But, in the real world, he's just a staggering caricature of the Antichrist Superstar.

Or as his former mentor, Trent Reznor, puts it: "Drugs and alcohol now rule his life and he's become a dopey clown."

And without the infamy, the man once blamed for the Columbine school shooting, who manipulated the media with his outrageous, but astutely devised, shock tactics, has been revealed for what he really is: a saddo who can't really sing.

Although, to be perfectly honest, the man born Brian Warner has been out of sorts for much of the decade. Collaborating with KMFDM stalwart Tim Skold on previous album 'Eat Me, Drink Me' brought some surprising melody to the age-inappropriate love songs. But that left Manson sounding less than threatening ? a situation he's now tried to rectify with the return of prodigal son Twiggy Ramirez.

Responsible for most of the music on 'The High End of Low' with keyboardist Chris Vrenna, the long-serving bass player tries to recreate the brutality of their '90s work. Instead he's merely a reminder that 15 long years have passed since breakthrough album 'Smells Like Children'.

The rudimentary tunes ? all guitar distortion, bass solos, drum machines and that croaky voice ? are a fifth-generation photocopy of Reznor's contribution to 'Antichrist'. The blurry band photos are just out of focus, not disturbing. The lyrical themes ? Swastikas, sex, self-loathing ? are oddly reassuring in their familiarity. And titles like 'Arma-godd**n-motherf**kin-geddon', 'I Have To Look Up Just To See Hell' and 'I Want To Kill You Like They Do In The Movies' scream desperation, nothing else.

"We're running to the edge of the world," drones Manson on the album's most considered track, saying as much about the state of his career as that of humanity.