Marilyn Manson has always been a musical chameleon. When he released his debut album, Portrait of an American Family, with his eponymous band in 1994, the man born Brian Warner was a protégé of Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor, and his dark, heavy industrial rock was clearly NIN-influenced. (It helped that Reznor produced the album.)
But soon after breaking through with Eurythmics cover “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” from 1995 EP Smells Like Children, Manson started expanding his sound, still working with Reznor but embracing epic, hook-filled arena rock on intricate 1996 concept album Antichrist Superstar. He followed that up with the glam-influenced Mechanical Animals in 1998, and he’s continued to grow and change on subsequent releases. New album The Pale Emperor has gotten Manson his most glowing reviews in years (hard rock magazine Metal Hammer called it his “best for a decade”).
Manson may have garnered attention early in his career for being deliberately shocking, but he’s proven over time that he has far more to offer. His music is as bold as his lyrics, and both translate into a daring, ever-changing stage show, which arrives at House of Blues on Valentine’s Day. “He is a living performance-art experiment,” collaborator Tyler Bates recently told the Los Angeles Times. That experiment shows no signs of coming to a close.
House of Blues, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14, starting at $73.50 plus tax and fee. 800.745.3000 Ticketmaster
