In the 90’s, the Karen’s of the day needed someone or something to blame the poor behavior of their children and the youth of America. They chose 2 main culprits, those being video games and hard rock music. The headline for the music side was always Marilyn Manson because he dressed odd, sang odd, acted odd and brought to life an obsession with death, gore and all things frowned upon. After all, each band member is named after a Hollywood icon and a serial killer.
Technically, Marilyn Mansion is guy named Brian but the entire band went by that name for the group and included names such as Zsa Zsa Speck, Olivia Newton Bundy, Gidget Gein, Daisy Berkowitz, Madonna Wayne Gacy and Twiggy Ramirez. Overall, Marilyn Manson is an American industrial metal band formed by namesake lead singer Marilyn Manson and guitarist Daisy Berkowitz in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1989. Originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids, they gained a local cult following in South Florida in the early 1990s with their theatrical live performances. In 1993, they were the first act signed to Trent Reznor’s Nothing Records label.
Their first commercial success came with their first studio release in 1994 entitled Portrait of an American Family. Although not much airplay came from the record, a huge following built up and was taking over American society and the band to like to piss off your parents and have them think something was majorly wrong with you. Either way, in 1995 they released an EP entitled Smells Like Children and on that was a song entitled “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of These). It was the first mega hit for the band.
After that, Karen got scared and you knew heads were going to roll. Lawsuits were introduced, concerts were picketed and senators started receiving letters and calls from women who wanted their dear children to not be subjected to this filth. None of that really worked and the band went on. In 1996 they released their biggest commercial success in an album called Antichrist Superstar. The first single was called Beautiful People and anyone who was a fan of hard rock, loved this song. According to Acclaimed Music, Antichrist Superstar is the 19th most-renowned album of 1996 and the 206th most-renowned record of the 1990s. Take a look at all the awards and recognition it received according to it’s wikipedia page.
Years later, that band is still rolling strong. In the U.S., the band has seen eight of its releases debut in the top ten, including two number-one albums. Marilyn Manson have sold in excess of 50 million records worldwide. Manson says to look for new music in 2020.
Also, in case you were wondering, Marilyn Manson is a pretty good actor as well. He was in Lost Highway, Once Upon A Time, Californication and our favorite, as a power welding inmate in Son’s of Anarchy.
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