on its first week of release to debut at number one on Billboard's European Top 100 Albums.[55] Manson began his collaboration with French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier during this period, who designed much of the elaborate attire worn by the band on the supporting "Grotesk Burlesk Tour".[56] The greatest hits compilation Lest We Forget: The Best Of was released in 2004.[57]
"He's very savvy in that he lets people think things about him or plays into things to see what will happen, almost like a performance artist. He's a visionary in a way, because he identified a culture that was coming and now that culture is everywhere."
—Billy Corgan on Marilyn Manson, 2014[58]
After a three-year hiatus, in which the vocalist pursued other interests,[59] the band returned with 2007's Eat Me, Drink Me. The album's lyrical content largely related to the dissolution of Manson's marriage to Dita Von Teese and his affair with 19-year-old actress Evan Rachel Wood.[60] Seventh studio album The High End of Low was released in 2009, and was their final album issued by Interscope. While promoting the record, Manson made a series of disparaging comments about the label and its artistic censorship, as well as its president Jimmy Iovine.[61] Manson signed a lucrative recording contract with British independent record label Cooking Vinyl in 2011, with the band and label sharing profits equally after the label recouped costs associated with marketing, promotion and distribution.[62] The first album released under the deal was 2012's Born Villain.[63] Lead single "No Reflection" earned the band their fourth Grammy nomination.[41] Subsequent albums were released in the United States by Loma Vista Recordings, beginning with 2015's The Pale Emperor, which was widely seen as a return to form[64][65] and was a commercial success upon release.[66][67]
Heaven Upside Down followed in 2017,[68] with its single "Kill4Me" becoming the band's highest-peaking single ever on Billboard's Mainstream Rock.[69] While touring in support of the record, Manson was injured by two large falling stage props as he performed on stage at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, breaking his fibula in two places, requiring a plate and ten screws to be inserted in the bone, as well as another screw in his ankle, which he had sprained during a show in Pittsburgh.[70][71] "God's Gonna Cut You Down" was released as a non-album single in 2019,[72][73] and is the band's highest-peaking single on Billboard's Hot Rock Songs and Rock Digital Songs.[74][75] Their most recent studio album, 2020's We Are Chaos, was the band's tenth top ten release on the Billboard 200.[76]
According to Nielsen SoundScan, the band sold 8.7 million albums alone in the United States as of 2011.[62] Three of their albums received platinum awards from the Recording Industry Association of America, and a further three received gold certifications.[77] Ten of their releases debuted in the top ten of the Billboard 200, including two number-one albums.[76] In the United Kingdom, the band are certified for sales of almost 1.75 million units.[78] Marilyn Manson has sold over 50 million records worldwide.[79][80][81][82]
Musical collaborations
In addition to his work with the band, Manson has collaborated extensively with other musicians.[83] Cello rock act Rasputina opened for the band throughout the "Dead to the World Tour", the controversial tour supporting Antichrist Superstar.[84] Lead vocalist Melora Creager performed cello and backing vocals for the band, most notably for renditions of "Apple of Sodom", a live version of which appeared as a b-side on Manson's 1998 single "The Dope Show".[85] Manson also created three remixes of the song "Transylvanian Concubine", two of which appeared on their 1997 EP Transylvanian Regurgitations.[86] Manson befriended The Smashing Pumpkins vocalist Billy Corgan in 1997,[87] and performed renditions of "Eye" and "The Beautiful People" alongside that band at the 1997 edition of Bridge School Benefit concert.[88] Manson frequently consulted Corgan during the early stages of recording Mechanical Animals. Referring to its inclusion of glam rock influences, Corgan advised Manson that "This is definitely the right direction" but to "go all the way with it. Don't just hint at it".[89] In 2015, Marilyn Manson and the Smashing Pumpkins embarked on a co-headlining tour titled "The End Times Tour".[90]
To promote Mechanical Animals in 1998, the band embarked on their first co-headlining concert tour: the "Beautiful Monsters Tour" with Hole.[91] The tour was problematic,[92] with Manson and Hole vocalist Courtney Love frequently insulting one another both on-stage and during interviews.[93] Private disputes also arose over finances, as Hole were unwittingly financing most of Manson's production costs, which were disproportionately high relative to Hole's.[94] The tour was to consist of thirty-seven dates,[91] although Hole left after nine.[93] When Hole departed from the tour, it was renamed the "Rock Is Dead Tour", with Jack Off Jill announced as one of the support acts.[95] Manson had produced many of Jack Off Jill's demo recordings in the early 90s, and later wrote the liner notes to their 2006 compilation Humid Teenage Mediocrity 1992–1996.[96][97]
Manson launched his own vanity label in 2000, Posthuman Records.[98] The label released two albums – the 2000 soundtrack to Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 and Godhead's 2001 album 2000 Years of Human Error – before being dissolved in 2003.[99] The latter album sold over 100,000 copies in the United States,[100] and featured him performing vocals on the track "Break You Down".[101] He performed vocals on "Redeemer", a song written by Korn vocalist Jonathan Davis that featured on the 2002 album Queen of the Damned: Music from the Motion Picture.[102] Davis had been prevented from singing the song due to contractual issues with his record label.[103] Manson also contributed a remix of the Linkin Park song "By Myself" to that band's remix album Reanimation,[104] and collaborated with Marco Beltrami to create the score for the 2002 film Resident Evil.[105]
He performed vocals on the Chew Fu GhettoHouse Fix remix of Lady Gaga's "LoveGame", which was featured as a b-side on the song's single in 2008.[106] He was a featured vocalist on "Can't Haunt Me",[107] a track recorded in 2011 for Skylar Grey's unreleased album Invinsible.[108] He appeared on "Bad Girl", a song from Avril Lavigne's 2013 self-titled album,[83] and featured on the song "Hypothetical" from Emigrate's 2014 album Silent So Long.[109] New Orleans brass ensemble the Soul Rebels performed "The Beautiful People" alongside Manson at the 2015 edition of the Japanese Summer Sonic Festival.[110] Manson recorded vocals on a cover of Bowie's "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" for country musician Shooter Jennings's 2016 album Countach (For Giorgio).[111][112] The two were introduced in 2013 by Manson's then-bassist Twiggy Ramirez,[113] and the pair first collaborated that same year on a song for the soundtrack to television series Sons of Anarchy.[114] Their version of the song, "Join the Human Gang", remains unreleased, but the track was eventually rewritten and released by The White Buffalo as "Come Join the Murder".[113] Jennings later produced Manson's 2020 album We Are Chaos.[113]
Manson has collaborated with numerous hip hop artists. In 1998, he featured on "The Omen (Damien II)", a track on DMX's album Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood.[115][116] Following the Columbine High School massacre, Manson was mentioned in the lyrics to Eminem's "The Way I Am" from The Marshall Mathers LP, in the lyric "When a dude's getting bullied and he shoots up the school and they blame it on Marilyn". Manson appeared in the song's music video, and a remix created by Danny Lohner and featuring Manson appeared on special editions of The Marshall Mathers LP. Manson also joined Eminem on-stage for several live performances of the track, one of which featured on Eminem's 2002 video album All Access Europe.[117] He featured on "p***y Wet", a song on Gucci Mane's 2013 mixtape Diary of a Trap God,[118] and provided vocals on the song "Marilyn Manson" on the 2020 mixtape Floor Seats II by ASAP Ferg.[119][120]
Alongside DaBaby, Manson co-wrote and was a featured artist on "Jail pt 2", a song on Kanye West's 2021 album Donda.[121] Manson and DaBaby appeared alongside West - aka Ye - at several events promoting the album, including at a listening event held at Soldier Field in August, and at one of Ye's Sunday Church Services in October.[122][123] The appearances attracted significant media attention and controversy.[124] Ye said the trio collaborated on a total of five songs.[121] The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, which entitled Manson to a co-nomination credit for his work on the song.[125][126] Manson continued his collaboration with Ye for the follow-up album, Donda 2.[127] Ye collaborator Digital Nas said Manson was in the recording studio "every day" while the album was recorded, and explained that Ye "doesn't want Marilyn to play rap beats. He wants Marilyn to play what he makes, and then Ye will take parts of that and sample parts of that and use parts of that, like he did [generally when making] Yeezus."[128] Manson band-member Tim Skold has confirmed he was involved in the process.[129]
While with The Spooky Kids, Manson teamed with Jeordie White (also known as Twiggy Ramirez) and Stephen Gregory Bier Jr. (also known as Madonna Wayne Gacy) in two side-projects: Satan on Fire, a faux-Christian metal ensemble where he played bass guitar, and drums in Mrs. Scabtree, a collaborative band formed with White and then girlfriend Jessicka (vocalist with the band Jack Off Jill) as a way to combat contractual agreements that prohibited Marilyn Manson from playing in certain clubs.[citation needed]
Film and television
Manson at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival
Manson made his film debut in 1997, as an actor in David Lynch's Lost Highway. Since then he has appeared in many minor roles and cameos, including Party Monster; then-girlfriend Rose McGowan's 1999 film Jawbreaker; Asia Argento's 2004 film The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things; Rise; The Hire: Beat The Devil, the sixth installment in the BMW films series; and Showtime's comedy-drama TV series Californication in 2013, in which Manson portrayed himself. He also appeared on HBO's Eastbound & Down,[130] of which Manson is reportedly a longtime fan,[131] and had lobbied to appear on for years; and ABC's Once Upon a Time, for which he provided the voice of the character "Shadow".[132]
He was interviewed in Michael Moore's political documentary Bowling for Columbine (2002) discussing possible motivations for the Columbine massacre and allegations that his music was somehow a factor.[citation needed] He has appeared in animated form in Clone High and participated in several episodes of the MTV series Celebrity Deathmatch, becoming the show's unofficial champion and mascot; he often performed the voice for his claymated puppet, and contributed the song "Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes" to the soundtrack album.[citation needed] In July 2005, Manson told Rolling Stone that he was shifting his focus from music to filmmaking – "I just don't think the world is worth putting music into right now. I no longer want to make art that other people – particularly record companies – are turning into a product. I just want to make art."[citation needed] Johnny Depp reportedly used Manson as his inspiration for his performance as Willy Wonka in the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.[133]
Manson performing in São Paulo in 2007 during the Rape of the World Tour
He had been working on his directorial debut, Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll, a project that has been in development hell since 2004, with Manson also set to portray the role of Lewis Carroll, author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Initially announced as a web-only release, it was later decided to give the estimated $4.2 million budget film a conventional cinema release, with a slated release date of mid-2007. The film was to have an original music soundtrack with previously unreleased songs.[134] Production of the film had been postponed indefinitely until after the Eat Me, Drink Me tour.[135] In 2010, studio bosses shut down production on the project, reportedly due to viewers' responses to the violent content of clips released on the internet. The film was later officially put on "indefinite production hold".[136]
According to a 2010 interview with cowriter Anthony Silva about the hold, the film was still on and the talk of it being shut down was just a myth.[137] In a June 2013 interview, Manson stated that he had "resurrected" the project, and that Roger Avary would direct it.[138] In a separate interview during the previous year, he said a small crew similar to what he used for his "Slo-Mo-Tion" music video would be used, and would rather film the movie on an iPhone than not film it at all. In a Reddit AMA with Billy Corgan on April 4, 2015, Manson commented that he had withdrawn from the project because the writing process for the film was "so... damaging to my psyche, I've decided I don't want to have anything to do with it", and further commented that the only footage that had been created thus far had been content created for the trailer, which was made in order to promote the film.[139][140]
Manson appeared in the final season of the TV series Sons of Anarchy, portraying white supremacist Ron Tully.[141] In January 2016, it was announced that Manson would be joining the cast for season 3 of WGN's Salem. He played Thomas Dinley, a barber and surgeon described as "the go-to man in Salem, from a shave and a haircut to being leeched, bled, sliced open or sewn up".[142] In 2020, Manson was a guest star on the HBO television series The New Pope, in which he has a personal audience with the series' Pope and recommends that he visit the prior Pope that lies unconscious in a coma.[143]
Art
Manson as Mechanical Animals' antagonist/character "Omega"
Manson stated in a 2004 interview with i-D magazine to have begun his career as a watercolor painter in 1999 when he made five-minute concept pieces and sold them to drug dealers. On September 13–14, 2002, his first show, The Golden Age of Grotesque, was held at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions Centre. Art in America's Max Henry likened them to the works of a "psychiatric patient given materials to use as therapy" and said his work would never be taken seriously in a fine art context, writing that the value was "in their celebrity, not the work".[144] On September 14–15, 2004, Manson held a second exhibition on the first night in Paris and the second in Berlin. The show was named 'Trismegistus' which was also the title of the center piece of the exhibit – a large, three-headed Christ painted onto an antique wood panel from a portable embalmers table.
Manson named his self-proclaimed art movement Celebritarian Corporation. He has coined a slogan for the movement: "We will sell our shadow to those who stand within it." In 2005 he said that the Celebritarian Corporation has been "incubating for seven years" which if correct would indicate that Celebritarian Corporation, in some form, started in 1998.[145] Celebritarian Corporation is also the namesake of an art gallery owned by Manson, called the Celebritarian Corporation Gallery of Fine Art in Los Angeles for which his third exhibition was the inaugural show. From April 2–17, 2007, his works were on show at the Space 39 Modern & Contemporary art gallery in Fort Myers, Florida. Forty pieces from this show traveled to Germany's Gallery Brigitte Schenk in Cologne to be publicly exhibited from June 28 – July 28, 2007. Manson revealed a series of 20 paintings in 2010 entitled Genealogies of Pain, an exhibition showcased at Vienna's Kunsthalle gallery which the artist collaborated on with David Lynch.[146]
Video games
He's a master of culture jamming, industry trolling and arcane songcraft who nonchalantly shrugs off character assassination attempts, a glass of absinthe in his hand ... Last but certainly not least, Manson's got a whip-smart intellect and the gift of gab.
—Revolver magazine on Marilyn Manson, 2017[147]
Manson has made an appearance in the video game Area 51 as Edgar, a grey alien. His song "Cruci-Fiction in Space" is featured in a commercial for the video game, The Darkness. His likeness is also featured on the Celebrity Deathmatch video game for which he recorded a song for the soundtrack (2003). The song "Use Your Fist and Not Your Mouth" was the credits score of the game Cold Fear as well as Spawn: Armageddon. The song "Four Rusted Horses" had an alternate version used in trailers for the video game Fear 3. A remix of the song "Tainted Love" appears in the debut trailer for the 2010 video game, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and in the launch trailer of the 2012 video game Twisted Metal. Manson's song "The Beautiful People" was featured in WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth, KickBeat and Brütal Legend. The song "********" is also featured in Saints Row: The Third. His music video to the song "Personal Jesus" was used in some parts of the Buzz! game series.[citation needed]
Other ventures
Manson launched "Mansinthe", his own brand of Swiss-made absinthe, which has received mixed reviews; some critics described the taste as being "just plain",[148] but it came second to Versinthe in an Absinthe top five[149] and won a gold medal at the 2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.[150] Other reviewers, such as critics at The Wormwood Society, have given the absinthe moderately high praise.[151] In 2015, Manson stated he was no longer drinking absinthe.[152][153]
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