EAT MANSON, DRINK MANSON

It’s hard to remember now, but once upon a time Marilyn Manson was a band, not a solo artist, called Marilyn Manson and The Spooky Kids. “The Spooky Kids” part of the name was dropped prior to the release of the group’s first album, Portrait of an American Family, and, well, everyone just started to assume Manson was a solo act. As more and more original members- most notably, bassist/primary songwriter Twiggy Ramirez (né Jeordie White, lately of A Perfect Circle and Nine Inch Nails fame)- departed, this seemed like an increasingly legitmate stance; The Reverend Manson was the driving creative vision behind the band, anyway.

I mention this because Manson has now unveiled the cover art for his June 5 release, Eat Me, Drink Me, and it’s, well, lame. Like all Manson covers, this one features Manson alone, sans band mates, but unlike previous outings, there’s nothing interesting here about the photography or design; it’s just a “creepy” photo of The God of Fuck. Seriously, it could be taken from a magazine photo shoot; it’s that bland.

Someday, I hope, Manson’s ego will stop getting the best of him, and he’ll realize there are better models for what great cover art can be than a Madonna album.

-AR