Inside Ash Costello's Marilyn Manson Obsession

Ash Costello Marilyn Manson
(Image credit: Matt Dixon)

New Years Day’s Scream Wueen gives fist bumps and high fives to the game-changing God Of Fuck

HE’S AN AMAZING SHOWMAN

“He has a certain sense of chaos where you expect the unexpected from him. A Marilyn Manson show is never the same show. It might be the same setlist or props, but never the same Marilyn Manson. He’s so genuine; I’ve seen him stop songs, cut himself, throw his gear at other bandmembers, it’s just so exciting to watch.”

HE’S A TRUE ARTIST

“Look at musicians in general: they sing their songs and then go to the grocery store with their family; you don’t see the same person offstage as you do onstage. Marilyn Manson is Marilyn Manson 247. There’s no waking up and getting into character, he is totally true to himself as an artist. There are very few people that you can say that about – there is a lot of pretending to be a rock star. But you’ll never live it in the same way as Marilyn Manson.”

HE TERRORISED AMERICA

“He really shook things up in the 90s. He had his predecessors, like Rob Zombie, but Marilyn Manson took shock rock to an extreme that I don’t think anyone had ever done before, and I don’t think anyone has done since. He was a leader of a movement that was only him; there were no other bands in that scene with him, and that scared people. His fans know that he’s an intelligent, unique rock star, but the rest of normal society just judged him as this monster and demonised him.”

EVEN HIS ‘BAD’ ALBUMS ARE GOOD

“Eat Me, Drink Me, The Golden Age Of Grotesque and Antichrist Superstar are my top three Marilyn Manson albums, and Eat Me, Drink Me is my all-time favourite. Everyone, even his team, are really shocked when I tell them that, but that album is so real, and so sad. I love the music videos from that period, I really love how it was so honest and raw. It’s his breakdown album, and you can really tell. I listen to it from beginning to end and yes, it’s very slow, but it’s also very sexy. It’s the one to put on when you’re making out with somebody.”

HE’S A THINKING PERSON’S ROCK STAR

“Anything he says, I would listen to. I would just sit there with my jaw on the floor just soaking it in, because he’s just so intelligent. I think he looks at things from a very unique perspective, and he’s very articulate and well-spoken. And, even though some might think of him as a ‘shock rocker’, his responses are always very measured, and he actually thinks about what he’s going to say. I think that’s an amazing line to be able to walk down, from the guy throwing a broken bottle onstage to this incredibly wellspoken and considered person. It’s unnerving, because you will never know what you’re going to get.

HE CONSTANTLY REINVENTS HIMSELF

“My favourite era of Marilyn Manson was The Golden Age Of Grotesque. He was dating Dita [Von Teese] and he had this ‘crooked man in a crooked house’, circus ringleader look. Best Manson! His clothes, his show at that time - he looked so amazing! Ugh! But, here’s the thing: he’s absolutely nailed whatever look he’s gone for. It’s very inspirational to see that someone can just rip up their whole look and start from scratch again, and always, and I mean always, get it so right. From the look to the sound to the lyrics, he gets it so right every time.”

Smells like....fangirl!

Smells like....fangirl! (Image credit: Illustration by Matt Dixon)
Stephen Hill

Since blagging his way onto the Hammer team a decade ago, Stephen has written countless features and reviews for the magazine, usually specialising in punk, hardcore and 90s metal, and still holds out the faint hope of one day getting his beloved U2 into the pages of the mag. He also regularly spouts his opinions on the Metal Hammer Podcast.