Marilyn Manson’s new LP WE ARE CHAOS is an album that explores the subject of death and hell. The album is full of harrowing imagery and lyrics that dive into a dark, fearful place where you can find yourself lost in the darkness.
The title track, “Broken Needle,” is one of the most eerie tracks on the entire album. It has a haunting sound and lyrics that touch on a subject that many fans have dealt with in their own lives, including addictions, mental health issues, depression or insecurity.
It’s the type of song that is hard to write a lyric for and it’s also the sort of song that you need to listen to a few times before you get a clear understanding of what it’s all about. The track’s lyrical content is a mix of anger, fear and anxiety that connects the listener to the darkness of his own inner life.
A broken needle is a symbol that represents pain and injury, a common theme throughout the album. The song’s lyrics, “It is impossible to live without pain, a broken needle / Putting holes in happiness,” describe a pernicious subtext to the 90’s gen-X movement of celebrating individuality by embracing psychological catharsis.
The lyrics in Broken Needle are reminiscent of a short story that Manson wrote before his music career took off, about a mentally ill housebound man who murders his sister and has sex with her dead body. He is then buried alive with his eyes sewn shut.
