Marilyn Manson’s top ten songs ranked and rated by I Am Pariah

There’s a serious lack of original Rock and Metal hitting the commercial circuit lately. Gone are the days when you could flick MTV2 on and be drowned in fist punching riffs and lingering melodies, but I Am Pariah may well be the savours we’ve been waiting for. There’s a long list of albums floating around in the memory banks of this music enthusiast, all of which are distinctly unique and memorable from the very first song to the penultimate riff. Records such as The Darkness - Permission to Land, Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory, Marilyn Manson - AntiChrist Superstar and Black Sabbath’s debut are just a few albums you can recite every lyric to and hammer-on every note of your air guitar. If I Am Pariah’s EP is anything to go by, I suspect a full-length LP to be just as enticing.

I Am Pariah are a band on a mission to bring Nu-Metal back to the forefront of the Heavy-Metal music spectrum. Their goal is to give Heavy-Metal it's spine back whilst putting hearts and minds first and foremost. As two of its members work at the forefront of the NHS and mental health services, it should come as no surprise that alt-metal legend Marilyn Manson sits as one of their chief musical influences. Hints of Manson's cannon are peppered across the Stoke On Trent's group's anthemic tracks.

So, to pay their dues and celebrate the forthcoming release of their new EP 'Charm Before The Storm', we invited Ben, Dave, and Steve from the band to run through the best songs from Marilyn Manson's back catalogue following his recent album 'We Are Chaos'.

10 – The Nobodies

Manson looks so cool in the music video for this and the direction is brilliant. "some children died the other day..." for me, this line delves into the way that the media dealt with the columbine shooting incident. "you should have seen the ratings that day" Digging into the media and how they plaster it all over the TV in order to get ratings. Musically it is a very stripped back song, and sometimes that is the best way to approach a track with such a sombre message.

9 – SAY10

So many interpretations to the meaning(s) behind this song so we won't dive too deep. Lets just all agree that this song has haunting intro music, a massive chorus riff and hook, plus the icing on the cake… Johnny Depp and Marilyn Manson screaming lyrics into each other's faces. On that merit, it makes the list! - Steve

8 – Deep Six

This track made the cut because it's awesome, and because every time Manson says ‘6 feet deep’ it sounds like he’s saying ‘Sexy Dave’. On the way to gigs, we often stick this on in the car and sing it to Dave haha. If you’ve got a mate called Dave then we strongly suggest you sing this to him and let him know how sexy he is!

7 – mOBSCENE

According to Manson, this is him letting his imagination loose, and you can certainly tell. I feel that Manson’s art took on another beast entirely with the release of ‘The Golden Age of Grotesque’. The guitar is drop D simple yet effective, and John 5 really shines through on this one with that damn sweet driving chorus.

6 – s(AINT)

This 00’s Manson track is not only a clever play on words but also lyrically deep and open to much interpretation. Manson proclaimed that people often think it's a dig at an ex-girlfriend/wife, however it is actually about how nothing is ever good enough for people, no matter how perfect you try to be. Extra points for the explicit video, which is an uncomfortable watch for people unfamiliar with his work - Steve

5 – Sweet Dreams

This always serves as a reminder to us that when you do a cover you should mix it up a lot, and make your own spin on it. This cover is extraordinary in the sense that if you listen to the original, it’s just a different song. The guitar tone on this one is just superb and a unique use of wah in the solo is spine-tingling! - Ben

4 – We Are Chaos

As a band, we found this song very motivational throughout 2020 as it seems to define society as a whole. Apparently, the song was written before the pandemic but is as relevant as ever in current times. On top of that, the change of direction with this album is something we all love as it seems to lean more towards the ‘mechanical animals’ side of Marilyn Manson but also manages to be something completely new. - Ben

3 - Tourniquet

There’s a backmask in this one which is interesting “This is my lowest point of vulnerability”, there is still quite a bit of discussion on the true meaning of this track. The music video is on another level, with director Floria Sigismondi actually going through sleep deprivation to get inspiration for the visuals. When somebody asks me what is the craziest Manson video, I always point to this one. - Ben

2 – Coma White

This song just really does it for me, as soon as the picked guitar at the start kicks in it grabs me. "A Pill to make you numb/dumb...A Pill to make you anybody else. All the drugs in this world won't save her from herself". It talks about a girl that runs from her life, but nothing can help her in her delusions, not even drugs...as they can't save her from herself. It delves into self-esteem issues and really resonates with me - Dave

1 – The Fight Song

As a band, we had to pick ‘The Fight Song’ as in the past we’ve been known to throw a cover of it into our set. Manson was firing on all cylinders throughout Holywood and it’s such an anthemic tune that whenever you hear it, you can’t help but nod your head to the simple but super effective riff from John 5 that opens the track up. “Nothing suffocates you more than the passing of everyday human events, and isolation is the oxygen mask you make your children breathe in to survive” Given what 2020 has thrown at us all, we think these opening lyrics are very apt given the current climate.

Check out I Am Pariah - Suck It Up from their new EP - Charm Before The Storm' released 27th November 2020