Manson a bit brighter, but still low

Marilyn Manson can lift his emotional state only so high, a confession made obvious on his aptly titled seventh studio outing, "The High End of Low."

Manson goes from lovesick crooning to screaming "I can't sleep until I devour you" on twisted disc opener "Devour," before he wails "Everyone will come, everyone will come/To my funeral to make sure that I stay dead" on the acoustic stomp "Four Rusted Horses."

"Leave a Scar" is an almost-pop anthem of survival built around fuzzed out guitars, "Arma ... geddon" slickly bashes the war machine, and the buzzing "WOW" offers a deadpan lyric on the idiotic overuse of the word by a less-than-eloquent status quo.

"We're From America" is a driving rant against America's carnival culture and definitely one of Manson's finer moments.

He even approaches true ballad territory with acoustic touches on "Running to the Edge of the World" and "Unkillable Monster," while the sweeping and fierce "Into The Fire" boasts some soaring guitar work.

The lighter-sounding moments may seem out of character, but don't be fooled. With song titles like "I Have To Look Up Just To See Hell," no matter how high Marilyn Manson may seem to go, he still wallows in darkness and despair on his strongest overall disc in a decade.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: "We're From America" is absolutely contagious behind a chugging tempo and offers a less-than-affectionate take on our nation, including the line "We don't like to kill our unborn/We need them to grow up to fight our wars."