JEORDIE WHITE | BASE TENDENCIES
Press
Marilyn Manson will be spending the early part of this year working on their next album, which should be released early this summer. Like the band's 1996 hit Antichrist Superstar, which was practically produced by Trent Reznor, the forthcoming album will feature a wealth of imported talent, with particularly prominent contributions by Smashing Pumpkins front man Billy Corgan. “Right now, the Pumpkins are doing their record in L.A. as well, so we've been exchanging someideas and spending some time together,” says Manson guitarist Twiggy Ramirez. “We hope he'll have some input in the next record, in terms of production assistance and playing. We're also going to get some help from the Dust Brothers on some stuff. But we're actually producing the record ourselves.”
Corgan’s relationship with Marilyn Manson began last year when the former appeared backstage at a Manson show bearing a gift of sea monkeys. “We thought it was the coolest thing, and we've become really good friends since then,” says Ramirez. “It's probably best left unknown what goes on at the house on the nights when we get together with the Smashing Pumpkins. The other night, we pulled out some old records by the Isley Brothers and Michael Jackson, and listened to them on 45 speed and taped masking tape all over our heads. James Iha was wearing a fake moustache. Other times, we've all gone out in disguises. We like to dress like each other. I’ll put on a bald cap over my hair and a dress like Billy, and Billy will put a dreadlocks wig on.”
Other artists besides Corgan and the Dust Brothers may contribute to the new Marilyn Manson album as we, but Ramirez refuses to go into details. However, one thing seems certain: Reznor will not be involved. “He doesn't return our phone calls, so he hasn't had any input on this record at all,” says Ramirez. “We don't care, though. What we learned from Antichrist Superstar was great, but there's no reason to repeat ourselves. We've taken what we've learned and moved on.”
At present, Marilyn Manson have recorded demos for 20 new songs, and they're in the process of weeding out the detritus and writing more.
“Expect the unexpected, as always,” he teases. “We've always managed to reinvent ourselves with each record and I think we're successfully doing that right now.” He pauses, then reconsiders. “Actually, I think this is the record that should have come before Antichrist Superstar. Its not a sequel, but you could possibly consider it a prequel. Thematically, this will be what happened before Antichrist Superstar was born.”