Marilyn Manson's forthcoming album, The Pale Emperor, is due out next month, and he's told NME that he feels more confident about it than any of his releases since 2000's Holy Wood.
"The album feels tied in to the fable of Mephistopheles, where life is fated," he told them. "I haven't felt this way since Holy Wood, where fate has brought things together for a reason. It feels as if things were meant to fall into this exact place. This isn't the ultimate of what I can achieve, but I'm showing proper respect for myself and what I've created in the past. It's what was meant to be."
The album is his first collaboration with new bandmate Tyler Bates, a film composer best known for his work on this year's Guardians of the Galaxy. The album was recorded at Banks' home studio in Los Angeles.
Manson said working with Bates was a natural process and that several of his vocals were first takes and had improvised lyrics.
"This album is real rock and roll, and it happened naturally," he told NME. "It felt like 'Wow, this is suddenly what I'm supposed to do.' Tyler would write the music and say 'Would you like to sing on this?' At the end of 'Third Day Of A Seven Day Binge', you can hear me improvising lyrics, going 'Mm, mm, hmm' while Tyler's guitar comes across my vocals. It felt right while it was happening, and there were no songs that didn't get finished."
The Pale Emperor is due out Jan. 20, 2015 via Loma Vista Recordings. It has been preceeded by the singles "Deep Six" and "Third Day of A Seven Day Binge."
The Pale Emperor Tracklist
01. Killing Strangers
02.Deep Six
03.Third Day of a Seven Day Binge
04.The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles
05.Warship My Wreck
06.Slave Only Dreams To Be King
07. The Devil Beneath My Feet
08.Birds Of Hell Awaiting
09.Cupid Carries A Gun
10. Odds of Even
