# Marilyn Manson discography
The Marilyn Manson discography is the recorded output of the American rock band [Marilyn Manson](https://www.edgepedia.org/marilyn-manson), spanning from the group's formation as Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids in 1989 through thirteen studio albums, EPs, a live album, and a greatest-hits compilation. Worldwide, the band has sold over 50 million records, with three releases certified platinum by the RIAA and three more certified gold; nine of its releases have debuted in the Top 10 of the US album chart, two of them at number one.[1](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | Thirteen, from *Portrait of an American Family* (July 19, 1994) to *One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2* (August 14, 2026)[1](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography) • [2](https://store.marilynmanson.com/products/one-assassination-under-god-chapter-2-lp) |
| Sales | Over 50 million records worldwide; three RIAA platinum and three gold certifications[1](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography) |
| Chart peaks | *Mechanical Animals* (1998) and *The Golden Age of Grotesque* (2003) each reached #1 in the US; *Antichrist Superstar* (1996) reached #3[1](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography) |
| Top 10 debuts | Nine releases debuted in the Top 10, two at number one[1](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography) |
| Early production | Trent Reznor produced *Smells Like Children* (1995) and *Antichrist Superstar* (1996) at Nothing Studios in New Orleans[3](https://www.loudersound.com/music/albums/the-story-of-trent-reznors-long-hard-road-out-of-hell-as-heard-on-nine-inch-nails-the-fragile) |
| Label history | Nothing/Interscope through *The High End of Low*; *Born Villain* (2012) onward via Hell, etc. and Cooking Vinyl, then Nuclear Blast[4](https://www.manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_eras) • [2](https://store.marilynmanson.com/products/one-assassination-under-god-chapter-2-lp) |
| Live and compilation albums | *The Last Tour on Earth* (1999) and *Lest We Forget: The Best of Marilyn Manson* (2004)[5](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/marilyn-manson/251375) |
## Studio albums
The band's debut, *[Portrait of an American Family](https://www.edgepedia.org/portrait-of-an-american-family)*, was released on July 19, 1994 and reached #35 on the US Heatseekers chart.[1](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography) The follow-up, *Antichrist Superstar* (October 8, 1996), marked the commercial breakthrough: it reached #3 in the US and #73 in the UK, and its songs "The Beautiful People" and "Tourniquet" became the band's signature hits.[1](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography) • [5](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/marilyn-manson/251375) Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails produced both the 1995 EP *[Smells Like Children](https://www.edgepedia.org/smells-like-children)* and *Antichrist Superstar* at Nothing Studios, a former funeral home in New Orleans; the sessions for the album became known as turbulent, and Reznor later said they took a heavy toll on him.[3](https://www.loudersound.com/music/albums/the-story-of-trent-reznors-long-hard-road-out-of-hell-as-heard-on-nine-inch-nails-the-fragile)
**The peak mainstream period.** *Mechanical Animals* (September 15, 1998) gave the band its first US number-one debut, reaching #8 in the UK, with "The Dope Show" and "I Don't Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me)" among its singles.[1](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography) • [5](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/marilyn-manson/251375) *Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)* followed on November 14, 2000, reaching #13 in the US and #23 in the UK, and included the singles "Disposable Teens" and "The Fight Song".[1](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography) • [6](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/marilyn-manson-mn0000825251/biography) Manson later called Holy Wood the most important record to him personally, saying it came straight after the 1999 [Columbine High School](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbine-high-school) shooting, with which sections of the media had mistakenly linked him.[7](https://www.kerrang.com/we-asked-marilyn-manson-to-rank-his-albums) • [8](https://time.com/4954072/marilyn-manson-columbine-shooting-career/)
*[The Golden Age of Grotesque](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-golden-age-of-grotesque)* (May 13, 2003) drew on burlesque, cabaret, and the excess of Weimar-era Germany. Longtime bassist [Twiggy Ramirez](https://www.edgepedia.org/twiggy-ramirez) left amicably before recording and was replaced by Tim Skold (ex-KMFDM). The album spent a week atop the US chart, reached #4 in the UK, and placed on several critics' year-end Top Ten lists; the singles "This Is the New Shit" and "Mobscene" became live staples.[1](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography) • [6](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/marilyn-manson-mn0000825251/biography)
**The inward turn.** After the 2004 greatest-hits collection *Lest We Forget*, which covered career highlights from "Get Your Gunn" to a 2004 cover of [Depeche Mode](https://www.edgepedia.org/depeche-mode)'s "Personal Jesus" and earned gold status in multiple countries, Manson's output shifted from grandiose concepts toward more personal statements.[6](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/marilyn-manson-mn0000825251/biography) *Eat Me, Drink Me* (June 5, 2007) was written, performed, and produced entirely by Manson and Skold, debuted in the Billboard 200's Top Ten at #8 in both the US and UK, and yielded the singles "Heart-Shaped Glasses" and "Putting Holes in Happiness".[1](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography) • [6](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/marilyn-manson-mn0000825251/biography) *The High End of Low* (May 26, 2009) reached #4 in the US and #19 in the UK, with Twiggy Ramirez back in the band.[1](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography) • [6](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/marilyn-manson-mn0000825251/biography)
**Independence and later work.** *Born Villain* (2012) was the band's first record after parting from its Interscope contract, released through the Marilyn Manson imprint Hell, etc. and parent label Cooking Vinyl; it reached #10 in the US and #14 in the UK.[1](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography) • [4](https://www.manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_eras) *[The Pale Emperor](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-pale-emperor)* (January 16, 2015) began a creative partnership with [Tyler Bates](https://www.edgepedia.org/tyler-bates), an American musician and composer for film, television, and video game scores, and reached #8 in the US.[1](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography) • [9](https://www.all-things-rock.com/all-albums-ranked/marilyn-manson) *[Heaven Upside Down](https://www.edgepedia.org/heaven-upside-down)* (October 6, 2017) and *WE ARE CHAOS* (September 11, 2020) each reached #8 in the US and #7 in the UK.[1](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography)
*One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1* was released on November 22, 2024, reaching #32 in the US and #36 in the UK.[1](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography) Its follow-up, *[One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/one-assassination-under-god-chapter-2)*, is the band's thirteenth album, released worldwide on August 14, 2026 via Nuclear Blast Records, co-produced and co-written with Tyler Bates and featuring the singles "Unalive", "[Front Toward Enemy](https://www.edgepedia.org/front-toward-enemy-song)", and "Exit Wound".[2](https://store.marilynmanson.com/products/one-assassination-under-god-chapter-2-lp) • [10](https://blabbermouth.net/news/marilyn-manson-announces-one-assassination-under-god-chapter-2-album-shares-exit-wound-music-video) Bates has played on four Manson albums in total.[11](https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/combo-amps/tyler-bates-go-to-amp)
## EPs, live albums, and compilations
The EP *Smells Like Children* (October 25, 1995) reached #31 in the US and contained the band's cover of the [Eurythmics](https://www.edgepedia.org/eurythmics)' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)".[1](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography) • [5](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/marilyn-manson/251375) *Remix & Repent* (November 25, 1997) and the live album *The Last Tour on Earth* (November 16, 1999) followed; the live record included an acoustic version of "The Last Day on Earth" and the new studio cut "Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes".[1](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography) • [9](https://www.all-things-rock.com/all-albums-ranked/marilyn-manson) Later EP releases include *The Nobodies: 2005 Against All Gods Mix* (March 15, 2005) and the *Slo-Mo-Tion* Remix EP (November 5, 2012).[1](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography)
## Sound and eras
AllMusic classifies the band within alternative metal, heavy metal, and industrial metal, describing Manson as a key figure in aggressive, boundary-challenging rock whose 1990s peak combined glam-influenced industrial metal with social commentary and incendiary live shows.[6](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/marilyn-manson-mn0000825251/biography) The band's own fan encyclopedia organizes the catalog into "eras", periods defined by each album's style and imagery; the earliest era, covering the Spooky Kids years through *Portrait of an American Family* and *Smells Like Children* (1989 to 1995), had a less serious, often comedic tone, with themes of children, innocence, fiction, religion, and America.[4](https://www.manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_eras) A 1999 academic study of the band described *Antichrist Superstar* as a well-crafted mixture of goth rock, hardcore industrial, and death metal sounds supporting lyrics with narrative cohesion, while crediting collaborators including [Trent Reznor](https://www.edgepedia.org/trent-reznor), David Ogilvie, and Sean Beavan as producers alongside band members Twiggy Ramirez, Madonna Wayne Gacy, and Ginger Fish.[12](https://ddd.uab.cat/pub/caplli/1999/220201/marman_a20009p119.pdf)
## References
1. [Marilyn Manson discography, The Marilyn Manson Wiki](https://manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_discography)
2. [One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2 LP, Marilyn Manson Store](https://store.marilynmanson.com/products/one-assassination-under-god-chapter-2-lp)
3. [A deep dive into Nine Inch Nails' masterpiece The Fragile, Louder Sound](https://www.loudersound.com/music/albums/the-story-of-trent-reznors-long-hard-road-out-of-hell-as-heard-on-nine-inch-nails-the-fragile)
4. [Marilyn Manson eras, The Marilyn Manson Wiki](https://www.manson.wiki/Marilyn_Manson_eras)
5. [Marilyn Manson, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/marilyn-manson/251375)
6. [Marilyn Manson – Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/marilyn-manson-mn0000825251/biography)
7. [Marilyn Manson Ranks His Own Albums, Kerrang!](https://www.kerrang.com/we-asked-marilyn-manson-to-rank-his-albums)
8. [Marilyn Manson: 'Columbine Destroyed My Entire Career', Time](https://time.com/4954072/marilyn-manson-columbine-shooting-career/)
9. [All Marilyn Manson albums ranked and reviewed, All Things Rock](https://www.all-things-rock.com/all-albums-ranked/marilyn-manson)
10. [MARILYN MANSON Announces 'One Assassination Under God - Chapter 2' Album, Blabbermouth.net](https://blabbermouth.net/news/marilyn-manson-announces-one-assassination-under-god-chapter-2-album-shares-exit-wound-music-video)
11. [Tyler Bates on the blue-collar amp he used on all his albums with Marilyn Manson, Guitar World](https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/combo-amps/tyler-bates-go-to-amp)
12. [Marilyn Manson: The Limits of Challenge, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona](https://ddd.uab.cat/pub/caplli/1999/220201/marman_a20009p119.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Discographies and musical catalogues › Artist and group discographies › Rock, metal, punk, and indie discographies › Metal and hard rock discographies*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license