"You won't understand me by listening to "Eat Me, Drink Me", but you'll get a real sight into what it's like to be in a relationship with me..."

The 38-year-old American singer and musician Brian Hugh Warner, known worldwide as Marilyn Manson, revealed his soul for all Tangra Mega Rock listeners a week before his headlining show at the closing night of the Arena Muzika 2007 festival in Sofia, Bulgaria. The shock rock star shall be performing at the Academic Stadium on July 4 together with Brooklyn's princes of darkness Type O Negative and the local industrial metal leaders Alien Industry in support of his latest full-length studio offering, "Eat Me, Drink Me"...

Vassil Varbanov: Hey, Mr. Manson, hello! How are you?

Marilyn Manson: Hello! I'm great.

V. V.: You've been on the road in Europe for just a little while now. How has it been so far?

M. M.: It's been much better than I could have imagined. It's been one of the hardest periods in my life while making this new record, and now it's the best period in my life - I'm standing in my underwear with a naked girl in my bathtub...

V. V.: Last year there was a rumour that you said you're almost about to quit music and concentrate on painting. Why did you get back to music now?

M. M.: I didn't realize it at the time, but now that I look back I can say I was having a bad time. I was trying to figure out who I wanted to be and what I wanted to do. I thought that I had said everything that I had to say in my past albums, and that being me was not the right thing to do because of the situation I was in. I had stopped enjoying being myself. Then I made a couple of songs where I described that period of my life, and I started singing and really concentrated on being a singer again... maybe more than ever. I took everything I learned from painting and things like that in order to communicate better with people.

V. V.: When you started the whole thing in the 90's, this shock rock image of yours brought you in the center of attention to lots of people all around the globe. Now, in 2007, there are so many shocking things like wars, bad presidents, etc. What's the challenge for you now?

M. M.: I think that was the question I really had to face, to find out what is left to say. The world is a victim of itself and I can't really attack it. I thought that people are finally starting to acknowledge the obvious things that a lot of them are still afraid to see, so what was the hardest thing to do now was to talk about my human emotions on this record. I thought that taking the more difficult subject and ideas was gonna be the way I could prove myself. That's when I realized that being me is the hardest thing I could possibly do.

V. V.: And after all, are you satisfied with your new album?

M. M.: I think I managed to really shock people for the first time - in my opinion - by showing them that I have the emotions they can relate to, so people have been very positive about this record in a time when everybody would like to take the lazy, simple side of Marilyn Manson. Shocking is something that sticks in your mind, something that moves you - that's all you can do.

V. V.: Can we say that "Eat Me, Drink Me" is the most personal record you've ever made?

M. M.: I think it's the closest anyone can get to know me personally. It didn't mean to understand me, but you get a real sight into what it's like to be in a relationship with me... which is not a fun thing for some people, he-he!

V. V.:В In a couple of daysВ your exhibition of about 40 paintings is moving to the heart of Europe - in Berlin, Germany - for a whole month. Where is your unique artistic nature accepted better - in Europe, in the USA, or you find my question stupid?

M. M.: Ha-ha, no, I think it's been accepted surprisingly to me, because it's a little naked-feeling to put yourself out in that way of art. Art is very subjective - you either like it or you don't. It's a little bit different to music. What I realized was that I didn't make music the same way yet, so when I made this record I didn't have to change something, trying to be more pop or whatever to apply to people - I just had to show something I hadn't shown yet. It seems it translates on both sides of the world, which surprises me, because I thought it's easier for art to translate, as it has no language barrier. I have somehow managed to put these feelings that I was doing in painting in the record as well. I don't know how... I think just by being myself and not being afraid to show something...

V. V.: Let's now talk a bit about your upcoming July 4 show in Sofia. This is going to be your first concert in Bulgaria ever. Does it ring a bell when you hear the name of our country?

M. M.: Well, I know it's from that part of the world where Dracula comes from, he-he!

V. V.: Yeah, we're south of Romania, actually... The other thing is that you're gonna have Type O Negative playing with you here, which is not the case on the other locations of your current tour. Do you know their music?

M. M.: We did some shows together, but I don't remember on what tour... I think it was quite early in my career. I like their singer, Peter Steele - we got along very well. He's got a similar sense of humour like me - very sarcastic.

V. V.: Are there any bands you'd refuse to play with if you see them on the bill?

M. M.: No, I don't think I would let anybody else's shitty music affect my life.

V. V.: How many times during your career as a musician you had to face questions like, "Hey, Brian, do you like sex?"

M. M.: Ha-ha-ha, probably on a daily basis! Everybody has a different concept of me, as I don't ever reduce myself to one definition on anything. I think that's what I learned as a person, and that's the only way that I cannot be bored with life.

V. V.: Last question: What's the thing you like the most about the United States of America, and the thing you hate the most about your country?

M. M.: This one has an easy answer: Marilyn Manson. That's the best thing and the worst thing.

Copyright: Tangra Mega Rock