Born Villain

Born Villain
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 25, 2012 (2012-04-25)
RecordedJanuary 2010 – November 2011
Studio
Zane-A-Due
  • (California)
Genre
Length63:25
Label
Producer
Marilyn Manson chronology
The High End of Low
(2009)
Born Villain
(2012)
The Pale Emperor
(2015)
Singles from Born Villain
  1. "No Reflection"
    Released: March 13, 2012
  2. "Slo-Mo-Tion"
    Released: August 13, 2012

Born Villain is the eighth studio album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on April 25, 2012 by Cooking Vinyl and Marilyn Manson's independent record label Hell, etc. It was the band's first release since the departure of Ginger Fish, who had been their drummer since 1995, and was their only album to feature Fred Sablan. The record was co-produced by the band's eponymous vocalist alongside former Nine Inch Nails member Chris Vrenna, who left shortly after its completion to focus on other production work.

Manson was more involved in the album's composition than he was on preceding releases. It is primarily a heavy metal record, and, at the time of its release, contained some of the heaviest material the band had ever recorded. A cover version of Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" featuring Johnny Depp was included as a bonus track on all editions of the record. The album received mixed reviews from music critics, with several publications considering it to be a comeback for the band, while others were critical of its heaviness and violent lyrical content. It became the band's seventh top ten studio album on the Billboard 200, and also topped Billboard's Independent Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums charts.

The first single, "No Reflection", earned the band their fourth Grammy Award nomination, and went on to become their best-performing single on the US Mainstream Rock Chart since their cover of "Personal Jesus" in 2004. "Slo-Mo-Tion" was issued as its second and final single, although a music video was later released for "Hey, Cruel World...". The album was preceded by a surrealist short film, also titled Born Villain. They toured extensively to support the record; the "Hey Cruel World... Tour" was interspersed by co-headlining tours with Rob Zombie ("Twins of Evil") and Alice Cooper ("Masters of Madness").

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference AllMusic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Blab-Review was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Hadfield, Ryan (May 23, 2012). "Marilyn Manson - Born Villain: Album Review". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2017.