The High End of Low (album)
- This article is about the album. For other uses, see The High End of Low (tour).
| The High End of Low | |||||
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| Studio album by Marilyn Manson | |||||
| Released | May 20, 2009 | ||||
| Recorded | March 2008–January 2009 at Sage & Sound Recording in Hollywood, California | ||||
| Genre | Alternative rock, industrial metal, industrial rock | ||||
| Length | 72:04 | ||||
| Label | Interscope | ||||
| Producer | Marilyn Manson, Chris Vrenna, Twiggy, Sean Beavan | ||||
| Analysis and Interpretations | |||||
| Marilyn Manson chronology | |||||
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The High End of Low is Marilyn Manson's seventh full-length studio album. It was released on May 20, 2009 in Japan, before being issued worldwide the following week, on May 26, 2009 by Interscope Records. The album was recorded in East Hollywood through late 2008 and January 2009 by Marilyn Manson, Twiggy and Chris Vrenna; former live guitarist Wes Borland also confirmed submitting four compositions to the band, which did not make the album.[1] Sean Beavan, who was responsible for mixing the band's Mechanical Animals and Eat Me, Drink Me albums, acted as co-producer for The High End of Low. Following the release of The High End of Low, which debuted at № 4 on the Billboard 200,[2] Marilyn Manson resumed touring.
According to Manson The High End of Low is about having his "soul trampled on by women" but is also something that "makes you laugh." Manson claimed in an interview with Revolver that the album "wipes the floor with everything we've done before" citing it's "guitar solos and brutal, reckless screaming" and lyrics which he described as "relationship-destroying statements. Some of it is stuff I should have said to my ex-wife. Some are things I've never said to the world." It has currently spawned the singles "We're from America" and "Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon".
Background information
Production
Initially Manson revealed the recording session's for the band's seventh album would take place between March and May 2008, that two Eat Me, Drink Me b-sides may be included, and that he would again be working with Tim Skold, as well as Slayer's Kerry King and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Nick Zinner on the album; a demo of one song was also recorded during the tour (the song did not make the album), with Manson filling notebooks ideas for other potential lyrics and tracks. Also rumoured was a collaboration with James Iha, although this was never officially confirmed[3].
In December 2007 Tim Skold had departed from the band, due to the return of former bassist Twiggy Ramirez, who re-christened himself "Twiggy", dropping the serial killer surname. The reunion was announced in January 2008. Coincident with the announcement, Manson gave an exclusive interview to now defunct fansite The Heirophant, in which he revealed plans to record an album with Twiggy and Vrenna after the Rape of the World tour ended.
In a February 2008 interview with Steppin' Out, Manson described the new album as, "very ruthless, very heavy, and very violent."
On October 19, 2008, Manson and Twiggy announced at the 2008 Scream Awards' after party that the album would "sound more like Antichrist Superstar" and that the recording sessions are "pretty much done." It was also revealed that live guitarist Wes Borland would remain with the band while they toured in support of the record, something which did not materialize. In an interview with Spinner.com released the following day, Manson put forth an explanation of Twiggy's experience working on the album: "This record is the record we always wanted to make and [Twiggy] is writing from a point of view that I've always written from lyrically. I don't think earlier on he had the opportunity to be damaged, and his soul to be trampled on by women as much as me. So now that his penis has been cut off metaphorically, and been smashed into fucking Sloppy Joe's, someone shit on his heart a thousand times, we tried to put a musical face to that." A statement by Manson that the band were considering releasing a song before the end of the year implied that the album was unlikely to be released in winter 2008, contrary to Manson's announcement in May of that year.
In December 2008, Manson revealed the sonic qualities of three tracks. One was said to feature "a coven of witchy girls," the other "acoustic swampiness that harkens back to when [he] was living in New Orleans," and the song Manson plays guitar on also features him "snorting something — whatever it might have been" as a percussive instrument.
Template:Quote box On January 2, 2009, Manson finalized the album's title,[4] and approximately a month later, on February 2, 2009 the record was revealed through Rolling Stone's online Smoking Section to be called The High End of Low. Also in the same news piece, Manson revealed that a music video would be produced for the nine-minute "I Want to Kill You Like They Do in the Movies". Rudy Coby confirmed via his Facebook page that the single had been switched to "Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon" at the insistence of Marilyn Manson's label, Interscope Records.
On March 10, 2009, a blog entry by producer Sean Beavan confirmed two additional titles, "15" and the rumored "Four Rusted Horses".
In a March interview with Kerrang!, Manson revealed that
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