With their new disc ‘Born Villain’ finished and ready for a spring release date, Marilyn Manson and his band have been hitting the stage of the Soundwave Festivals in Australia, warming up for their North American ‘Hey Cruel World’ Tour that kicks off in late April. Triple J radio recently caught up with Manson in Australia and talked about the making of ‘Born Villain,’ how he approached the writing process this time around, and inching out the competition.

Manson considers his new album ‘Born Villain’ “very cinematic", explaining, “It's very cinematic in the sense that when you're watching a movie and you feel the tension of the score or what's happening in the film and something violent is gonna happen. You wanna be able to change it when you're watching the movie.” Beyond the cinematic touches, Manson also feels it his most conceptual work to date and really tells a story.

Although his career has stood the test of time, Manson felt it was important to get back to basics for ‘Born Villain, saying, “You say you’re making a comeback, that means you have to admit that you’ve not done what you’ve done before, continuously, as well. I had to admit that to myself and realize how do I fix this and I had to just take it back to basics." He continued, “I had to take it back to my brother and my partnership with Twiggy and we had to just go back to the simple things.”

Manson realizes that in addition to all the bands from his era, a whole new regime has marched in, and that being the best he can be is really what’s important. “I have to have ambition, I’m competing against people from the same era as me, people from new eras, so the main point is being determined to be the best at what you do, whatever it is,” explains Manson. “That may sound a little bit too athletic like it should be on a Wheaties box, which I don’t eat breakfast by the way because I’m usually still awake, but I think it’s having the determination to succeed in what you do, and not ever being satisfied with that, always wanting more and wanting to be the best you can be.”

As far as if he’ll ever stop? Manson said, “Eventually I will stop at certain things, when I don’t feel I can do them as well as I should but I feel like I can do this better than I did before, and that’s why I’m doing it right now.”

Listen to the Triple J Radio Interview With Marilyn Manson

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