Image Credit: Delaney Bishop

Marilyn Manson is back with a new album called Born Villain, and the first single “No Reflection” just dug itself out of a shallow grave to walk the Earth.

Manson hasn’t been gone for very long (the band’s last album, The High End of Low, came out in 2009), but it has been a while since he has been a significant part of the pop culture conversation. The last time the group’s titular singer made a big impact was with 2003′s The Golden Age of Grotesque, and even then it seemed like the seams were showing and the decline was inevitable (though it should be noted that The Golden Age of Grotesque is wildly underrated, with a number of never-were anthems like “Ka-Boom Ka-Boom”).

There was also a moment when the video for “Heart-Shaped Glasses” looked like the return of scandalous Manson, but it was processed by the online news machine in a day and pretty much never heard from again. Considering the relatively small venues booked on Marilyn Manson’s upcoming tour, they seem closer to becoming the door-to-door fear factory once lampooned in The Onion.

But is “No Reflection” the way back for Manson, both the band and the man? The guitars are still loud, the beat still propulsive, and the chorus pretty melodic. Give it a listen below. READ FULL STORY »