Credit: Jiro SchneiderMarilyn Manson's latest album, The Pale Emperor, retains many of the creepy, eerie qualities of previous efforts. However, he did introduce one new element into his music for this record: the blues. The influence is particularly apparent on the album's lead single, "Third Day of a Seven Day Binge." Manson wanted to bring the blues into The Pale Emperor as a nod to the origin of rock n' roll.
"I had essentially hellhounds on my trail the past few records," Manson tells Gigwise.com in a video interview. "This album I think is me...paying my dues and paying back what was owed for the deal that I made with myself in the beginning to become a rock star."
"I had the same approach that I did when I started [writing music], but the difference is I didn't understand that rock n' roll came from the blues," he continues. "So this record is very much the blues."
The blues influenced The Pale Emperor both musically and lyrically.
"There's no real point in writing a song if you're going to tell people what it's about, and that really goes back to the blues," Manson says. "The blues is someone telling their story, and other people putting themselves into the situation."
And, Manson says he sees his turn to the blues, not as a look back but as a way of rejuvenating rock.
"Rock's not dead, it just needs a kick up the a**," he says.
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