Marilyn Manson

Career-wise, the other Marilyn is in a helluva spot. Having founded his persona on calculated outrage, his choices for the future range from upping the ante G.G. Allin-style, which would likely result in his marginalizing and/or killing himself, to taking Alice Cooper's lead and becoming a golfer and game-show regular between gigs. Eat Me, Drink Me finds Manson trying to squeeze between these extremes — a compromise that leads to more than a few awkward moments.

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More About

• G.G. Allin
• Alice Cooper

Although some of these lyrics strain to reach beyond the usual parent-tweaking tactics, the likes of "Mutilation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery," replete with shock-free chants of "Fuck you," strike familiar thematic chords in increasingly tiresome ways. Musically, though, Manson tries to mate his trademark noisy approach with roomier arrangements and occasional glamminess — and on "Putting Holes in Happiness," it kinda works. But because he's a severely limited singer, the tuneful goth of "Heart Shaped Glasses (When the Heart Guides the Hand)" goes down about as smoothly as a furball.

Eat or drink at your own risk.