Difference between revisions of "Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)"

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To this end, the album heavily allegories events and figures in pop culture history that have gone on to define America, dissecting their ramifications and implications to examine everyone's participating role in creating the culture that culminated in Columbine. A great number of these references draw from the far-reaching impact of the tumultuous decade of the 1960's<ref>{{cite web|last=Quelland |first=Sarah |url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/12.14.00/cover/manson-0050.html |title=Into the Mind of Marilyn  |publisher=Metroactive Music |date=2000-12-14 |accessdate=2010-08-10}}</ref> including Abraham Zapruder's film of the JFK Assassination during the "Winter of our Discontent" (especially Frame 313) which Manson has described sarcastically in Rolling Stone magazine's Dec. 2000 issue as "[a] good clip of mankind’s generosity to share his violence with the world in such a cinematic way"<ref>http://www.mansonwiki.com/wiki/Interview:Dec_1999_Marilyn_Manson_Last_Poll_Of_The_Century</ref>, Aldous Huxley's death on the same day, Joseph Stalin's quip on the death of a million being nothing more than a statistic, the Altamont Free Concert tragedy which not only brought an abrupt and violent end to the 'love generation' but also cemented America's fear of its own children, The Beatles' ''White Album'' and the Charles Manson murders<ref>{{cite web|last=Long |first=April |url=http://www.nme.com/reviews/marilyn-manson/3456 |title=Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) album review |publisher=NME Magazine |date=2000-11-10 |accessdate=2010-08-26}}</ref>. The latter two is especially significant with regards to the larger issue of anti-mimesis (life imitating art) since the ''White Album'' was thought to have played a key role in the Tate/LaBianca murder case when news media reported that the murders may have been inspired by Charles Manson's misreading of the record, resulting in the formation of his infamous ''Helter Skelter'' manifesto. In this sense, Marilyn Manson draws similarities between ''Holy Wood'' and the ''White Album''; not only in that a traumatized, knee-jerk reactionary American public have used both him and it as an easy scapegoat but also as both expounds on America's obsession with guns and violence and addresses the political concepts of evolution and revolution<ref>{{cite web|last=Quelland |first=Sarah |url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/12.14.00/cover/manson-0050.html |title=Into the Mind of Marilyn |publisher=Metroactive Music |date=2000-12-14 |accessdate=2010-08-10}}</ref>. More critically, however, Manson casts a spotlight on the universal phenomenon of the press 'canonizing' people into "martyrdom", on TV or print media, by gorging America with coverage of their very public death resulting in a cult-of-personality worship from the people. He cites, as examples, icons of American assassination such as John Lennon, John F. "Jack" Kennedy and Jesus Christ<ref>{{cite web|last=Quelland |first=Sarah |url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/12.14.00/cover/manson-0050.html |title=Into the Mind of Marilyn |publisher=Metroactive Music |date=2000-12-14 |accessdate=2010-08-10}}</ref>. Of Kennedy and Christ's martyrdom he opines,
 
To this end, the album heavily allegories events and figures in pop culture history that have gone on to define America, dissecting their ramifications and implications to examine everyone's participating role in creating the culture that culminated in Columbine. A great number of these references draw from the far-reaching impact of the tumultuous decade of the 1960's<ref>{{cite web|last=Quelland |first=Sarah |url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/12.14.00/cover/manson-0050.html |title=Into the Mind of Marilyn  |publisher=Metroactive Music |date=2000-12-14 |accessdate=2010-08-10}}</ref> including Abraham Zapruder's film of the JFK Assassination during the "Winter of our Discontent" (especially Frame 313) which Manson has described sarcastically in Rolling Stone magazine's Dec. 2000 issue as "[a] good clip of mankind’s generosity to share his violence with the world in such a cinematic way"<ref>http://www.mansonwiki.com/wiki/Interview:Dec_1999_Marilyn_Manson_Last_Poll_Of_The_Century</ref>, Aldous Huxley's death on the same day, Joseph Stalin's quip on the death of a million being nothing more than a statistic, the Altamont Free Concert tragedy which not only brought an abrupt and violent end to the 'love generation' but also cemented America's fear of its own children, The Beatles' ''White Album'' and the Charles Manson murders<ref>{{cite web|last=Long |first=April |url=http://www.nme.com/reviews/marilyn-manson/3456 |title=Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) album review |publisher=NME Magazine |date=2000-11-10 |accessdate=2010-08-26}}</ref>. The latter two is especially significant with regards to the larger issue of anti-mimesis (life imitating art) since the ''White Album'' was thought to have played a key role in the Tate/LaBianca murder case when news media reported that the murders may have been inspired by Charles Manson's misreading of the record, resulting in the formation of his infamous ''Helter Skelter'' manifesto. In this sense, Marilyn Manson draws similarities between ''Holy Wood'' and the ''White Album''; not only in that a traumatized, knee-jerk reactionary American public have used both him and it as an easy scapegoat but also as both expounds on America's obsession with guns and violence and addresses the political concepts of evolution and revolution<ref>{{cite web|last=Quelland |first=Sarah |url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/12.14.00/cover/manson-0050.html |title=Into the Mind of Marilyn |publisher=Metroactive Music |date=2000-12-14 |accessdate=2010-08-10}}</ref>. More critically, however, Manson casts a spotlight on the universal phenomenon of the press 'canonizing' people into "martyrdom", on TV or print media, by gorging America with coverage of their very public death resulting in a cult-of-personality worship from the people. He cites, as examples, icons of American assassination such as John Lennon, John F. "Jack" Kennedy and Jesus Christ<ref>{{cite web|last=Quelland |first=Sarah |url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/12.14.00/cover/manson-0050.html |title=Into the Mind of Marilyn |publisher=Metroactive Music |date=2000-12-14 |accessdate=2010-08-10}}</ref>. Of Kennedy and Christ's martyrdom he opines,
  
−
{{cquote|We live a culture that worships sex and violence. We hang images [of it] above our doors and around our necks. The image of Christ dying on the cross is very violent. It's very sexual [and] very phallic. The crucifix [also happens to be] the most successful piece of merchandise ever created. [It] has turned Christ into the first celebrity [and yet] the crucifix will always be considered holy. But think of how many people have died in the name of that image|4= Marilyn Manson: The Beliefnet Interview<ref>{{cite web|last=DeCurtis |first=Anthony |url=http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Music/2001/05/Manson-Interview.aspx?p=4 |title=Marilyn Manson: The Beliefnet Interview (page 4) |publisher=Beliefnet |date=2001 |accessdate=2010-08-22}}</ref>.}}
+
{{cquote|We live a culture that worships sex and violence. We hang images [of it] above our doors and around our necks. The image of Christ dying on the cross is very violent. It's very sexual [and] very phallic. The crucifix [also happens to be] the most successful piece of merchandise ever created. [It] has turned Christ into the first celebrity [and yet] the crucifix will always be considered holy. But think of how many people have died in the name of that image|2=Marilyn Manson |3=Marilyn Manson: The Beliefnet Interview<ref>{{cite web|last=DeCurtis |first=Anthony |url=http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Music/2001/05/Manson-Interview.aspx?p=4 |title=Marilyn Manson: The Beliefnet Interview (page 4) |publisher=Beliefnet |date=2001 |accessdate=2010-08-22}}</ref>.}}
  
−
{{cquote|I think for America, in my lifetime, John F. Kennedy kind of took the place of that [as a modern day Christ] in some ways. [Being murdered on TV], he became lifted up as this icon and this Christ figure [by America]|4= Marilyn Manson - Revelations of an Alien-Messiah<ref>{{cite web|last= |first= |url=http://www.mansonwiki.com/wiki/Interview:1999/07_Revelations_of_an_Alien-Messiah |title=Marilyn Manson - Revelations of an Alien-Messiah |publisher=Metal Edge |date=Jul 1999 |accessdate=2010-09-13}}</ref>.}}
+
{{cquote|I think for America, in my lifetime, John F. Kennedy kind of took the place of that [as a modern day Christ] in some ways. [Being murdered on TV], he became lifted up as this icon and this Christ figure [by America]|2=Marilyn Manson |3=Marilyn Manson - Revelations of an Alien-Messiah<ref>{{cite web|last= |first= |url=http://www.mansonwiki.com/wiki/Interview:1999/07_Revelations_of_an_Alien-Messiah |title=Marilyn Manson - Revelations of an Alien-Messiah |publisher=Metal Edge |date=Jul 1999 |accessdate=2010-09-13}}</ref>.}}
  
 
Tying this observation to Columbine he notes,
 
Tying this observation to Columbine he notes,
  
−
{{cquote|These kids wanted to be famous because they were considered nobodies. And they got what they wanted, the news media [and the American audience] gave it to them|4= Marilyn Manson Interview by Cyril Helnwein<ref>{{cite web|last=Helnwein |first=Cyril |url=http://www.tlchicken.com/view_story.php?ARTid=892 |title=Marilyn Manson Interview by Cyril Helnwein |publisher=Tastes Like Chicken |date=Oct 2002 |accessdate=2010-09-14}}</ref>.}}
+
{{cquote|These kids wanted to be famous because they were considered nobodies. And they got what they wanted, the news media [and the American audience] gave it to them|2=Marilyn Manson |3=Marilyn Manson Interview by Cyril Helnwein<ref>{{cite web|last=Helnwein |first=Cyril |url=http://www.tlchicken.com/view_story.php?ARTid=892 |title=Marilyn Manson Interview by Cyril Helnwein |publisher=Tastes Like Chicken |date=Oct 2002 |accessdate=2010-09-14}}</ref>.}}
  
 
within Marilyn Manson's concept album trilogy<ref>{{cite web|last=Goldyn |first=A.R. |url=http://www.alternet.org/media/11052?page=2 |title=Guns, God and Government: Interview with Marilyn Manson (page 2) |publisher=Omaha Reader (latterly by AlterNet.org) |date=2001-06-19 |accessdate=2010-08-22}}</ref>, ''Holy Wood'' serves as prequel<ref>{{cite web|last=Goldyn |first=A.R. |url=http://www.alternet.org/media/11052?page=3 |title=Guns, God and Government: Interview with Marilyn Manson (page 3) |publisher=Omaha Reader (latterly by AlterNet.org) |date=2001-06-19 |accessdate=2010-08-22}}</ref> to ''[[Mechanical Animals]]'' and ''[[Antichrist Superstar]]'' despite the latter two preceding ''Holy Wood'' in release date<ref>{{cite web|last=Quelland |first=Sarah |url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/12.14.00/cover/manson-0050.html |title=Into the Mind of Marilyn  |publisher=Metroactive Music |date=2000-12-14 |accessdate=2010-08-10}}</ref>. It is worth noting that each album contains its own storyline and protagonist distinct from each other but also linked together abstractly in a fourth larger over-arching storyline encompassing all three records<ref>{{cite web|last=Quelland |first=Sarah |url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/12.14.00/cover/manson-0050.html |title=Into the Mind of Marilyn  |publisher=Metroactive Music |date=2000-12-14 |accessdate=2010-08-10}}</ref>. Each album, as well as the whole, has been written to be deliberately vague so that listeners can draw their own conclusions. Manson, however, has offered this much in the way of an interpretation,
 
within Marilyn Manson's concept album trilogy<ref>{{cite web|last=Goldyn |first=A.R. |url=http://www.alternet.org/media/11052?page=2 |title=Guns, God and Government: Interview with Marilyn Manson (page 2) |publisher=Omaha Reader (latterly by AlterNet.org) |date=2001-06-19 |accessdate=2010-08-22}}</ref>, ''Holy Wood'' serves as prequel<ref>{{cite web|last=Goldyn |first=A.R. |url=http://www.alternet.org/media/11052?page=3 |title=Guns, God and Government: Interview with Marilyn Manson (page 3) |publisher=Omaha Reader (latterly by AlterNet.org) |date=2001-06-19 |accessdate=2010-08-22}}</ref> to ''[[Mechanical Animals]]'' and ''[[Antichrist Superstar]]'' despite the latter two preceding ''Holy Wood'' in release date<ref>{{cite web|last=Quelland |first=Sarah |url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/12.14.00/cover/manson-0050.html |title=Into the Mind of Marilyn  |publisher=Metroactive Music |date=2000-12-14 |accessdate=2010-08-10}}</ref>. It is worth noting that each album contains its own storyline and protagonist distinct from each other but also linked together abstractly in a fourth larger over-arching storyline encompassing all three records<ref>{{cite web|last=Quelland |first=Sarah |url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/12.14.00/cover/manson-0050.html |title=Into the Mind of Marilyn  |publisher=Metroactive Music |date=2000-12-14 |accessdate=2010-08-10}}</ref>. Each album, as well as the whole, has been written to be deliberately vague so that listeners can draw their own conclusions. Manson, however, has offered this much in the way of an interpretation,
  
−
{{cquote|[''Holy Wood'' is about] wanting to fit into a world that didn't want me, and fighting really hard to get there. [The album's deepest elements] are idealism and the desire to start a revolution. If you begin with ''Holy Wood'', then ''Mechanical Animals'' really talks about how that revolution gets taken away from you and turned into a product, and then ''Antichrist Superstar'' is where you're given a choice to decide if you're going to be controlled by the power that you created or if you want to destroy yourself and then start over. It just becomes a cycle.|4= Guns, God and Government: Interview with Marilyn Manson<ref>{{cite web|last=Goldyn |first=A.R. |url=http://www.alternet.org/media/11052?page=3 |title=Guns, God and Government: Interview with Marilyn Manson (page 3) |publisher=Omaha Reader (latterly by AlterNet.org) |date=2001-06-19 |accessdate=2010-08-22}}</ref>}}  
+
{{cquote|[''Holy Wood'' is about] wanting to fit into a world that didn't want me, and fighting really hard to get there. [The album's deepest elements] are idealism and the desire to start a revolution. If you begin with ''Holy Wood'', then ''Mechanical Animals'' really talks about how that revolution gets taken away from you and turned into a product, and then ''Antichrist Superstar'' is where you're given a choice to decide if you're going to be controlled by the power that you created or if you want to destroy yourself and then start over. It just becomes a cycle.|2=Marilyn Manson |3=Guns, God and Government: Interview with Marilyn Manson<ref>{{cite web|last=Goldyn |first=A.R. |url=http://www.alternet.org/media/11052?page=3 |title=Guns, God and Government: Interview with Marilyn Manson (page 3) |publisher=Omaha Reader (latterly by AlterNet.org) |date=2001-06-19 |accessdate=2010-08-22}}</ref>}}  
  
 
A major literary device utilized by the album is the song cycle structure also seen in ''Antichrist Superstar''. Here, there are four which form its framework: A: In the Shadow, D: The Androgyne, A: Of Red Earth and M: The Fallen.  
 
A major literary device utilized by the album is the song cycle structure also seen in ''Antichrist Superstar''. Here, there are four which form its framework: A: In the Shadow, D: The Androgyne, A: Of Red Earth and M: The Fallen.  

Revision as of 09:30, 14 September 2010

This article is about the album. For other uses, see In the Shadow of the Valley of Death and Holy Wood (novel).
Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)
Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) cover
Studio album by Marilyn Manson
Released November 13, 2000 (United Kingdom)
November 14, 2000 (Australia and United States)
December 5, 2000 (Japan)
Recorded 1999–2000 at the Mansion in Death Valley, California
Genre Alternative metal, heavy metal, industrial metal
Length 68:19
Label Nothing, Interscope
Producer Marilyn Manson, Dave Sardy
Professional reviews
Analysis and Interpretations

The Third And Final Beast (Nachtkabarett)
Mercury & The Androgyne (Nachtkabarett)
Holywood Gun Crucifix (Nachtkabarett)
Marilyn Manson chronology
The Last Tour on Earth
(1999)		 Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)
(2000)		 The Golden Age of Grotesque
(2003)

Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) is the fourth full-length album by rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on November 14, 2000 in the US and Australia by Interscope Records. It is a concept album, and the third and final album of a trilogy along with Antichrist Superstar and Mechanical Animals. It also marks a return to the industrial metal style of the band's earlier albums, after the glam phase of Mechanical Animals. It spawned three singles ("Disposable Teens", "The Fight Song" and "The Nobodies") and a novel which remains currently unreleased.

The album's packaging, which portrayed Manson in a crucified pose with a missing jaw as a dual statement on censorship and America's obsession on media martyrs[1], generated minor controversy upon release and had to be offered with a cardboard sleeve featuring an alternate cover due to some retailers refusing to stock the album with the original artwork. Manson described the move as "censorship" and stated that "those who seek to censor my album cover have successfully proven [the] point [of the image]."[2]

Origin and recording

The album's conception and gestation was marked by the singer's three month seclusion at his then home in the Hollywood Hills following the Columbine High School massacre (April 20, 1999), vacillating on "what I was going to do and how I was going to react"[3]. This was then followed by a year of recording and refining the album.[4].

The album is said to have been written in Manson's aforementioned former home which is the same house where the Rolling Stones were said to have written Let It Bleed. Recording was done in a mansion that once belonged to escape artist Harry Houdini[5]. Manson has claimed that 100 songs had been written during the production of Holy Wood though only 19 made it into the final product[6]. "Diamonds & Pollen" remains the only outtake to be released from the Holy Wood sessions, though low quality snippets of "Jack Eats Dinner" and "Compass and the Ruler" were released in a podcast by the band.

The album was produced by Marilyn Manson and Dave Sardy with programming and synthesizers provided by Bon Harris of Nitzer Ebb.[7].

Concept

for a complete overview of the Trilogy see Triptych.

Holy Wood was Marilyn Manson's first album since the Columbine tragedy and the ensuing moral panic, for which the musician and the band served as an easy scapegoat[8][9], being held culpable by various media outlets, religious figures, pundits, civic groups[10] and politicians who recklessly made sensationalist allegations that the band's music and imagery drove Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold to kill their classmates[11] despite later reports to the contrary; that the two even despised their music[12][13]. Consequently, much of the album's content addresses the issue and articulates on American society's common obsession with firearms, religion, and media martyrs by appropriating criticism on what he sees as the three core ideals Conservative Christian America hold above all else, "Guns, God and Government"[14]. He also criticizes parents and the news media for the more harmful roles they play in the glorification and acceptance of wholesale violence in the "mainstream" in comparison to music, movies, books or video games[15][16].

To this end, the album heavily allegories events and figures in pop culture history that have gone on to define America, dissecting their ramifications and implications to examine everyone's participating role in creating the culture that culminated in Columbine. A great number of these references draw from the far-reaching impact of the tumultuous decade of the 1960's[17] including Abraham Zapruder's film of the JFK Assassination during the "Winter of our Discontent" (especially Frame 313) which Manson has described sarcastically in Rolling Stone magazine's Dec. 2000 issue as "[a] good clip of mankind’s generosity to share his violence with the world in such a cinematic way"[18], Aldous Huxley's death on the same day, Joseph Stalin's quip on the death of a million being nothing more than a statistic, the Altamont Free Concert tragedy which not only brought an abrupt and violent end to the 'love generation' but also cemented America's fear of its own children, The Beatles' White Album and the Charles Manson murders[19]. The latter two is especially significant with regards to the larger issue of anti-mimesis (life imitating art) since the White Album was thought to have played a key role in the Tate/LaBianca murder case when news media reported that the murders may have been inspired by Charles Manson's misreading of the record, resulting in the formation of his infamous Helter Skelter manifesto. In this sense, Marilyn Manson draws similarities between Holy Wood and the White Album; not only in that a traumatized, knee-jerk reactionary American public have used both him and it as an easy scapegoat but also as both expounds on America's obsession with guns and violence and addresses the political concepts of evolution and revolution[20]. More critically, however, Manson casts a spotlight on the universal phenomenon of the press 'canonizing' people into "martyrdom", on TV or print media, by gorging America with coverage of their very public death resulting in a cult-of-personality worship from the people. He cites, as examples, icons of American assassination such as John Lennon, John F. "Jack" Kennedy and Jesus Christ[21]. Of Kennedy and Christ's martyrdom he opines,

“ We live a culture that worships sex and violence. We hang images [of it] above our doors and around our necks. The image of Christ dying on the cross is very violent. It's very sexual [and] very phallic. The crucifix [also happens to be] the most successful piece of merchandise ever created. [It] has turned Christ into the first celebrity [and yet] the crucifix will always be considered holy. But think of how many people have died in the name of that image ”
“ I think for America, in my lifetime, John F. Kennedy kind of took the place of that [as a modern day Christ] in some ways. [Being murdered on TV], he became lifted up as this icon and this Christ figure [by America] ”

Tying this observation to Columbine he notes,

“ These kids wanted to be famous because they were considered nobodies. And they got what they wanted, the news media [and the American audience] gave it to them ”

within Marilyn Manson's concept album trilogy[22], Holy Wood serves as prequel[23] to Mechanical Animals and Antichrist Superstar despite the latter two preceding Holy Wood in release date[24]. It is worth noting that each album contains its own storyline and protagonist distinct from each other but also linked together abstractly in a fourth larger over-arching storyline encompassing all three records[25]. Each album, as well as the whole, has been written to be deliberately vague so that listeners can draw their own conclusions. Manson, however, has offered this much in the way of an interpretation,

“ [Holy Wood is about] wanting to fit into a world that didn't want me, and fighting really hard to get there. [The album's deepest elements] are idealism and the desire to start a revolution. If you begin with Holy Wood, then Mechanical Animals really talks about how that revolution gets taken away from you and turned into a product, and then Antichrist Superstar is where you're given a choice to decide if you're going to be controlled by the power that you created or if you want to destroy yourself and then start over. It just becomes a cycle. ”

A major literary device utilized by the album is the song cycle structure also seen in Antichrist Superstar. Here, there are four which form its framework: A: In the Shadow, D: The Androgyne, A: Of Red Earth and M: The Fallen.

Holy Wood's storyline revolves around its protagonist "Adam Kadmon", an abstract character borrowed from the Kabbalah where he is described as the archetype for humanity and the first Adam from which every soul is descended[26]. His revulsion at the world he observes triggers him to start a revolution but it all soon goes wrong when his revolution is exploited by society and falls victim to "Celebritarianism", Holy Wood's quasi-religion of celebrity-worship with a special emphasis on 'dead stars', called "Lambs of God"[27][28]. Adam's romantic interest, the ill-fated daughter of President White, Coma White, is notably referred to on this album as "Coma Black"[29]. She is taken away from Adam by Holy Wood to be turned into another Lamb of God (TV martyr). They would remember her martyrdom as "Valentine's Day". As Adam witnesses this, his disillusionment takes a dark turn and he takes one last stand as a haranguing demagogue, berating the people if "[they still] love [their] Guns, God and Government?". He then seeks out to "kill the king". At the record's conclusion, Coma Black is playing Russian roulette and on the verge of taking her own life. Her fate is deliberately left unknown after the fifth cock of the firing hammer[30].

Reception

Holy Wood received both mixed reviews from critics:

  • Rolling Stone said: "The band truly rocks: Its malevolent groove fleshes out its leader's usual complaints with an exhilarating swagger that's the essence of rock & roll."
  • Allmusic said: "There's so much effort, Holy Wood winds up a stronger and more consistent album than any of his other work."
  • PopMatters said: "The central flaw of Holy Wood is that the power of its message, an important and provocative one, is watered down by its artistic pretensions. While Holy Wood is often affecting, it would be a better album if it was shorter and dealt with its subject matter directly, instead of through the veil of the 'concept album'."[31]
  • NME said: "Manson's comparison of 'Holy Wood...' with 'The White Album' is rather rich, considering that it's basically an elaborate consolidation of ideas he's already explored. [Nevertheless] 'Holy Wood...' puts Manson's critics and second division nu-metallers like Korn and Slipknot firmly in their place."[32]

In the United States it debuted and peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 200. In the weeks that followed, it quickly fell off the charts. It was later awarded gold status for selling more than 500,000 copies in March 2003[33]. The commercial failure of this album can be attributed to waning interest in Manson's "shock rock" tactics, to which the public had become habituated at this point.

Book and film

See also Holy Wood (novel) for more details

The album was originally to be accompanied by a book and a film of the same name which were to further explore the album's backstory[34]. In an interview with Manson in December 2000, Chuck Palahniuk briefly mentions the book and compliments its style, adding it is due for release "next spring"[35]. The book has yet to be released, allegedly due to a publishing dispute, and the film never began production.

Track listing

A: In the Shadow

1. "GodEatGod" – 2:34
2. "The Love Song" – 3:16
3. "The Fight Song" – 2:55
4. "Disposable Teens" – 3:01

D: The Androgyne

5. "Target Audience (Narcissus Narcosis)" – 4:18
6. ""President Dead"" – 3:13
7. "In the Shadow of the Valley of Death" – 4:09
8. "Cruci-Fiction in Space"' – 4:56
9. "A Place in the Dirt" – 3:37

A: Of Red Earth

10. "The Nobodies" – 3:35
11. "The Death Song" – 3:30
12. "Lamb of God" – 4:39
13. "Born Again" – 3:20
14. "Burning Flag" – 3:21

M: The Fallen

15. "Coma Black: a) Eden Eye, b) The Apple of Discord" – 5:58
16. "Valentine's Day" – 3:31
17. "The Fall of Adam" – 2:34
18. "King Kill 33°" – 2:18
19. "Count to Six and Die (The Vacuum of Infinite Space Encompassing)" – 3:24

Bonus tracks

20. "The Nobodies" (Acoustic Version) (Bonus track on UK and Japanese versions) – 3:33
21. "Mechanical Animals" (live) (Bonus track on Japanese version) - 4:41

B-sides

Autopsy

A short film known as Autopsy could be viewed by running a "START.exe" program included in the disk (in the same way one would run a similar program to listen to the hidden track "Untitled" on the previous album Mechanical Animals. While the video, in which a dead Manson has a fetus removed from his skull during autopsy, was originally hosted on the Interscope website it is no longer featured there and can only be viewed as an easter egg on the Lest We Forget (The Best of) bonus DVD.

Album credits

ALL LYRICS BY M. MANSON ·· 1. (music: MANSON) keyboards and bass · synth: Manson · Vocals: Manson · Guitars: John5 · Lead guitar: T. Ramirez · Ambience: M.W. Gacy · Synth: Bon Harris · Noise rhythm guitar: Dave Sardy ·· 2. (music: RAMIREZ., 5) Vocals and ouro-lead guitar: Manson · Guitar and Bass: T. Ramirez · Guitars: John5 · Keyboards and samples: M.W. Gacy · Live drums and siren loop: Ginger Fish · Synth and drum programming: Bon Harris ·· 3. (music: 5) Vocals: Manson · Bass and additional guitar: T. Ramirez · Rhythm and lead guitar: John5 · Keyboards and loops: M.W. Gacy · Live drums: Ginger Fish ·· 4. (music: 5, RAMIREZ) Vocals: Manson · Bass: T. Ramirez · Guitar and synth guitar: John5 · Synth and electronic percussion: Bon Harris · Live drums: Ginger Fish · Keyboards: M.W. Gacy · Pills: D. Sardy ·· 5. (music: RAMIREZ, 5) Vocals and Optigan: Manson · Bass and additional lead guitar: T. Ramirez · All guitars: John5 · Loop and live drums: Ginger Fish · Synth and loops: M.W. Gacy · Drum programming and synth: Bon Harris ·· 6. (music: RAMIREZ., 5, GACY) Vocals, syncussion, and mellotron: Manson · Rhythm Guitar and bass: T. Ramirez · Lead and rhythm guitar: John5 · Loop and live drums: Ginger Fish · Keyboards: M.W. Gacy · Backing Vocals: Alex Suttle ·· 7. (music: RAMIREZ., 5) Vocals and distorted flute: Manson · All Keyboards: M.W. Gacy · All guitars: John5 · Death Loop and live drums: Ginger Fish · Bass: T. Ramirez ·· 8. (music: RAMIREZ., 5, GACY) Vocals and piano: Manson · Rhythm guitar, bass: T. Ramirez · Rhythm and lead guitar: John5 · Live drums: Ginger Fish · Keyboards, loops and ambiences: M.W. Gacy · Insect hi-hat: Bon Harris ·· 9. (music: 5) Vocals and Ambience: Manson · Synth bass and keyboards: M.W,. Gacy · Live drums and loop: Ginger Fish · Bass: T. Ramirez · Acoustic, electric and slide guitars: John5 · Synths, sleigh bells and manipulation: Bon Harris ·· 10. (music: 5, MANSON) electric harpsichord: Manson · Guitars: John5 · Bass: T. Ramirez · Keyboards and ambiences: M.W. Gacy · Drum machine and live kit: Ginger Fish · Vocals: Manson ·· 11. (music: 5, MANSON) Vocals: Manson · guitars: John 5 · Bass: T.Ramirez · Synth bass and electronics: Bon Harris · Loop and live drums: Ginger Fish · Children's choir and canned laughter of dead people unsure of why they are laughing: M.W. Gacy ·· 12. (music: RAMIREZ.) Vocals, piano and pianette: Manson · Bass, lead and Leslie guitar, keys and drum loop: T. Ramirez · Acoustic, rhythm and lead guitar: John5 · Live drums: Ginger Fish · Ambience: M.W. Gacy · Synths: Bon Harris ·· 13. (music: RAMIREZ., 5) Vocals and synth bass: Manson · Bass and verse guitar: T. Ramirez · Guitar and lead guitar: John5 · Keyboards: M.W. Gacy · Drum Programming: Ginger Fish and Bon Harris · Bass and other synths: Bon Harris · Additional loops: Danny Saber · Recorded live February 14, 1997 ·· 14. (music: RAMIREZ., 5) Vocals: Manson Guitar and bass: T. Ramirez · Guitar: John5 · Live drums: Ginger Fish · Organic drum programming: Bon Harris and D. Sardy · Synth and destructive manipulation: Bon Harris · Keyboards: M.W. Gacy ·· 15. a)(music: MANSON, 5, RAMIREZ.) Vocals and clean rhythm guitar: Manson · Bass, warped rhythm guitars and add. lead: T. Ramirez · Phase, lead and rhythm guitar: John5 · Loops and live drums: Ginger Fish · Synths, ambience and keyboards: M.W. Gacy · b)(music: MANSON) Vocals and clean guitar: Manson · Rhythm Guitar: John5 · Bass and lead guitar: T. Ramirez · Loop: Ginger Fish ·· 16. (music: RAMIREZ., MANSON) Vocals and piano: Manson · Bass and noise lead guitars: T. Ramirez · Loop and live drums: Ginger Fish · Lead and rhythm guitars: John5 · Keyboards and mellotron: M.W. Gacy · Synthesizers: Bon Harris ·· 17. (music: RAMIREZ., 5) Vocals: Manson · Acoustic, rhythm and synth guitar: John 5 · Bass and rhythm guitar: T. Ramirez · Live drums: Ginger Fish ·· 18. (music: RAMIREZ) Vocals: Manson · Bass: T. Ramirez · Guitars and synth guitars: John5 · Keyboards and Synth: M.W. Gacy · Live drums: Ginger Fish ·· 19. (music: 5) Vocals: Manson · Synth strings and Ambiences: M.W. Gacy · Piano: Bon Harris ····· Celebritarian™ used by permission

···ALL TRACKS ©2000 EMI BLACKWOOD MUSIC ON BEHALF OF ITSELF, SONGS OF GOLGOTHA MUSIC (BMI), BLOOD HEAVY MUSIC (BMI) & DCLXVI MUSIC (BMI). ALL RIGHTS ADMINISTERED WORLDWIDE BY EMI BLACKWOOD MUSIC INC. · MANSON: ALL TRACKS, SONGS OF GOLGOTHA MUSIC · RAMIREZ: ALL TRACKS, BLOOD HEAVY MUSIC, EXCEPT 1, 3, 9, 10, 11, 15b, 19 · JOHN 5: ALL TRACKS, GTR. HACK MUSIC / CHRYSALIS MUSIC ASCAP, EXCEPT 1, 12, 15b, 16, 18 · GACY: TRACKS 6 & 8 DCLXVI MUSIC ©2000 NOTHING/INTERSCOPE RECORDS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN CANADA.

HOLY WOOD CONCEIVED AND ARRANGED BY MARILYN MANSON
PRODUCED BY MARILYN MANSON & D. SARDY · MIXED BY D. SARDY
ENGINEERED BY GRED FIDELMAN · ALL PRO-TOOLS: GREG FIDELMAN · EDITING, PROGRAMMING & PRE-PRODUCTION BY BON HARRIS · ADDITIONAL ENGINEERING BY PAUL NORTHFIELD · RECORDED @ THE MANSION · ADDITIONAL RECORDING @ HOLLY STUDIOS, SUNSET SOUND FACTORY AND WESTLAKE AUDIO · MIXED @ LARRABEE EAST
ASSISTANT ENGINEERS: NICK RASKULINECZ, JOE ZOOK, KEVIN GUARNIERI AND STEVE MACAULEY · MASTERING: MARCUSSION · MANAGEMMENT: TONY CIULLA/CIULLA MANAGAMENT · BUSINESS MGT: JAY SENDYK · LEGAL: JEFFREY TAYLOR LIGHT · AGENT: RICK ROSKIN, CAA · EU AGENT: EMMA BANKS (HELTER SKELTER) · ART DIRECTION: P.R. BROWN AND MARILYN MANSON · PHOTOGRAPHY & DESIGN: P.R. BROWN @ BAU-DA DESIGN LAB [LA]. · MAKE UP: MARILYN MANSON & RALLIS KAHN
CLOTHING: DEBORAH @ T'AINT · OFFICIAL WEBSITE: MARILYNMANSON.COM
INFO: 7336 SANTA MONICA BLVD., #730, LOS ANGELES, CA 90046

Cover gallery

  • Front cover
  • Censored Album Cover
  • Back cover
  • Disc
  • Tray Insert
  • Booklet 1
  • Booklet 2
  • Booklet 3
  • Booklet 4
  • Booklet 5
  • Booklet 6
  • Booklet 7
  • Start.exe splash page

Charting positions

Album

Year Chart Position
2000 Billboard 200 13
2000 Top Internet Albums 10

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
2000 "Disposable Teens" Mainstream Rock Tracks 22
2000 "Disposable Teens" Modern Rock Tracks 31

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog
United Kingdom November 13, 2000 Interscope Records Compact disc 4908292
Australia November 14, 2000 Interscope Records Compact disc —
North America November 14, 2000 Interscope Records Compact disc 490790
Japan December 5, 2000 Interscope Records Compact disc —

Trivia

  • The front cover of the demo Big Black Bus features the band's first use of the term "Holy Wood", where the words "HOLYWOOD PROD." can be seen on the side of the school bus. The term was later used in a July 28, 1999 post by Manson on MarilynManson.net's message board, which opened with the line "Hello from the depths of Holy Wood..."[36]
  • The term "Holy Wood" was once used in a poem by Aleister Crowley, to whom Marilyn Manson frequently references. It is also used as a mockery of Hollywood, as per the imagery in the album's cover art.
  • There are three different covers for this album: The standard cover depicting Manson as The Hanged Man, the censored UK cover depicting "stains" on its cover, and a alternate sleeve release depicting a jawless Manson on the front, and the aforementioned "stains" on the back.
  • The album's working title was simply "In the Shadow of the Valley of Death".
  • To promote the album in Italy, a promotional CD-ROM called Holy Manson was released to the country in 2001.

Personnel

  • Marilyn Manson - arranger, vocals, producer, art direction, concept
  • Paul Northfield - engineer
  • Dave Sardy - guitar (rhythm), producer
  • Twiggy Ramirez - bass guitar, guitar, keyboards
  • D. Sardy - producer, mixing
  • Bon Harris - synthesizer, programming, editing, electronic percussion
  • P. R. Brown - art direction, design, photography
  • Greg Fidelman - engineer
  • Ginger Fish - drums
  • Nick Raskulinecz - assistant engineer
  • Joe Zook - assistant engineer
  • M.W. Gacy - keyboards
  • John 5 - guitar (acoustic), guitar
  • Kevin Guarnieri - assistant engineer

See also

Marilyn Manson discography
Studio albums Portrait of an American Family • Antichrist Superstar • Mechanical Animals • Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) • The Golden Age of Grotesque • Eat Me, Drink Me • The High End of Low • Born Villain • The Pale Emperor • Heaven Upside Down • WE ARE CHAOS • Twelfth studio album
EPs Smells Like Children • Remix & Repent • The Nobodies: 2005 Against All Gods Mix • Hot Topic download card • Slo-Mo-Tion Remix EP
Demos The Raw Boned Psalms • The Beaver Meat Cleaver Beat • Big Black Bus • Grist-o-Line • Lunchbox • After School Special • Thrift • Live as Hell • The Family Jams • Refrigerator • The Manson Family Album
Compilations The Last Tour on Earth • Lunch Boxes & Choklit Cows • Lest We Forget – The Best Of • iTunes Essentials: Marilyn Manson • Second remasters compilation • Lost & Found


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