Marilyn Manson - Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Walley of Death) (2000)

   "Holy Wood" was probably the heaviest, most and most successful Marilyn Manson album, that finally gave the missing strong character to the main concept of the band.
   Many things happenend since "The Portrait of an American Family". They tried a way similar to Nine Inch Nails, to change their style on each album; their name became more and more notorious mostly because of their heavy social criticism, that wasn't welcome by those who they referred to; and Mr. Manson personally was blamed by the social media as a scapegoat for murders committed by teens, that is unfortunately counts as everyday crimes in America. Even though the album officially counts as the first part of an album triology, counted from backwards to make things even more complicated, there isn't much sense in the whole thing, except if most songs of "Mechanical Animals" and "Holy Wood" were written the same time when they made "Antichrist Superstar". The musical and songwriting progression develops with time and there are plenty of influences that are having effect on the musicians with time. The album itself had a quite complex concept in general, that draws a parallel between the American gun culture, the harmful influences of social media, religious obsession, martyrdom, and the birth of Adam Kadmon. And of course the indispensable compromise-less social criticism. The main consequences are the same way tragic as heavy. By "Holy Wood" the band reached the top of their limits too, as musically it was their most mature album, and had a strong influence on the main metal scene too.