Marilyn Manson Sheds Light on His Dark Den of Creativity

Marilyn Manson projects a certain image and it’s not just for show. The vocalist has embraced the dark side, literally, with his West Hollywood lair that became public knowledge when ‘Transformers’ star Shia LaBeouf let the beans spill about his visit last year during an appearance on ‘Live With Regis & Kelly.’ 

LaBeouf discussed the darkness of Manson’s den, explaining they needed the lights from their cell phones to move about while making plans for the actor to direct a short film based around the singer’s music.

Manson moved to West Hollywood two years ago, putting high profile relationships with burlesque model Dita Von Teese and starlet Evan Rachel Wood in his rearview mirror while seeking to re-embrace his artwork on his own without distraction. In a new interview with Fuse, Manson says, “I just made a place where you could create whatever you wanted at any time, but not have any distractions. Less is more.”

The singer’s dimly lit loft features metal doors and has black carpeting and white walls inside, with only the bare necessities needed for Manson to create. “My books, paints, musical instruments, movies and my photography equipment…and my cat Lilly,” reveals the vocalist of the home’s contents.

It was in this environment that the ‘Born Villain’ album began to come to fruition. The singer started with sketches, evolved to painting and eventually felt inspired musically. He explains, “Restriction makes you more creative. I had gone to CVS to get a child’s paint kit and I mixed the colors wrong and f—ed it all up, and the water was just dirty. So I used the dirty water and that’s the first painting I made here.”

Manson also relied on other inspirations for the new album, rediscovering the written works of Baudelaire (‘Flowers of Evil’ was a favorite) and revisiting ‘Macbeth,’ and pulling out favorite records from David Bowie, the Stooges, Revolting C–ks and Ministry. In Loudwire’s own exclusive interview with Manson, he told us that he also drew from cinematic favorites like David Cronenberg’s ‘A Dangerous Method’ and zombie shows like ‘The Walking Dead.’

Manson further told Fuse, “I’ve rediscovered myself. I think that I was buried somewhere. It’s about the ups and downs, this idea of birth and growth.” See the full interview with Fuse here.

Marilyn Manson’s ‘Born Villain’ album arrived earlier this week. Check out our album review here and watch the video for the current single ‘No Reflection’ below:

Marilyn Manson, ‘No Reflection’ Video