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Long Hard Road Out of Hell
From the world's most controversial rock star comes his shocking, confessional and revealing life story. In The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, Marilyn Manson candidly and vividly recounts his metamorphosis from a frightened Christian schoolboy into the most feared and revered celebrity in America.A cross-dressing grandfather, a sexually abusive neighbor, a brainwashing faith healer and a schoolteacher searching for satanic messages in rock songs are only a few of the characters who populate his bizarre childhood.From backstage to jail cells, from recording studios to emergency rooms, from the pit of despair to the top of the charts, The Long Hard Road Out of Hell chronicles Manson's rise to fame at the price of his humanity and his descent through the circles of Dante's Inferno: Lust, Violence and Treachery.His story is illustrated with dozens of previously unpublished photographs, and it features a behind-the-scenes account of his headline-grabbing Dead to the World Tour -- vilified, banned and protested by politicans, preachers and parents alike. In his 29 years, Manson has experienced more than most people have -- or would want to -- in a lifetime.
269 pages
First published January 1, 1998
954 people are currently reading
19174 people want to read
About the author
Marilyn Manson
33 books604 followersBrian Hugh Warner, better known by his stage name Marilyn Manson, is an American musician and artist known for his outrageous stage persona and image as the lead singer of the eponymous band. His stage name was formed from the names of actress Marilyn Monroe and convicted murderer Charles Manson. In 2004, the band's hit "mOBSCENE" was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,668 reviews
May 28, 2018
I have a fascination with Marilyn Manson which has been stirred up by recent news about his deformed skeleton collection and nazi tiles in his library. Although I couldn't put the book down, it was actually much more disturbing than I could have imagined. He is a total misogynist and all-around creep who gets his kicks abusing vulnerable people. His philosophy of satanism/elitism makes him think he is much more intelligent than everyone else, but his writing (even with a "co-author") suggests otherwise. The lyrics, poems, and stories remind me of the crap I wrote in 8th grade. Essentially, his auto-biography is about what happens when you never mature past 15 but suddenly get rich and famous.
ETA: I, in NO WAY, approve of nazism or personal human medical specimen collection. What caused me to be curious was the audacity of this cruelty and wondering whether this was persona or how he really lives. He is a narcissist who thrives on shock value.
ETA: I, in NO WAY, approve of nazism or personal human medical specimen collection. What caused me to be curious was the audacity of this cruelty and wondering whether this was persona or how he really lives. He is a narcissist who thrives on shock value.
December 4, 2013
Over the years, Manson has said some intelligent things, and every now and then I think he's probably a pretty cool guy.
But, whenever I start thinking that, I flashback to the scene in this book where the whole band is gangbanging a deaf groupie who is covered in lunch meat--No, really. Lunch meat.--while screaming insults at her.
I mean, really. If you're going to shag a lunch-meat covered groupie while insulting her, have the balls to do it to a girl who can HEAR you.
I really don't care about his honorary priesthood in the church of satan. To an atheist, that's about as scary as if he told me he was the Koopa Kid in charge of Bowser's Castle in World 6. It's stupid and/or meaningless. I guess that, as readable and bizarre as this book was when I read it in high school, the problem is that Manson just tries so very hard to be shocking. Dude, doing weird shit to groupies was already done by the Go-Go's. THE GO-GO'S.
Ozzy bit the head off a live bat. Keith Richards snorted his dad's ashes. Bill Hicks was fake-assassinated on stage. You've just got more makeup than the average Cure fan, and a healthy appreciation of recreational drugs. You're really not that special.
But, whenever I start thinking that, I flashback to the scene in this book where the whole band is gangbanging a deaf groupie who is covered in lunch meat--No, really. Lunch meat.--while screaming insults at her.
I mean, really. If you're going to shag a lunch-meat covered groupie while insulting her, have the balls to do it to a girl who can HEAR you.
I really don't care about his honorary priesthood in the church of satan. To an atheist, that's about as scary as if he told me he was the Koopa Kid in charge of Bowser's Castle in World 6. It's stupid and/or meaningless. I guess that, as readable and bizarre as this book was when I read it in high school, the problem is that Manson just tries so very hard to be shocking. Dude, doing weird shit to groupies was already done by the Go-Go's. THE GO-GO'S.
Ozzy bit the head off a live bat. Keith Richards snorted his dad's ashes. Bill Hicks was fake-assassinated on stage. You've just got more makeup than the average Cure fan, and a healthy appreciation of recreational drugs. You're really not that special.
February 4, 2021
I'm not even sure what this was. An elaborate performance piece? 300 odd pages of bollocks? Thinking it's legit is just too sickening really. Again. It's been twenty years since this was published...
In fact, twenty years ago was when I discovered The Dope Show. I was a pretty isolated kid in a musical sense. My mum wasn't into music and I didn't have an older sibling to introduce me into anything... or any friends really. But during my first year of high school the older kids on the bus used to give tapes to the driver to play which is what introduced me to Marilyn Manson, specifically The Dope Show. (It also introduced to me The Offspring and Faith No More and a variety of other musicians. There was also that really memorable time The Roof Is On Fire was playing and the driver lost his mind because of the lyrics and ripped the tape out of the player and threw it down the bus... lengths of the brown inner tape streaming behind the plastic cassette as it flew down the isle... but that's off topic.)
Mechanical Animals was my OG teen angst record. It holds a special place. But this is pre-internet everywhere. Pre-smart phone. Pre knowing everything about anyone even vaguely in the spotlight. Not that I'm sure my twelve year old self would have cared. Thank god twelve year old me didn't read this. Or teenage me at all because I had already bought into the ~cool girl myth~, I didn't need the extra, overwhelming misogyny this book would have given me.
And that's what it is. Misogynistic. If Brain Warner ever manages to shut up about how poorly women treat him, being duplicitous and deceitful and generally not telling him every single detail of their lives, then maybe he might be able to hold up a mirror and realise that he's just describing himself. Not once in this book does he manage to treat a woman nicely. At any point. He regularly cheats, lies and is a general pig (there's even a list of what is and isn't cheating... I imagine the list for his prospective partner is probably different) but is incensed when any of the women in his life even vaguely treat him in the same vein.
Even more horrifying is the way it's just casually mentioned how they treated their fans. Specifically Twiggy whom allegedly raped Jessika of Jack off Jill, briefly mentioned within as some sort of "roadie". Covering girls in meat products, spitting into orifices, screaming at deaf people... There's just layers and layers of violation of consent throughout this entire thing. At points you have to stop and wonder if it's just an elaboration to prove some sort of sick point masquerading as art.
There was a point where I might have considered Manson somewhat intelligent. That was awhile ago, pre Dita, pre Evan Rachel Wood, pre friends with Johnny Depp and pre that time I finally saw him in concert and it was so fucking awful because the dude was smashed out of his fucking mind. Whatever little shred of that was left is gone after this. He's just another white dude who thinks his opinions are so revolutionary that he's blinded but his own lack of originality.
Utter trash.
EDIT: 4/2/2021 - In the first paragraph of this review I made the comment that "thinking it's legit is too sickening". Turns out it is legit. This is the person that Brain Warner is. As multiple women come forward with their harrowing experiences of abuse at his hands we have been made aware exactly the type of person this guy is. It's not some act. It's just a vile (racist/rapist/abuser) man who has told the public in multiple interviews and in this book the exact person he is. I regret purchasing this book. I regret having any of my coin go into this reprehensible excuse for a human's pocket. Fuck him. Fuck anyone who continues to defend him.
In fact, twenty years ago was when I discovered The Dope Show. I was a pretty isolated kid in a musical sense. My mum wasn't into music and I didn't have an older sibling to introduce me into anything... or any friends really. But during my first year of high school the older kids on the bus used to give tapes to the driver to play which is what introduced me to Marilyn Manson, specifically The Dope Show. (It also introduced to me The Offspring and Faith No More and a variety of other musicians. There was also that really memorable time The Roof Is On Fire was playing and the driver lost his mind because of the lyrics and ripped the tape out of the player and threw it down the bus... lengths of the brown inner tape streaming behind the plastic cassette as it flew down the isle... but that's off topic.)
Mechanical Animals was my OG teen angst record. It holds a special place. But this is pre-internet everywhere. Pre-smart phone. Pre knowing everything about anyone even vaguely in the spotlight. Not that I'm sure my twelve year old self would have cared. Thank god twelve year old me didn't read this. Or teenage me at all because I had already bought into the ~cool girl myth~, I didn't need the extra, overwhelming misogyny this book would have given me.
And that's what it is. Misogynistic. If Brain Warner ever manages to shut up about how poorly women treat him, being duplicitous and deceitful and generally not telling him every single detail of their lives, then maybe he might be able to hold up a mirror and realise that he's just describing himself. Not once in this book does he manage to treat a woman nicely. At any point. He regularly cheats, lies and is a general pig (there's even a list of what is and isn't cheating... I imagine the list for his prospective partner is probably different) but is incensed when any of the women in his life even vaguely treat him in the same vein.
Even more horrifying is the way it's just casually mentioned how they treated their fans. Specifically Twiggy whom allegedly raped Jessika of Jack off Jill, briefly mentioned within as some sort of "roadie". Covering girls in meat products, spitting into orifices, screaming at deaf people... There's just layers and layers of violation of consent throughout this entire thing. At points you have to stop and wonder if it's just an elaboration to prove some sort of sick point masquerading as art.
There was a point where I might have considered Manson somewhat intelligent. That was awhile ago, pre Dita, pre Evan Rachel Wood, pre friends with Johnny Depp and pre that time I finally saw him in concert and it was so fucking awful because the dude was smashed out of his fucking mind. Whatever little shred of that was left is gone after this. He's just another white dude who thinks his opinions are so revolutionary that he's blinded but his own lack of originality.
Utter trash.
EDIT: 4/2/2021 - In the first paragraph of this review I made the comment that "thinking it's legit is too sickening". Turns out it is legit. This is the person that Brain Warner is. As multiple women come forward with their harrowing experiences of abuse at his hands we have been made aware exactly the type of person this guy is. It's not some act. It's just a vile (racist/rapist/abuser) man who has told the public in multiple interviews and in this book the exact person he is. I regret purchasing this book. I regret having any of my coin go into this reprehensible excuse for a human's pocket. Fuck him. Fuck anyone who continues to defend him.
December 8, 2015
I decided to dive into this book because, while I never really liked Marilyn Manson's music or his band's style, I have always thought he is an intelligent person and I have always taken a look when he has appeared on talk shows. Recently, he was featured on Bret Easton Ellis’ podcast and his take on humanity, American consumerism and the media have never been more relevant.
The beginning of the memoir started slow and used clichés — please don’t describe a scene by saying it was like a poorly made scary movie, describe it so I feel that way, because otherwise I should probably just watch a poorly made scary movie. As he becomes cooler, however, the story improves and so does the writing.
The parts about drugs were honest and I love that Marilyn Manson, contrary to most conceptions of Satanists, is an atheist. He started out normal, became a superstar and then found himself back where he started.
The downfall of this book was that it contained too many previously written entries that I hardly cared for, including stories he’d written as a child and articles written about him.
The best line of the book —
“Most of the time, I wasn't interested in inflicting pain on myself and others unless it was in a way that would make people think about the way they act, the society they live in or the things they take for granted.”
The beginning of the memoir started slow and used clichés — please don’t describe a scene by saying it was like a poorly made scary movie, describe it so I feel that way, because otherwise I should probably just watch a poorly made scary movie. As he becomes cooler, however, the story improves and so does the writing.
The parts about drugs were honest and I love that Marilyn Manson, contrary to most conceptions of Satanists, is an atheist. He started out normal, became a superstar and then found himself back where he started.
The downfall of this book was that it contained too many previously written entries that I hardly cared for, including stories he’d written as a child and articles written about him.
The best line of the book —
“Most of the time, I wasn't interested in inflicting pain on myself and others unless it was in a way that would make people think about the way they act, the society they live in or the things they take for granted.”
May 2, 2021
I remember the controversy Marilyn Manson created in the mid-late 1990s. These were my middle school and freshman/sophomore years of high school so the MTV generation was still at it's peak. There were small cliques of kids who obviously were fans (Marilyn Manson t-shirts, goth make-up and the accouterments, etc.) and then there was everyone else. There was controversy over his satanic-fueled rhetoric, his appearance, and his reputation with drugs, sex, and the Rock 'n Roll culture. Students, the news, the church, and parents were all against him in some fashion.
Brian Warner (later to become Marilyn Manson) is an interesting story but crass and vulgar. He rated his childhood from below-average to average. His story tells emotional neglect (from his father), overprotective tendencies (from his mother), resentment towards Christian values, early exposure to sexual perversions, and the lack of balanced parental involvement that created Marilyn Manson. He writes his perceptions of being the victim throughout the years: by teachers, older kids, organized religion, rejection from girls, and lack of fulfillment personally and professionally.
The first-person writing is pretentious and because he views himself as an intellectual elitist (pg. 168) who is in control. But he displays self-destructive behaviors with alcohol/drugs abuse, lack of self-respect, and a negative self-image. "I was becoming the cold, emotionally crippled monster I always wanted to be, and I wasn't sure I liked it. But it was too late. The metamorphosis was already under way.", pg. 126
I think he has strong narcissistic personality traits because of his sense of importance (seeing himself as the Antichrist), lacking empathy, and disregarding the feelings of others. Throughout the book he exemplifies coldness and feelings only become important they are his own. He consistently demonstrates poor insight, poor judgement, and sabotages his interpersonal relationships with everyone he gets close to. He likes to blame Christianity and society with themes of hypocrisy, male-domination, and abuse/victim social constructs. The Marilyn Manson identity is merely a mask to cover the real Brian Warner. We only get glimpses of him because this is HIS autobiography. Narcissistic personalities hide who they really are and create a different version of themselves for others to see; they fear making themselves vulnerable and allowing themselves to become "victimized" again.
I only read this because I grew up when Marilyn Manson was at the height of his controversy. He eventually petered out and began irrelevant. I would only recommend it if you're a fan of his music and you want to read his story (up until 1998 at least). Thanks!
Brian Warner (later to become Marilyn Manson) is an interesting story but crass and vulgar. He rated his childhood from below-average to average. His story tells emotional neglect (from his father), overprotective tendencies (from his mother), resentment towards Christian values, early exposure to sexual perversions, and the lack of balanced parental involvement that created Marilyn Manson. He writes his perceptions of being the victim throughout the years: by teachers, older kids, organized religion, rejection from girls, and lack of fulfillment personally and professionally.
The first-person writing is pretentious and because he views himself as an intellectual elitist (pg. 168) who is in control. But he displays self-destructive behaviors with alcohol/drugs abuse, lack of self-respect, and a negative self-image. "I was becoming the cold, emotionally crippled monster I always wanted to be, and I wasn't sure I liked it. But it was too late. The metamorphosis was already under way.", pg. 126
I think he has strong narcissistic personality traits because of his sense of importance (seeing himself as the Antichrist), lacking empathy, and disregarding the feelings of others. Throughout the book he exemplifies coldness and feelings only become important they are his own. He consistently demonstrates poor insight, poor judgement, and sabotages his interpersonal relationships with everyone he gets close to. He likes to blame Christianity and society with themes of hypocrisy, male-domination, and abuse/victim social constructs. The Marilyn Manson identity is merely a mask to cover the real Brian Warner. We only get glimpses of him because this is HIS autobiography. Narcissistic personalities hide who they really are and create a different version of themselves for others to see; they fear making themselves vulnerable and allowing themselves to become "victimized" again.
I only read this because I grew up when Marilyn Manson was at the height of his controversy. He eventually petered out and began irrelevant. I would only recommend it if you're a fan of his music and you want to read his story (up until 1998 at least). Thanks!
February 12, 2008
this book was epic.
every single part of it.
marilyn manson is definitely the most interesting character that has ever existed on the face of this green planet.
this book was stocked full of the crazy things he's experienced and done throughout his life. it was amazing.
but this book is not for the people who are weak of heart or weak to their stomach. there's plenty of sad and heart sinking moments but also grotesque, wacky parts that could scar the most fragile of minds.
<3 i loved it. best book ever.
every single part of it.
marilyn manson is definitely the most interesting character that has ever existed on the face of this green planet.
this book was stocked full of the crazy things he's experienced and done throughout his life. it was amazing.
but this book is not for the people who are weak of heart or weak to their stomach. there's plenty of sad and heart sinking moments but also grotesque, wacky parts that could scar the most fragile of minds.
<3 i loved it. best book ever.
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April 24, 2020Well.... I knew this wasn't going to be a whimsical fairy tale, but damnnn there's some stuff in here that is just absolutely heinous...
Very confused about how to rate this one; I love Manson's music but this was just some fuckery my god.
Very confused about how to rate this one; I love Manson's music but this was just some fuckery my god.
November 18, 2008
This was probably one of the most self-absorbed pieces of crap I have ever read by a musician. And I read this the year it came out, after we met him and my friends swoon over him. I disliked it then, when most would have listened to this BS. I know you're smart MM, but you're stupid with women and sold-out after that first album...which wasn't even that good! This guy is NOT goth and his stupid religion is one of the major reasons Christianity still has power. Shithead.
May 28, 2015
Once upon a time, I dated a goth boy. And that goth boy had an unhealthy obsession with Marilyn Manson. I was constantly subjected to his CDs and creepy videos and even had to deal when the goth boy started wearing smudged eyeliner and dying his hair black.
Of course, he bought this book the day it came out and since I had a bit of a morbid interest in the guy my boyfriend fell in love with, I gave it a read.
The two things I got from this book:
1. Brian Warner is an intelligent man.
2. Brian Warner is a total dick.
He has the potential to be a pretty cool guy, but somewhere along the way he sold out. He's very proud of his image of being one fucked up dude, and he tries way too hard to shock. Lame--I can think of a half a dozen other rockstars that have done more effed up stuff than him.
The book is entertaining and it was interesting finding out about Brian as a child and how he came to be who he is. But seriously, he needs to get his head out.
Of course, he bought this book the day it came out and since I had a bit of a morbid interest in the guy my boyfriend fell in love with, I gave it a read.
The two things I got from this book:
1. Brian Warner is an intelligent man.
2. Brian Warner is a total dick.
He has the potential to be a pretty cool guy, but somewhere along the way he sold out. He's very proud of his image of being one fucked up dude, and he tries way too hard to shock. Lame--I can think of a half a dozen other rockstars that have done more effed up stuff than him.
The book is entertaining and it was interesting finding out about Brian as a child and how he came to be who he is. But seriously, he needs to get his head out.
November 8, 2007
Yawn.
I read this merely out of curiosity (a morbid one at that) and was probably most surprised by the fact that I was surprised at how tedious I found it. The Long Dull Road Out of Hell is a more precise title.
I don't know what I really expected to find behind Manson's character, but it turns out that... no, I won't spoil it for you. It's unlikely that you care.
I read this merely out of curiosity (a morbid one at that) and was probably most surprised by the fact that I was surprised at how tedious I found it. The Long Dull Road Out of Hell is a more precise title.
I don't know what I really expected to find behind Manson's character, but it turns out that... no, I won't spoil it for you. It's unlikely that you care.
December 20, 2019
Kill God, Kill your parents and Kill yourself.
خدا رو بُکُش، مامان باباتو بُکُش و خودتو بُکُش
Read
May 6, 2022Edit: I am no longer Manson trash because Manson is trash 👍🏻
June 16, 2007
This book was banned from my home for about ten years...I picked it up mostly to remember a time I held dear and to remember the icon that was before all the bullshit self-indulgency.
It's built like a fan book of sorts, with candid and professional photos, interviews, early writings of Brian Warner sprinkled in and out of his personal narrative. I didn't treat as much of an insight into the man as opposed to the being he created.
His style of writing doesn't flow, but I apreciate his voice. I found myself laughing at his cynical quips and antics.
It made me yearn for 1997...I was too young to really apreciate it and now that time is long gone. Reznor's moved on to things I have little to no interest in, and Manson's committed himself to making albums around his catastrophic breakups...
It's sad, actually. His backlash against middle America and an obnoxious, media-driven culture was almost prophetic, and now it's come too true to be worth complaining about.
It's built like a fan book of sorts, with candid and professional photos, interviews, early writings of Brian Warner sprinkled in and out of his personal narrative. I didn't treat as much of an insight into the man as opposed to the being he created.
His style of writing doesn't flow, but I apreciate his voice. I found myself laughing at his cynical quips and antics.
It made me yearn for 1997...I was too young to really apreciate it and now that time is long gone. Reznor's moved on to things I have little to no interest in, and Manson's committed himself to making albums around his catastrophic breakups...
It's sad, actually. His backlash against middle America and an obnoxious, media-driven culture was almost prophetic, and now it's come too true to be worth complaining about.
March 24, 2007
really interesting portrait of a dysfunctional youth growing up to become America's most hated rock n roll star ... not only a fun book if you are fan of Manson or rock n roll in general .. but the book connects the pyschological dots in such a way that even in 2007 .. the man, or more so, the character of Marilyn Manson is less of an idea, but an accumalation of events, traumas, and incredibly evil encounters. My only complaint was this book was written at the end of Marilyn Manson's "Anti Christ Superstar" phase, and some of his most interesting work/stories actually came after .. hopefully there is a sequel in him ... from the gender bending work of "Mechanical Animals" that some how married cocaine, aliens, and man boobs ... to Manson taking the blame for Columbine .. even to his marriage w. Dita Von Teese .. it seemed like the "Long Road Out OF Hell" could have gone on for quite some time ..
January 3, 2013
Words cannot express how awful this book was.
Antichrist Superstar? More like pretentious, hypocritical, immature douchebag. (Superstar).
I remember kids in middle/high school passing this book around like it was their new Bible, and speaking in hushed, reverential tones about certain passages. (Ah, the 1990s). Those kids were obviously dumber than dog shit.
My imaginary conversation with the author while reading this book:
- You had to take the "Long Hard Road Out of Hell," huh? Tell me, what was so hellish?
You didn't like school?... Sometimes girls you liked didn't like you back, and sometimes girls you dated broke up with you?...
MY GOD! The horror! No man in history has suffered as you have!
- Ooooh, anatomical sketches from medical textbooks! Soooo scary!
- Eeew, you like to take drugs and do stupid, gross things? Got it.
Oh, wait - there's more?
Oh, I see: You like to take drugs and do stupid, gross things. That's neat.
What else ya got? Taking drugs and doing stupid, gross things?
OH MY GOD YOU ARE THE COOLEST MOST BADASS ROCKSTAR EVER!!! PLEASE TELL ME MORE ABOUT HOW AWESOME YOU ARE WHEN YOU TAKE DRUGS AND DO STUPID GROSS THINGS. I WILL NEVER BE ADEQUATELY IMPRESSED BY WHAT A BADASS YOU ARE UNTIL YOU TELL ME MORE RAMBLING, BORING-ASS ANECDOTES ABOUT HOW YOU LIKE TO TAKE DRUGS AND DO STUPID GROSS THINGS!
- Wooooow, you had a deep, philosophical conversation with (snicker) Anton LaVey? Oh, man; that is just sooo cool and sooo dark. OK, I'll bite: What did you talk about?
...Whether or not you'd have a relationship with Traci Lords?
Dang, I can't even attempt sarcasm: That's fucking hilarious.
Antichrist Superstar? More like pretentious, hypocritical, immature douchebag. (Superstar).
I remember kids in middle/high school passing this book around like it was their new Bible, and speaking in hushed, reverential tones about certain passages. (Ah, the 1990s). Those kids were obviously dumber than dog shit.
My imaginary conversation with the author while reading this book:
- You had to take the "Long Hard Road Out of Hell," huh? Tell me, what was so hellish?
You didn't like school?... Sometimes girls you liked didn't like you back, and sometimes girls you dated broke up with you?...
MY GOD! The horror! No man in history has suffered as you have!
- Ooooh, anatomical sketches from medical textbooks! Soooo scary!
- Eeew, you like to take drugs and do stupid, gross things? Got it.
Oh, wait - there's more?
Oh, I see: You like to take drugs and do stupid, gross things. That's neat.
What else ya got? Taking drugs and doing stupid, gross things?
OH MY GOD YOU ARE THE COOLEST MOST BADASS ROCKSTAR EVER!!! PLEASE TELL ME MORE ABOUT HOW AWESOME YOU ARE WHEN YOU TAKE DRUGS AND DO STUPID GROSS THINGS. I WILL NEVER BE ADEQUATELY IMPRESSED BY WHAT A BADASS YOU ARE UNTIL YOU TELL ME MORE RAMBLING, BORING-ASS ANECDOTES ABOUT HOW YOU LIKE TO TAKE DRUGS AND DO STUPID GROSS THINGS!
- Wooooow, you had a deep, philosophical conversation with (snicker) Anton LaVey? Oh, man; that is just sooo cool and sooo dark. OK, I'll bite: What did you talk about?
...Whether or not you'd have a relationship with Traci Lords?
Dang, I can't even attempt sarcasm: That's fucking hilarious.
January 14, 2011
I am a huge fan, really enjoyed reading about the man before the star. I would have rated 5 stars, however, I feel the timeline was too soon. As other reviewers have pointed out all the really interesting stuff from MM came after this book was published.
This book is about him, his journey, not so much about being a rockstar. He is not a typical rockstar. Similar, yes, and he is an entertainer, but he is not the garden variety rocker that is all about sex and drugs and booze, etc. At least in the beginning when this book came out that was the show, but his message is what mattered.
I have met him and had an interesting and amusing conversation with him back when this book came out, and believe it or not he is very shy.
What Marilyn Manson is all about is challenging us to look at what is happening around us, question authority, shake things up, etc. Things we should do w/o the need of an artist/rock star to tell us to do. He knew what needed to be done to get to where he is and he predicted what would happen along the way. He is not just Marilyn Manson the rock star like Alice Cooper or KISS are shock-rockers. There is more to it than that. He became this thing because we needed it to happen. Almost like a superhero comes along because society needs him to. He is there to be a scapegoat much like the president or god/jesus/satan. It is not just for the shock of it and show of it like KISS and Alice admit to and joke about it being an act for money.
Make no mistake HE IS A TRUE ARTIST. One of the very few in the music business. He has concept albums that tell stories, Antichrist Superstar is a story from start to finish of a rock star like him. For example, the lyric "world spreads it's legs for another star, world shows it's face for another scar."
People who criticize him and just don't get it are the ones he targets with the shock rock part, however, there is much more to it, to him, than that. That is just the surface. There are layers to his work, all the albums have a theme and have depth and various art and imagery from those eras mixed in and often times hidden. Why would the guy go to the lengths he does if he doesn't care? He wouldn't. Why would he almost quit the business and become a recluse when it all goes a bit too far, like being blamed and berated for columbine to the point he can't take it? Why wouldn't he just say it is an act and be done with it all? That would be the easy thing to do and what someone that doesn't care would do. But he didn't, he endured it and he is still around and he learned from it and grew up a little.
As far as the religion aspect, I am not going to get into that too much. But I will say he has a message, not a religion. Satanism is not about the devil, but is all about self-preservation. Christianity is all about control, telling people they are not good enough on their own. They need god's strength, blah-blah-blah. Manson is challenging that. More people should question it and think about it and they are. That is why Manson is what he is. This is why he attracted the attention of his mentor and friend Trent Reznor, another great artist (more in terms of music/prouction) that would not have supported Manson all those years if he wasn't an amazing talented artist. Manson was on Trent's label and Trent made sure he had more freedom to do what he wanted w/o the record label messing it up. They have all this drama around them now, and it is too bad Trent didn't try harder to help his friend that struggled with the same issues Trent himself and damn near all stars go through...
More recently Manson got sucked into it all and started with the drugs and becoming more and more like a plain old rockstar. I hope he can break out of that. We need artists like him around. We need more books telling their story.
This book is about him, his journey, not so much about being a rockstar. He is not a typical rockstar. Similar, yes, and he is an entertainer, but he is not the garden variety rocker that is all about sex and drugs and booze, etc. At least in the beginning when this book came out that was the show, but his message is what mattered.
I have met him and had an interesting and amusing conversation with him back when this book came out, and believe it or not he is very shy.
What Marilyn Manson is all about is challenging us to look at what is happening around us, question authority, shake things up, etc. Things we should do w/o the need of an artist/rock star to tell us to do. He knew what needed to be done to get to where he is and he predicted what would happen along the way. He is not just Marilyn Manson the rock star like Alice Cooper or KISS are shock-rockers. There is more to it than that. He became this thing because we needed it to happen. Almost like a superhero comes along because society needs him to. He is there to be a scapegoat much like the president or god/jesus/satan. It is not just for the shock of it and show of it like KISS and Alice admit to and joke about it being an act for money.
Make no mistake HE IS A TRUE ARTIST. One of the very few in the music business. He has concept albums that tell stories, Antichrist Superstar is a story from start to finish of a rock star like him. For example, the lyric "world spreads it's legs for another star, world shows it's face for another scar."
People who criticize him and just don't get it are the ones he targets with the shock rock part, however, there is much more to it, to him, than that. That is just the surface. There are layers to his work, all the albums have a theme and have depth and various art and imagery from those eras mixed in and often times hidden. Why would the guy go to the lengths he does if he doesn't care? He wouldn't. Why would he almost quit the business and become a recluse when it all goes a bit too far, like being blamed and berated for columbine to the point he can't take it? Why wouldn't he just say it is an act and be done with it all? That would be the easy thing to do and what someone that doesn't care would do. But he didn't, he endured it and he is still around and he learned from it and grew up a little.
As far as the religion aspect, I am not going to get into that too much. But I will say he has a message, not a religion. Satanism is not about the devil, but is all about self-preservation. Christianity is all about control, telling people they are not good enough on their own. They need god's strength, blah-blah-blah. Manson is challenging that. More people should question it and think about it and they are. That is why Manson is what he is. This is why he attracted the attention of his mentor and friend Trent Reznor, another great artist (more in terms of music/prouction) that would not have supported Manson all those years if he wasn't an amazing talented artist. Manson was on Trent's label and Trent made sure he had more freedom to do what he wanted w/o the record label messing it up. They have all this drama around them now, and it is too bad Trent didn't try harder to help his friend that struggled with the same issues Trent himself and damn near all stars go through...
More recently Manson got sucked into it all and started with the drugs and becoming more and more like a plain old rockstar. I hope he can break out of that. We need artists like him around. We need more books telling their story.
October 16, 2011
I read this book because I thought it would be interesting; the fact that Marilyn Manson cuts himself with broken glass onstage, dresses with morbid determination, uses medieval apparatus in videos to dramatize his self destruction, and titled his biography "The Long Hard Road Out of Hell." I was greatly disappointed to find that Marilyn Manson is basically just Brian Warner who abused drugs and alcohol and acted on fake sociopathic tendencies like something out of a haunted house at an amusement park,and looked like an even freakier version of the true description of Frankenstein as a result; and he didn't even have a shitty childhood to blame it on. I don't understand where any supposed Hell fit into his story, or why he bothered to write this bullshit at all.
August 4, 2011
Simply one of the best autobiographies I've read, purely for its brutal honesty. Could almost be classified as philosophy in the way Manson puts forward his ideas. Ideas that challenge the average reader to think outside the square. To quote the book;
"The devil doesn't exist. Satanism is about worshipping yourself, because you are responsible for your own good and evil. Christianity's war against the devil has always been a fight against man's most natural instincts - for sex, for violence, for self-gratification - and a denial of man's membership in the animal kingdom."
Although not entirely about religion, the book does cover a lot of ground in that area. Seeing it from Manson's perspective, on top of what we see in the media, even today, it's not hard to work out who the real evil doers are. Freedom of speech is a birthright and religion and politics should never mix. In a world where there is a lot of talk, and while I don't condone the drug use or sexual conduct of the man, Manson is one of very few with something to say that is worth listening to. Required reading.
"The devil doesn't exist. Satanism is about worshipping yourself, because you are responsible for your own good and evil. Christianity's war against the devil has always been a fight against man's most natural instincts - for sex, for violence, for self-gratification - and a denial of man's membership in the animal kingdom."
Although not entirely about religion, the book does cover a lot of ground in that area. Seeing it from Manson's perspective, on top of what we see in the media, even today, it's not hard to work out who the real evil doers are. Freedom of speech is a birthright and religion and politics should never mix. In a world where there is a lot of talk, and while I don't condone the drug use or sexual conduct of the man, Manson is one of very few with something to say that is worth listening to. Required reading.
November 5, 2021
Well, this is confusing as all hell to rate. Such a contradiction. I know it was partly ghostwritten. I know it's an autobiography on a fictional character which is closely related to but not Brian Warner, or something like that.
It had so many personal triggers for me my God. Including a lot of shit I didn't see coming.
It's a mess of contradictions, but also, isn't that what being human is?
Parts of it infuriated me (but also it was written over 20 years ago) and parts of it were genius. And all of it was entertaining.
It had so many personal triggers for me my God. Including a lot of shit I didn't see coming.
It's a mess of contradictions, but also, isn't that what being human is?
Parts of it infuriated me (but also it was written over 20 years ago) and parts of it were genius. And all of it was entertaining.
January 10, 2021
I remember reading this back in high school when I was a huge metal fan, and was all about Marilyn Manson and his music. I wasn't "goth" or anything like that, I didn't paint my nails black and wear makeup, but I was friends with those who did. Anyways, this was a good glimpse into how Marilyn Manson got started with his band and made his way into fame.
April 6, 2020
The boy that you loved is the man that you fear.
I started listening to Marilyn Manson when I was about 12 or 13, determined to wear black lipstick and piercings all over my face and ready to shock everyone in my family.
Now, almost 20 years later the piercings are gone and the only time I might still look shocking is after yet another sleepless night (teething is hard!).
My taste in music though hasn't changed that much.
So I really enjoyed reading about Manson's childhood, the events that shaped and made him who he became and of course the heinous tales of the first tours.
Journal entries, interviews and a lot of photographs added to the experience of diving into the mind of this shrewd, peculiar, extraordinary artist.
I started listening to Marilyn Manson when I was about 12 or 13, determined to wear black lipstick and piercings all over my face and ready to shock everyone in my family.
Now, almost 20 years later the piercings are gone and the only time I might still look shocking is after yet another sleepless night (teething is hard!).
My taste in music though hasn't changed that much.
So I really enjoyed reading about Manson's childhood, the events that shaped and made him who he became and of course the heinous tales of the first tours.
Journal entries, interviews and a lot of photographs added to the experience of diving into the mind of this shrewd, peculiar, extraordinary artist.
March 10, 2022
I read this years ago but do to the current situations that the media loves to blast I often think back to it and the era it was written about. Everybody should read this book! People don’t realize this man’s manager, record label, producer made him who he was in some ways. Forcing drugs and behaviors because Manson had an image to keep up which was filling the pockets of those mentioned above with big money. Mansons health and mental health was of no importance to those that made money off him. What happened when the current situations started happening? They all walked more like ran away with their tails between their legs knowing good and well that they were involved in the 90’s drug induced chaos. This book is like going back in time to the 90’s and paints a picture that those of us that were in high school at the time knew. Young women and young men did crazy sh*t to grab the attention from Marilyn F*cking Manson. It’s all true and if anybody has gone to a Manson show in the 90’s you’ve seen what environment was like. lol
There are several well known names in this book whom somehow stayed clear of accusations from years ago that we all hear about now. I loved this book and find it to be a true description of life as a teen in the 90’s for Manson fans and teens of the 90’s in general. It’s definitely a different time now and mind blowing that the very same women, managers, music buddies, record labels and even friends within this these pages betrayed this man. The amount of female groupies that did ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to be noticed by Manson was insane which most of us know already but the book goes into detail about all that. We still love Manson however some of us are at least a little bit mentally stable and didn’t “choose” to do things or initiate activities that would later leave us feeling demoralized. Spoiler alert..NIN was involved in the craziness as well but nobody talks about that do they? It’s all in the book!
There are several well known names in this book whom somehow stayed clear of accusations from years ago that we all hear about now. I loved this book and find it to be a true description of life as a teen in the 90’s for Manson fans and teens of the 90’s in general. It’s definitely a different time now and mind blowing that the very same women, managers, music buddies, record labels and even friends within this these pages betrayed this man. The amount of female groupies that did ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to be noticed by Manson was insane which most of us know already but the book goes into detail about all that. We still love Manson however some of us are at least a little bit mentally stable and didn’t “choose” to do things or initiate activities that would later leave us feeling demoralized. Spoiler alert..NIN was involved in the craziness as well but nobody talks about that do they? It’s all in the book!
October 14, 2020
Formtive to me as a young person, in that it made me a strictly worse person (more insecure, more entitled, more private, more selfish, more woman hating and more sorry for myself) until I managed to cast it off with a mix of Evanescence on repeat, feminism and antidepressants
May 28, 2013
I thought I’d give this a try when I saw it deeply discounted on b&n. I’ve enjoyed Strauss’ writing previously and Manson’s soundbites that I’ve heard in the past seemed intelligent. The book does not lend itself to either of those things. The material was initially eccentric enough to be interesting but as my senses dulled the book became increasingly boring. Manson is never able to overcome the powerful angst that he feels as a youth. Instead of trying to develop his character, he fuels his angst with drugs and acts of shock. He continually brings up his religious and philosophical studies but unfortunately elaborates much more on his dark nightmares, psychedelic trips, and backstage drug-addled experiences. Throughout the book he identifies and attempts to humiliate individuals by relating subjective stories about their personalities and their situations. I was disappointed to find his account filled with contempt, revenge, and misanthropy rather than a discussion around radical individualism (think Ayn Rand).
June 7, 2021
The only long hard road out of hell was trying to get through this trash. Not often I give 1 star ratings either. We get it Marilyn, your a misogynistic drug addict who can sing well. Marilyn tells us is many ways how he and his band mates treat people and it's not nice. He then tells us how wonderful he is for giving up drugs, however a few pages later hes out doing drugs and partying again.
I read this because of the recent allegations against him and I am now more convinced he is guilty. I wont be listening to his music again.
I read this because of the recent allegations against him and I am now more convinced he is guilty. I wont be listening to his music again.
October 20, 2022
‘The Long Hard Road out of Hell’, by both Marilyn Manson and Neil Strauss, is an autobiography of Brian Hugh Warner, aka Marilyn Manson. It was published in 1998 and then in 2012. I really would like to see another autobiography covering what has happened since. This book is well-written and funny. I found myself laughing out loud a lot! It has many photos that are artistically fascinating. If nothing else, Manson is very photogenic. He is very smart, witty, and a hell of an artist. He also is a lot of “rage against the machine”, for better or worse.
Gentle reader, perhaps you won’t like me anymore, but I think this book is hilarious. I think Marilyn Manson is one of the best performance artists I’ve ever seen. Does he go too far? Yes, frequently. Do I share his views?
*ahem*
Well. Ok. I agree with a lot of Manson’s views, but I am not exactly in his corner in regards to how he expresses his feelings and opinions. Or lived his life. If you haven’t caught his act, and I do mean act in all of its meanings, he has videos on youtube.com to watch. I am entertained by him. But he is a male human being, and when he is given free candy, so to speak, whatever the source or its condition, he eats it as happily as any nondiscriminating black bear digging through unlocked garbage cans in people’s yards. He IS thoughtful about it afterwords, and sometimes he was during, which made him an intellectual young male human, a rarity. His lifestyle was certainly not rare among rock n’roll bands in the 20th century! I personally knew musicians in rock bands. Not what you might guess, gentler reader - I was the kind of person (secretary, 8 to 5 worklife) who had a friend who knew a friend, or had a boyfriend, so I accidentally became a shocked observer of a lot of completely berserk YA partying. Before I was a secretary, I sold encyclopedias door to door. Seriously, for almost two years. I was a lousy salesman, but wow, the things I saw!
Manson uses his real life as inspiration for his art, but he does no social or not much moral editing of his beliefs. He put it all out there on the stage, often symbolically, and over-the-top; this is what brought him notoriety. But the number one thing of what people are missing about his stage act is that it is a staged act. He amplifies what he’s noticed real people are doing in real life through visual tricks similar to what magicians do. His act is obscene and raunchy because life is obscene and raunchy, and that is what he is appalled/fascinated with. He doesn’t want to airbrush any of it. His schtick is about pushing people to see what hypocrites they are, including himself, into the light of day. People love it! His albums win awards. His albums used to end up in the Top Ten of music lists when first released. He made a lot of money for everyone. However. But. He can be truly icky.
One of his visual tricks was to wear leather short shorts, with a closed pouch in front for his boy parts, but he wore a cardboard penis sheath over his shorts. He used a lot of fake blood. Kids and girls were put in cages with parental permission or they believed it when the girls they allowed on stage said they were of age. He really did cut himself a lot in his act, so his real blood was mixed with a lot of the fake blood on him. There were dead chickens in the early days. But animals were legally dead, not killed on stage, although some acting occurred about killing. There was partial nudity. Band members smashed up their own equipment. Etc. Etc. Etc. Nothing was actually illegal, but it LOOKED illegal. Consenting adults, right? Stage performances. He won a lot of the lawsuits which people filed against him for obscenity or the supposed killing of real animals, or of the accusations of really raping people on stage and off. There have been death threats, especially by religious people who in theory love Jesus, God and Humanity, but based on the evidence of their vicious murderous threats and desires for Manson’s death in horrible ways, perhaps their supposedly religious-based love is one of those personal social lies Manson likes to expose. He worked very hard at exposing the lies religious people tell themselves. He still writes songs, does acting bits for movies, writes songs for other acts.
Maybe he is lucky, too. The weird part, which also amuses him, is he didn’t do any performance art that wasn’t being done on thousands of other stages by thousands of other death-metal bands. In fact, that is why he won one court case because out of all the invited death-metal bands with almost the same staged activities he had, or there was some other band ripping off one of his schtick performances almost exactly, his band was the only one which had been disinvited. In early days, when he was unknown, he probably did cross legal lines on stage, but no one cared. Pure hypocrisies of society in his eyes, of course…
The book ‘The Long Hard Road out of Hell’ includes a lot of what Wikipedia also has on Manson, but of course, the book expands incidents into more detail with Manson’s viewpoint represented. He is very hard on himself, actually, speaking in a sometimes rueful, often self-mocking, voice. He is “woke”. His stage name represents the innocent and the wicked together - what he sees as representative of both sides of Mankind. He used to wear the happy/sad mask symbol of theater as a pin.
Wikipedia’s short version of Manson’s life, including recent activities:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn...
I have copied the book blurb because it is accurate:
”When this best-selling autobiography was originally released, readers were shocked: The Long Hard Road Out of Hell was the darkest, funniest, most controversial, and best-selling rock book of its time—and it became the template, both visually and narratively, for almost every rock book since. Marilyn Manson is not just a music icon, it turned out, but one of the best storytellers of his generation. Written with bestselling author Neil Strauss, beautifully designed with dozens of exclusive photographs, and modeled on Dante's Inferno, this edition of The Long Hard Road Out of Hell features a bonus chapter not in the hardcover. In the shocking and candid memoir, Manson takes readers from backstage to emergency rooms to jail cells, from the pit of despair to the top of the charts, and recounts his metamorphosis from a frightened Christian schoolboy into the most feared and revered music superstar in the country. Along the way, you'll hear what happens to fans—and celebrities—who dare to venture backstage with the one of the world's most dangerous rock stars. In the words of Elle magazine, the book "makes Madonna's infamous Sex seem downright wholesome in comparison."”
Like many a ruined boy, Manson went to a Christian school as a young kid and was deathly afraid of both God and Satan for awhile. He had nightmares, gentler reader. However, also like many a ruined boy, and many of us, he began observing judgementally what not-very-Christian things all people get up to, including his own family. He saw pious art(ful) displays we all do to fit into daytime society. He got tortured at school. He learned how people, pretending to be good, were actually breaking bad throughout history. He saw so-called bad and so-called good religious people of all faiths lived their lives without punishment as long as no one talked about the evil things they did behind locked doors. Like most of us, he saw bad people often finish in first place, a lot, maybe getting caught decades later, incurring minimal punishment. He saw so-called godly folk use their godly status to hurt, harm and destroy people.
I think he kind of overreacted in his disappointment, though. He was really young, maybe also very sensitive to justice, confused ideologically and definitely very smart and artistic (I am not artistic, so, I can’t judge him musically for sure). It is possible those XY genes led him into thinking with the wrong body parts in handling his confusions surrounding injustice and in having a lot of revengeful rage, too. Christianity, which attempts to repress a lot of normal human behaviors without much explanation other than that of the fairy tale that God will kill you or love you, depending, can cause an explosion of feelings when children, in noticing all adults are partying on in “wickedness”, feel they’ve been tricked/abused/lied to/used, especially males undergoing puberty. Imho. Idk. I’m a girl. Well, elderly woman.
Unlike some of us, me anyway, he jumped into the river called Pretending to be Decadent out of rage and hurt and revenge. It got him attention, too, something he didn’t know he wanted until he began getting attention from everyone. He ended up drowning in decadence, becoming the thing he hated. After all, decadence is everywhere in fact, like dirt. Ever hear of “kink clubs?” They’ve been around for millennia, including up through the 21st century, and long before death-metal bands were invented. Sometimes people join them because of twisted brain wiring, but often people join in because of trauma-drama, or in having broken bad, or simply having been broken. Trauma drama doesn’t have to be of a physical nature, it can be purely mental, but if mental/physical damage is paired together, a person’s mind can be turned inside out.
From as far as I can tell, and from what he writes in this autobiography, he never was as decadent as Christians and others, especially some important conservative people in authority, claim he was. Number one thing to know about Marilyn Manson - he is a performance artist. However, too much drugs and alcohol did what too much drugs and alcohol does over years of constant abuse. The brain and body become benumbed, the logical and self-preservation centers of the mind shut down, blackouts are frequent, and the Id takes control. (Id - “According to Freud's psychoanalytic theory, the id is the primitive and instinctual part of the mind that contains sexual and aggressive drives and hidden memories.”)
I know the id exists, even if psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud was wrong about everything else, because of my mom, a chronic alcoholic. She was a sweet kind noticing shy person when she was sober. When she wasn’t sober, she was all id. Since she began and continued to drink 24/7 through most of my childhood, I’m very familiar with this frame of mind, and the friends and lifestyle which goes with it. I recognized the frame of mind of most of Manson’s acquaintances, friends and fans, if not himself, too, as he describes it in his book, once drug abuse becomes an everyday occurrance.
Many reviewers note the abuse of women around Manson, by Manson and his bandmates and other male musicians, stagehands, everyone who went to drug parties. If these women were like my mom, and/or were kinksters, too, I’m not sure I myself can call them strictly victims of Manson’s mean antics. I agree damage was done to them by Manson, but clearly there was damage done to them before they begged Manson to harm them. Yes, gentle reader, you read that right. They begged Manson to harm them, abuse them. They fought off security to get to him, followed him, wrote him, demanded he use them.
I’ve seen this behavior when I was young, a secretary, and observing my friends’ friends in drug parties, around musicians, and in relationships. I grew up with a mom somewhat like some of the women who did anything to be with Manson, begging him to hurt them, make them bleed, scar them up. They looked 15, 16 and upwards in age. Even Manson was amazed by this behavior, but of course, it also caused responding reverberations in him, especially if he was out of his mind on drugs and alcohol.
I used to beg my mom not to drive a car while drunk. I begged my mom to stop drinking, go to rehab. I begged my mom to stop prostituting herself for a bottle of beer. She was married to my dad and lived with him under a roof paid for by my dad, she had food on the table, clothes on her back, money in her pocket up to and including her dying day. My dad had good insurance despite that we were lower middle-class/underclass. He had a good blue-collar job. But she would leave the house at night and go drinking, find boyfriends. She’d come back, sometimes days later, with cuts and bruises. She lost her driving license, her jobs as a nurse’s aide. (She could always find work as a nurse’s aide when she bothered to work, often going to work drunk.) She had unprotected sex, and several babies she gave up to adoption who must have had some fetal alcohol syndrome at minimum (Fetal alcohol syndrome is a condition in a child that results from alcohol exposure during the mother's pregnancy. Fetal alcohol syndrome causes brain damage and growth problems. The problems caused by fetal alcohol syndrome vary from child to child, but defects caused by fetal alcohol syndrome are not reversible). She would not stop the lifestyle of alcoholism. She was an adult, and she had more choices to do what she wanted than many other women have. My dad never opposed her. She was both a victim and a victimizer. At the end, age 53, she had a stroke. The doctor said she had holes in her brain caused by the shrinkage of brain tissues from chronic alcoholism. There must have been dementia - but could one have said when it started, exactly? Chronic alcoholics do not behave rationally. They choose to not be rational until they cannot be rational at all.
Why? I knew she had had a bad childhood. But she was a complete mystery to me. I know she lived a life she WANTED while married to my dad. They never got a divorce. They were married when my mom was 24 and my dad was 28 years old. I do not know the psychology behind any of this, but I recognize this specific mentality when I see it and read it.
(My dad was another misery to me, but that’s another story.)
For some of Manson’s friends and acquaintances, business partners and fans, the self-abuse was temporary, something they passed through, a stage of life or a necessity of business. For others, it is what they died from. Real life is stranger than fiction, folks. Band musicians see it all, are offered it all. If they accept the drugs and alcohol that are offered to get through the stress and strain, or feel the curiosity and the excitement of seemingly living large, bigger than life, I think partially they eventually hate/disgust themselves and hate everybody else because of the satiation of decadence. It also becomes all negative, negative to see the life of people around them: they only see people suck, people lie about everything, people indulge their ugly selves and then blame, blame blame. However, gentle reader, addicts and non-addict users are mostly unaware for a long time it is the alcohol and drugs amplifying the worst depressions and much of the darkness of soul, the focus on bad shit, the intensity of the feelings of loss and shame and failure, and most of the bad choices. Abuse of drugs and alcohol become ultimately the only cause of the slide to the bottom. Manson’s book is full to the brim of people like my mom.
Manson lived, and is apparently still living in a creative rock-and-roll life stranger than fiction, although not drug-fueled anymore. I do not know how much of his book is hyperbole, but I believe in the bones of his story and its outlines. I suspect it IS a curated memoir, but if so, it’s because of faulty memory, a unintentional blinkered interior viewpoint and maybe to protect some people. He doesn’t really hide a lot of the self-inflicted injuries to himself and what he did to others. If the incident or memory didn’t happen in the manner of however he is describing exactly, I feel it happened to some degree. He sees a lot of ironic humor in his story, and so did I. People can be very silly or mean even when they are not high on something. Being high can place people in the most ridiculous situations due to induced stupification of the brain and the telescoping of situational awareness, but a lot of people have momentary brain farts of illogic without illegal substances. Religion, for example, induces a lot of stupification of the brain all by itself.
Gentle reader, perhaps you won’t like me anymore, but I think this book is hilarious. I think Marilyn Manson is one of the best performance artists I’ve ever seen. Does he go too far? Yes, frequently. Do I share his views?
*ahem*
Well. Ok. I agree with a lot of Manson’s views, but I am not exactly in his corner in regards to how he expresses his feelings and opinions. Or lived his life. If you haven’t caught his act, and I do mean act in all of its meanings, he has videos on youtube.com to watch. I am entertained by him. But he is a male human being, and when he is given free candy, so to speak, whatever the source or its condition, he eats it as happily as any nondiscriminating black bear digging through unlocked garbage cans in people’s yards. He IS thoughtful about it afterwords, and sometimes he was during, which made him an intellectual young male human, a rarity. His lifestyle was certainly not rare among rock n’roll bands in the 20th century! I personally knew musicians in rock bands. Not what you might guess, gentler reader - I was the kind of person (secretary, 8 to 5 worklife) who had a friend who knew a friend, or had a boyfriend, so I accidentally became a shocked observer of a lot of completely berserk YA partying. Before I was a secretary, I sold encyclopedias door to door. Seriously, for almost two years. I was a lousy salesman, but wow, the things I saw!
Manson uses his real life as inspiration for his art, but he does no social or not much moral editing of his beliefs. He put it all out there on the stage, often symbolically, and over-the-top; this is what brought him notoriety. But the number one thing of what people are missing about his stage act is that it is a staged act. He amplifies what he’s noticed real people are doing in real life through visual tricks similar to what magicians do. His act is obscene and raunchy because life is obscene and raunchy, and that is what he is appalled/fascinated with. He doesn’t want to airbrush any of it. His schtick is about pushing people to see what hypocrites they are, including himself, into the light of day. People love it! His albums win awards. His albums used to end up in the Top Ten of music lists when first released. He made a lot of money for everyone. However. But. He can be truly icky.
One of his visual tricks was to wear leather short shorts, with a closed pouch in front for his boy parts, but he wore a cardboard penis sheath over his shorts. He used a lot of fake blood. Kids and girls were put in cages with parental permission or they believed it when the girls they allowed on stage said they were of age. He really did cut himself a lot in his act, so his real blood was mixed with a lot of the fake blood on him. There were dead chickens in the early days. But animals were legally dead, not killed on stage, although some acting occurred about killing. There was partial nudity. Band members smashed up their own equipment. Etc. Etc. Etc. Nothing was actually illegal, but it LOOKED illegal. Consenting adults, right? Stage performances. He won a lot of the lawsuits which people filed against him for obscenity or the supposed killing of real animals, or of the accusations of really raping people on stage and off. There have been death threats, especially by religious people who in theory love Jesus, God and Humanity, but based on the evidence of their vicious murderous threats and desires for Manson’s death in horrible ways, perhaps their supposedly religious-based love is one of those personal social lies Manson likes to expose. He worked very hard at exposing the lies religious people tell themselves. He still writes songs, does acting bits for movies, writes songs for other acts.
Maybe he is lucky, too. The weird part, which also amuses him, is he didn’t do any performance art that wasn’t being done on thousands of other stages by thousands of other death-metal bands. In fact, that is why he won one court case because out of all the invited death-metal bands with almost the same staged activities he had, or there was some other band ripping off one of his schtick performances almost exactly, his band was the only one which had been disinvited. In early days, when he was unknown, he probably did cross legal lines on stage, but no one cared. Pure hypocrisies of society in his eyes, of course…
The book ‘The Long Hard Road out of Hell’ includes a lot of what Wikipedia also has on Manson, but of course, the book expands incidents into more detail with Manson’s viewpoint represented. He is very hard on himself, actually, speaking in a sometimes rueful, often self-mocking, voice. He is “woke”. His stage name represents the innocent and the wicked together - what he sees as representative of both sides of Mankind. He used to wear the happy/sad mask symbol of theater as a pin.
Wikipedia’s short version of Manson’s life, including recent activities:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn...
I have copied the book blurb because it is accurate:
”When this best-selling autobiography was originally released, readers were shocked: The Long Hard Road Out of Hell was the darkest, funniest, most controversial, and best-selling rock book of its time—and it became the template, both visually and narratively, for almost every rock book since. Marilyn Manson is not just a music icon, it turned out, but one of the best storytellers of his generation. Written with bestselling author Neil Strauss, beautifully designed with dozens of exclusive photographs, and modeled on Dante's Inferno, this edition of The Long Hard Road Out of Hell features a bonus chapter not in the hardcover. In the shocking and candid memoir, Manson takes readers from backstage to emergency rooms to jail cells, from the pit of despair to the top of the charts, and recounts his metamorphosis from a frightened Christian schoolboy into the most feared and revered music superstar in the country. Along the way, you'll hear what happens to fans—and celebrities—who dare to venture backstage with the one of the world's most dangerous rock stars. In the words of Elle magazine, the book "makes Madonna's infamous Sex seem downright wholesome in comparison."”
Like many a ruined boy, Manson went to a Christian school as a young kid and was deathly afraid of both God and Satan for awhile. He had nightmares, gentler reader. However, also like many a ruined boy, and many of us, he began observing judgementally what not-very-Christian things all people get up to, including his own family. He saw pious art(ful) displays we all do to fit into daytime society. He got tortured at school. He learned how people, pretending to be good, were actually breaking bad throughout history. He saw so-called bad and so-called good religious people of all faiths lived their lives without punishment as long as no one talked about the evil things they did behind locked doors. Like most of us, he saw bad people often finish in first place, a lot, maybe getting caught decades later, incurring minimal punishment. He saw so-called godly folk use their godly status to hurt, harm and destroy people.
I think he kind of overreacted in his disappointment, though. He was really young, maybe also very sensitive to justice, confused ideologically and definitely very smart and artistic (I am not artistic, so, I can’t judge him musically for sure). It is possible those XY genes led him into thinking with the wrong body parts in handling his confusions surrounding injustice and in having a lot of revengeful rage, too. Christianity, which attempts to repress a lot of normal human behaviors without much explanation other than that of the fairy tale that God will kill you or love you, depending, can cause an explosion of feelings when children, in noticing all adults are partying on in “wickedness”, feel they’ve been tricked/abused/lied to/used, especially males undergoing puberty. Imho. Idk. I’m a girl. Well, elderly woman.
Unlike some of us, me anyway, he jumped into the river called Pretending to be Decadent out of rage and hurt and revenge. It got him attention, too, something he didn’t know he wanted until he began getting attention from everyone. He ended up drowning in decadence, becoming the thing he hated. After all, decadence is everywhere in fact, like dirt. Ever hear of “kink clubs?” They’ve been around for millennia, including up through the 21st century, and long before death-metal bands were invented. Sometimes people join them because of twisted brain wiring, but often people join in because of trauma-drama, or in having broken bad, or simply having been broken. Trauma drama doesn’t have to be of a physical nature, it can be purely mental, but if mental/physical damage is paired together, a person’s mind can be turned inside out.
From as far as I can tell, and from what he writes in this autobiography, he never was as decadent as Christians and others, especially some important conservative people in authority, claim he was. Number one thing to know about Marilyn Manson - he is a performance artist. However, too much drugs and alcohol did what too much drugs and alcohol does over years of constant abuse. The brain and body become benumbed, the logical and self-preservation centers of the mind shut down, blackouts are frequent, and the Id takes control. (Id - “According to Freud's psychoanalytic theory, the id is the primitive and instinctual part of the mind that contains sexual and aggressive drives and hidden memories.”)
I know the id exists, even if psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud was wrong about everything else, because of my mom, a chronic alcoholic. She was a sweet kind noticing shy person when she was sober. When she wasn’t sober, she was all id. Since she began and continued to drink 24/7 through most of my childhood, I’m very familiar with this frame of mind, and the friends and lifestyle which goes with it. I recognized the frame of mind of most of Manson’s acquaintances, friends and fans, if not himself, too, as he describes it in his book, once drug abuse becomes an everyday occurrance.
Many reviewers note the abuse of women around Manson, by Manson and his bandmates and other male musicians, stagehands, everyone who went to drug parties. If these women were like my mom, and/or were kinksters, too, I’m not sure I myself can call them strictly victims of Manson’s mean antics. I agree damage was done to them by Manson, but clearly there was damage done to them before they begged Manson to harm them. Yes, gentle reader, you read that right. They begged Manson to harm them, abuse them. They fought off security to get to him, followed him, wrote him, demanded he use them.
I’ve seen this behavior when I was young, a secretary, and observing my friends’ friends in drug parties, around musicians, and in relationships. I grew up with a mom somewhat like some of the women who did anything to be with Manson, begging him to hurt them, make them bleed, scar them up. They looked 15, 16 and upwards in age. Even Manson was amazed by this behavior, but of course, it also caused responding reverberations in him, especially if he was out of his mind on drugs and alcohol.
I used to beg my mom not to drive a car while drunk. I begged my mom to stop drinking, go to rehab. I begged my mom to stop prostituting herself for a bottle of beer. She was married to my dad and lived with him under a roof paid for by my dad, she had food on the table, clothes on her back, money in her pocket up to and including her dying day. My dad had good insurance despite that we were lower middle-class/underclass. He had a good blue-collar job. But she would leave the house at night and go drinking, find boyfriends. She’d come back, sometimes days later, with cuts and bruises. She lost her driving license, her jobs as a nurse’s aide. (She could always find work as a nurse’s aide when she bothered to work, often going to work drunk.) She had unprotected sex, and several babies she gave up to adoption who must have had some fetal alcohol syndrome at minimum (Fetal alcohol syndrome is a condition in a child that results from alcohol exposure during the mother's pregnancy. Fetal alcohol syndrome causes brain damage and growth problems. The problems caused by fetal alcohol syndrome vary from child to child, but defects caused by fetal alcohol syndrome are not reversible). She would not stop the lifestyle of alcoholism. She was an adult, and she had more choices to do what she wanted than many other women have. My dad never opposed her. She was both a victim and a victimizer. At the end, age 53, she had a stroke. The doctor said she had holes in her brain caused by the shrinkage of brain tissues from chronic alcoholism. There must have been dementia - but could one have said when it started, exactly? Chronic alcoholics do not behave rationally. They choose to not be rational until they cannot be rational at all.
Why? I knew she had had a bad childhood. But she was a complete mystery to me. I know she lived a life she WANTED while married to my dad. They never got a divorce. They were married when my mom was 24 and my dad was 28 years old. I do not know the psychology behind any of this, but I recognize this specific mentality when I see it and read it.
(My dad was another misery to me, but that’s another story.)
For some of Manson’s friends and acquaintances, business partners and fans, the self-abuse was temporary, something they passed through, a stage of life or a necessity of business. For others, it is what they died from. Real life is stranger than fiction, folks. Band musicians see it all, are offered it all. If they accept the drugs and alcohol that are offered to get through the stress and strain, or feel the curiosity and the excitement of seemingly living large, bigger than life, I think partially they eventually hate/disgust themselves and hate everybody else because of the satiation of decadence. It also becomes all negative, negative to see the life of people around them: they only see people suck, people lie about everything, people indulge their ugly selves and then blame, blame blame. However, gentle reader, addicts and non-addict users are mostly unaware for a long time it is the alcohol and drugs amplifying the worst depressions and much of the darkness of soul, the focus on bad shit, the intensity of the feelings of loss and shame and failure, and most of the bad choices. Abuse of drugs and alcohol become ultimately the only cause of the slide to the bottom. Manson’s book is full to the brim of people like my mom.
Manson lived, and is apparently still living in a creative rock-and-roll life stranger than fiction, although not drug-fueled anymore. I do not know how much of his book is hyperbole, but I believe in the bones of his story and its outlines. I suspect it IS a curated memoir, but if so, it’s because of faulty memory, a unintentional blinkered interior viewpoint and maybe to protect some people. He doesn’t really hide a lot of the self-inflicted injuries to himself and what he did to others. If the incident or memory didn’t happen in the manner of however he is describing exactly, I feel it happened to some degree. He sees a lot of ironic humor in his story, and so did I. People can be very silly or mean even when they are not high on something. Being high can place people in the most ridiculous situations due to induced stupification of the brain and the telescoping of situational awareness, but a lot of people have momentary brain farts of illogic without illegal substances. Religion, for example, induces a lot of stupification of the brain all by itself.
December 9, 2022
Well, I finally did it. I read the Neil Strauss/Marilyn Manson book.
Remember in the 90s when Marilyn Manson made being a scary incel cool? Yeah. I didn't actually realize that's what was happening until now.
I didn't pay much attention to Marilyn Manson in the 90s despite kind of being into his music. This book has dramatically changed my perception. I'd always heard Marilyn Manson was an act and Brian Warner was actually a really smart/cool/nice guy, so I filled in the blanks and assumed a lot of things about him and what he was all about. I thought Marilyn was basically a character Brian created to fuck with conservatives, but that he was essentially a normal dude when he wasn't running around in a latex suit with fake tits.
Now I'm realizing oh, he was an arrogant edge lord who took shit way too far and called it art. And there's two ways to take this book: either entirely at face value as the true story of Brian Warner or as a performance of Marilyn Manson the character. So either he's a truly fucked up person, or he's pretending to be a truly fucked up person, which makes him a pretty fucked up person because I can't see the value in taking it this far.
Here are my notes:
-admits to repeatedly physically assaulting his mother, says he repeatedly choked her until she cried and left a gash in her face with a broken bottle. There's no real reason provided for this.
-admits to plotting to kill his exgirlfriend, to the point of going to her house with the intent to kill her. Only stopped because there was a witness.
-admits to making rape threats and death threats toward women he knows irl
-considered murdering his bandmate by intentionally causing him choke on his own vomit
-admits to raping a girl and assaulting several others
Not in my notes:
-shit and piss play
-includes a short story he wrote about killing his fictional sister and having sex with her dead body
-tons of other shit
It's hard to respond to this book because if it's meant to be extremely over exaggerated and edgy then I look stupid for taking it seriously. But if it's not meant to be a honest reflection of Brian Warner then what is it meant to accomplish?
I feel like the appeal of this whole thing was supposed to be "Wow he's really putting it all out there. He's so honest. It's so brave for him to talk about his deepest darkest secrets."
But 23 years later it's like wow, you really just put this all out there. That was stupid. Kind of hard to refute those abuse claims now.
Btw, at the very end he's like, "I realize I was wrong to attack my mother and plot several murders." And it's like man, you can't just cram all your personal growth into a paragraph or two after your 250+ page confession.
That last bit was probably meant to add to this idea that, wow, so honest. So real. He was that guy but not anymore. He's grown! Don't get mad! He's a changed man! Don't punish his honesty!
Now it's incredibly obvious he wrote all this to titillate readers. You're either supposed to be excited or outraged. And being outraged just adds to the excitement. But with 2022 eyes it's just sad. It's sad if it's true and it's sad if it's not.
Remember in the 90s when Marilyn Manson made being a scary incel cool? Yeah. I didn't actually realize that's what was happening until now.
I didn't pay much attention to Marilyn Manson in the 90s despite kind of being into his music. This book has dramatically changed my perception. I'd always heard Marilyn Manson was an act and Brian Warner was actually a really smart/cool/nice guy, so I filled in the blanks and assumed a lot of things about him and what he was all about. I thought Marilyn was basically a character Brian created to fuck with conservatives, but that he was essentially a normal dude when he wasn't running around in a latex suit with fake tits.
Now I'm realizing oh, he was an arrogant edge lord who took shit way too far and called it art. And there's two ways to take this book: either entirely at face value as the true story of Brian Warner or as a performance of Marilyn Manson the character. So either he's a truly fucked up person, or he's pretending to be a truly fucked up person, which makes him a pretty fucked up person because I can't see the value in taking it this far.
Here are my notes:
-admits to repeatedly physically assaulting his mother, says he repeatedly choked her until she cried and left a gash in her face with a broken bottle. There's no real reason provided for this.
-admits to plotting to kill his exgirlfriend, to the point of going to her house with the intent to kill her. Only stopped because there was a witness.
-admits to making rape threats and death threats toward women he knows irl
-considered murdering his bandmate by intentionally causing him choke on his own vomit
-admits to raping a girl and assaulting several others
Not in my notes:
-shit and piss play
-includes a short story he wrote about killing his fictional sister and having sex with her dead body
-tons of other shit
It's hard to respond to this book because if it's meant to be extremely over exaggerated and edgy then I look stupid for taking it seriously. But if it's not meant to be a honest reflection of Brian Warner then what is it meant to accomplish?
I feel like the appeal of this whole thing was supposed to be "Wow he's really putting it all out there. He's so honest. It's so brave for him to talk about his deepest darkest secrets."
But 23 years later it's like wow, you really just put this all out there. That was stupid. Kind of hard to refute those abuse claims now.
Btw, at the very end he's like, "I realize I was wrong to attack my mother and plot several murders." And it's like man, you can't just cram all your personal growth into a paragraph or two after your 250+ page confession.
That last bit was probably meant to add to this idea that, wow, so honest. So real. He was that guy but not anymore. He's grown! Don't get mad! He's a changed man! Don't punish his honesty!
Now it's incredibly obvious he wrote all this to titillate readers. You're either supposed to be excited or outraged. And being outraged just adds to the excitement. But with 2022 eyes it's just sad. It's sad if it's true and it's sad if it's not.
December 16, 2020
Marilyn Manson in his own words.
The book is surprising. More than a traditional autobiography, he uses here writing as an outlet to complement his music. He is indeed not telling his life chronologically, but, open himself up about his past only to better shed light on how he became what he is. In a word, he reveals himself like one would reveal a unsettling piece of art; in his case, a self-analysis all at once sickening, violent, reflecting a man confessing being 'ravaged by drugs, tiredness, paranoia and depression', but displaying his failure and weaknesses in such a theatrical manner that he manages to turn it all into a fascinating show.
The whole is shocking, annoying, repulsive, exposing sickening behaviours at times; but among this drugged narrative are also nice pearls of wit showing Marilyn Manson for what he is: a pure product of a certain America -conservative, bigot, hypocrite, violent. I for one in any case, who love his music but dislike the man (for being a drug addict with no restraint), found the book interesting enough to be a nice curiosity.
Interspersed with crucial encounters with Trent Reznor and Anton Lavey, this journey through Hell (ending with the coming out of the 'Antichrist Superstar' album) will, I think, please the fans while showing others that beyond Satanism and drugs Manson remains a clever guy who knows exactly how to push where America hurts the most. I like his music (I was a big fan when I was a teen, I confess having outgrown him a bit...) but the guy disgusted me so much at times (some of his fans have serious issues, and he shows himself using and abusing them mercilessly backstage -it's crass!) that I can't give this more than such a low rating. If you dare...
The book is surprising. More than a traditional autobiography, he uses here writing as an outlet to complement his music. He is indeed not telling his life chronologically, but, open himself up about his past only to better shed light on how he became what he is. In a word, he reveals himself like one would reveal a unsettling piece of art; in his case, a self-analysis all at once sickening, violent, reflecting a man confessing being 'ravaged by drugs, tiredness, paranoia and depression', but displaying his failure and weaknesses in such a theatrical manner that he manages to turn it all into a fascinating show.
The whole is shocking, annoying, repulsive, exposing sickening behaviours at times; but among this drugged narrative are also nice pearls of wit showing Marilyn Manson for what he is: a pure product of a certain America -conservative, bigot, hypocrite, violent. I for one in any case, who love his music but dislike the man (for being a drug addict with no restraint), found the book interesting enough to be a nice curiosity.
Interspersed with crucial encounters with Trent Reznor and Anton Lavey, this journey through Hell (ending with the coming out of the 'Antichrist Superstar' album) will, I think, please the fans while showing others that beyond Satanism and drugs Manson remains a clever guy who knows exactly how to push where America hurts the most. I like his music (I was a big fan when I was a teen, I confess having outgrown him a bit...) but the guy disgusted me so much at times (some of his fans have serious issues, and he shows himself using and abusing them mercilessly backstage -it's crass!) that I can't give this more than such a low rating. If you dare...
April 28, 2009
I loved this book.
I love Marilyn Manson in general.
He is very intricate and the people who don't understand him are just too obsorbed in thier own perfect lives to consider the scary but amazing expericences he's had.
He's been through more than most people on this planet, and is still an interesting and genuine guy.
Anyways, the book is a detailed description is his early career and how he got to be who he is.
I found, for a man with no previous experience as an author, his writing was exceptional.
Of course there was papragraphs, or phrases that make you cringe, but it's Marilyn Manson, and if you can't start reading the book with that in mind, I don't recommend you even try.
Hail Marilyn :)
I love Marilyn Manson in general.
He is very intricate and the people who don't understand him are just too obsorbed in thier own perfect lives to consider the scary but amazing expericences he's had.
He's been through more than most people on this planet, and is still an interesting and genuine guy.
Anyways, the book is a detailed description is his early career and how he got to be who he is.
I found, for a man with no previous experience as an author, his writing was exceptional.
Of course there was papragraphs, or phrases that make you cringe, but it's Marilyn Manson, and if you can't start reading the book with that in mind, I don't recommend you even try.
Hail Marilyn :)
November 14, 2011
Even if you don’t like Marilyn Manson as a musician or person, you have to give him respect for being able to write an autobiography that goes into many personal issues that has made him who he is. Manson talks a great deal about his childhood which many would find the facts disturbing to read, but Manson doesn’t leave out any details. Understanding his childhood I think will help people understand him and I think that is his intention. He talks about everything from rape and molestation to drugs and corrupt adults in his life. The struggle that got him to where he is today and the path he took to get there. He talks about behind the scenes in the life of “rock star,” dealing with obsessed fans, authority. Manson isn’t afraid to offend people and many of the things he does is simply for shock value but Manson isn’t just a person, he has created a character out of himself and a brand, much like Lady Gaga does today. It is hard to imagine Manson as a regular person after reading his autobiography and all of the things that he has been though, but these are the things that makes him a person. Manson writes in such a demented and distasteful manner that is absolutely appalling, yet you find it hard to put his book down. “Our after-school forays into the cellar became half teenage boys wanting to find pornography to jerk off to and half a morbid fascination with our grandfather.” Manson isn’t afraid to tell to truth, he is blunt and honest, if I ever write a memoir or autobiography, and I hope I will have the courage to not leave out a detail, even if it is something that I am ashamed of.
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