Marilyn Manson

He was working toward a degree in journalism, gaining experience in the field by writing articles for the music magazine 25th Parallel.

He also interviewed musicians and soon met several of the musicians to whom his own work was later compared, including Groovie Mann from My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails.

The latter became his mentor and produced his debut album.

Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician.

Brian Hugh Warner was born in Canton, Ohio, on January 5, 1969, the son of Barbara J. Wyer (died 2014) and Hugh Angus Warner (died 2017).

He is of English, German, Irish, and Polish descent, and has also claimed that his mother's family (who hailed from the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia) had Sioux heritage.

As a child, he attended his mother's Episcopal church, though his father was a Roman Catholic.

He attended Heritage Christian School from first to tenth grade.

In that school, his instructors tried to show children what music they were not supposed to listen to; he thus fell in love with what he "wasn't supposed to".

He later transferred to GlenOak High School and graduated in 1987.

He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band that shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since its formation in 1989.

Known for his controversial stage personality, his stage name (like the other founding members of the band) was formed by combining the names of two opposing American cultural icons: actress Marilyn Monroe and cult leader Charles Manson.

The band was formed in 1989 by Warner and guitarist Scott Putesky, with Warner writing lyrics and Putesky composing the majority of music.

His music released in the 1990s, including the albums Portrait of an American Family (1994), Antichrist Superstar (1996) and Mechanical Animals (1998), earned him a reputation in mainstream media as a controversial figure and negative influence on young people.

In the U.S. alone, three of the band's albums have been awarded platinum status and three more went gold, and the band has had eight releases debut in the top 10, including two No. 1 albums.

Manson has been ranked at No. 44 on the list of the "Top 100 Heavy Metal Vocalists" by Hit Parader and, along with his band, has been nominated for four Grammy Awards – Manson himself earned an additional Grammy nomination for his work on Kanye West's Donda (2021).

After relocating with his parents, he enrolled at Broward Community College in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1990.

Warner adopted the stage name Marilyn Manson and, alongside a revolving lineup of musicians, recorded the band's first demo tape as Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids in 1990.

The group quickly developed a loyal fanbase within the South Florida punk and hardcore music scene, primarily as a result of their intentionally shocking concerts; band members often performed in women's clothing or bizarre costumes, and live shows routinely featured amateur pyrotechnics, naked women nailed to crucifixes, children locked in cages, as well as experiments in reverse psychology and butchered animals remains.

Within six months of forming, they were playing sold-out shows in 300-capacity nightclubs throughout Florida.

They signed a record deal with Sony Music in early 1991, although this deal was rescinded before any material was recorded for the label.

The band instead used the proceeds of this deal to fund the recording of subsequent demo tapes, which were released independently.

The name of the group was shortened to Marilyn Manson in 1992, and they continued to perform and release cassettes until the summer of 1993, when Reznor signed the act to his vanity label Nothing Records.

Their debut studio album, Portrait of an American Family, was released in July 1994.

Manson later criticized Nothing Records and its parent label Interscope for a perceived lack of promotion.

While recording b-sides and remixes for the album's proposed third single, "Dope Hat", the band decided to issue the resultant material as a standalone release titled Smells Like Children.

The record included their cover version of the Eurythmics's "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", which established the band as a mainstream act.

The song's music video was placed on heavy rotation on MTV, and earned the band their first nomination for Best Rock Video at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards.

Their second studio album, 1996's Antichrist Superstar, sparked a fierce backlash among Christian fundamentalists.

The album was an immediate commercial success, debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 and selling almost 2 million copies in the United States alone, and 7 million copies worldwide.

Manson made his film debut as an actor in David Lynch's Lost Highway (1997), and has since appeared in a variety of minor roles and cameos.

Lead single "The Beautiful People" received three nominations at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, where the band also performed.

For 1998's Mechanical Animals, Manson said he took inspiration from 1970s glam rock, and adopted a wardrobe and hairstyle similar to David Bowie.

In 1999, news media falsely blamed Manson for influencing the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre.

His work has been cited in several other violent events; his paintings and films appeared as evidence in a murder trial, and he has been accused of inspiring several other murders and school shootings.

In 2021, multiple women, including his former partner Evan Rachel Wood, accused Manson of psychologically and sexually abusing them, allegations he denied.

In 2002, his first art show, The Golden Age of Grotesque, was held at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions center.

Manson is widely considered one of the most controversial figures in heavy metal music, and has been involved in numerous controversies throughout his career.

His lyrics were criticized by American politicians and were examined in congressional hearings.

Several U.S. states enacted legislation specifically banning the group from performing in state-operated venues.