Holywood: In The Shadow of the Valley of Death was a two fingered answer to the vile and vitriol and unforgiving witch-hunt the band had endured following April 1999′s tragic school massacre at Columbine High School. After being forced into hiding, Manson and the band came back with a darker, twisted album which was a definite dissection of America, it’s society and the media. It deals with evolution, pop culture references and lends heavily to imagery such as JFK, the celebrity of murdereres and the American fascination, as well as bands such as the Beatles and pursuit of fame.

Review: avrev.com review by Bryan Dailey
Musically this album is darker and, in a bizarre way, more sensitive. There are a few songs such as “Lamb of God” and “Coma Black” that could almost be considered acoustic ballads amongst the swirl of gothic and industrial metal crunch. Manson’s band has evolved from a gang of mediocre metalheads, hiding behind bizarre loops and noises, into a talented outfit that now uses samples to enhance appreciation, rather than distract the listener from their performances. The addition of guitarist John 5, formerly of Judas Priest singer Rob Halford’s band, has sped up this evolution and the result is an album that rocks just about as hard as any other this year. They are still behind Rob Zombie in the Goth rock/pop genre, but are closing in quickly.