The Pale Emperor

A.V. Club C On The Pale Emperor, he sounds both inspired and rejuvenated; for the first time in a while, the most interesting thing about Manson is his music.

The Needle Drop 6/10 Marilyn Manson releases one of his most personal and a intimate records yet with The Pale Emperor.

NME 3/5 It's no classic, but perhaps the surprise here is that Manson’s music can work without the shock shtick.

Rolling Stone 3.5/5 What emerges is a classier record than you might expect from Manson – and one that still manages to be the kind of old-fashioned alt-rock tantrum no one bothers throwing these days.

All Music 4/5 Production is loose and humid throughout, and above all Manson and company sound like they're stepping away completely from the caricature of themselves that started looming on the band's weakest mid-2000s material.

Slant 3/5 However powerfully and parsimoniously The Pale Emperor realizes Manson's post-grunge goth-glam vision, it can't quite shake an impression that's shadowed him since his heyday: that he's selling himself short.

Pop Matters 4/10 Warner has indicated that he is more confident in this “redneck” album than any he has released since Holy Wood. However, that confidence doesn’t show through in the lyrics, the music, or the risks that he comes close to taking and then avoids.

Spectrum Culture 75% His signature defiance and antisocial petulance has largely been replaced with less obscene self-reflection on his ninth album, The Pale Emperor.

The Telegraph 2/5 That this is Manson’s most accessible and focused album in years counts for very little; there is simply no shock value when all you have to offer are cheap shocks.