Marilyn Manson

HOLY WOOD (in the shadow of the valley of death)

(Nothing/Interscope Records)

The shock-rocker himself is back.

With a knack for offending people through his extreme views of society, Marilyn Manson recently offered his fourth studio collection of intriguing and questionable songs.

Both brutal and melodic, Manson has artfully crafted an album that addresses violence head on with biblical references. The album emphasizes more of Manson’s ability to rock than to frighten, but his voice is dreadfully eerie as always, especially on “PRESIDENT DEAD” and “GODEATGOD.”

Something lacking in the album is his traditional overuse of special effects, which is nice. His mind-set returned to the days of his debut record, 1994’s “Portrait of an American Family.”

Even where the record sounds instrumentally unoriginal, his lyrics and vocal patterns make the album purely unique compared to any other form of musical art today, such as this lyric from “THE FIGHT SONG:” “Nothing suffocates you more than/the passing of everyday human events/Isolation is the oxygen mask you make/your children breath into survive/But I’m not a slave to a god/that doesn’t exist/I’m not a slave to a world/that doesn’t give a s---.”

“IN THE SHADOW OF THE VALLEY OF DEATH” is an acoustic number that demonstrates Manson’s brilliant voice and would be a radio-friendly song if it weren’t such a touchy subject.

“THE DEATH SONG” features distorted bass and snare drums to help it strut along, while a complex drum line and scary sample invade “BORN AGAIN.”

“COUNT TO 6 AND DIE” once again shows Manson’s realistic and creative lyrics. “She’s got her eyes open wide/she’s got the dirt and spit of the world/she’s got her mouth on the metal/the lips of a scared little girl/I’ve got an angel in the lobby/he’s waiting to put me in line/but I won’t ask for forgiveness/for my faith has gone dry.”

The album meshes overwhelming fear, anger and uncertainty with traditional songwriting, mangled into riot music and sickly sweet death parades of self-loathing.