This page relates the sequence of events which have leaded to create and achieve to the top, the Marilyn Manson's persona and co.

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In the early '90s, popular music was in a state of radical flux. '80s arena titans like Motley Crue and Def Leppard's popularity were decidedly in a downward spiral, while Seattle had opened it's artistic womb and given birth to the radical movement that was known as Grunge, readily showcasing future superstars like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. With its raw sound, jarring feedback, and flannel shirts, Grunge was quickly embraced by a generation starved for fresh blood on the music scene. The power ballad was well worn, and the disastrously long affair with hair-metal was coming to an end. Grunge swept North America, and not long after, the world, with powerful statements, riffs, and a decidedly "don't give a damn" attitude. Teens ravenous for fresh tunes were quick to embrace Kurt Cobain as the Godfather of Grunge, and happily embraced legions of artists such as Alice In Chains, Mudhoney, and Temple of the Dog, to name but a few. As the Grunge movement continued into the mid-90s, hair-metal quickly became a distant memory.

By crashing the gates of conformity, Grunge also opened the doors for more radical genres of music, such as Industrial. Al Jourgenson's Ministry gained more public acceptance and the German-born Sascha Konietzko's long-nurtured KMFDM definitely garnered a greater notoriety. Most definitely at the forefront of the Industrial revolution, however, was Trent Reznor's Nine Inch Nails. Nine Inch Nails mixed angst-ridden lyrics and furiously sampled drums and guitars with an awesome stage-show that few could replicate. And into this musical and social bedlam was born Reznor's illegitimate sons, Marilyn Manson.

Marilyn Manson's rise to fame was fairly quick, considering their relative lack of experience on the club-scene. However, the band struggled to gain acceptance in a generation literally transfixed and greatly enamored with the Grunge sound. Marilyn Manson's first commercial release, 1994's Portrait of an American Family, did not initially gain the notoriety and public attention Marilyn Manson so desperately sought. The raw, visceral sound, coupled with copious helpings of violent, angst-ridden samples, did not jive well with fans of the popular Grunge movement.

Raucous, almost cartoonish lyrics, samples, and raw guitars made Marilyn Manson's statement on the state of the world painfully obvious: "I hate therefore I am / Goddamn your righteous hand." Packed with controversial innuendos such as these, Portrait of an American Family did, however, made Industrial music more accessible to the wayward souls seemingly forgotten by the popular music scene. The so-called Goths and losers suddenly had a champion to their anarchistic views on the blights of society, and they readily embraced vocalist Marilyn Manson as their "Reverend." Portrait's lyrics left no controversial stone unturned. With happy little ditty's like "Dope Hat" and "Get Your Gunn", Marilyn Manson wailed to his legions of growing fans, "the housewife I will beat / the pro-life I will kill" and "I throw a little fit / I slit my teenage wrists." In Marilyn Manson's opinion, "pseudo morals work real well / on the talk-shows for the week."

It is highly evident, even to the untrained ear, that Portrait of an American Family did not receive a great deal of funding and/or attention from Nothing Records, although company founder Trent Reznor had signed and fully supported the upstart musicians. Weak arrangements and a ridiculous amount of samples and outtakes simply didn't make the band palatable for the general public. Nevertheless, even with lyrics riddled with an abundance of drugs, violence, and repression, Marilyn Manson managed to take tired concepts to new heights. Indeed, Marilyn Manson, and their swaggering, bloated attitude, were definitely on the scene, and they were beginning to cause quite a ruckus.
Marilyn Manson's ghoulish presence, movie-star/serial killer alter egos, and theatrical stage presence did not exactly rocket them to the top of Billboard's charts. Despite the underground popularity of the singles "Lunchbox" and "Get Your Gunn," Marilyn Manson had yet to really break into the charts. This didn't stop their discoverer, Trent Reznor, from bringing his recently signed prodigy along for a wild and tumultuous ride opening for Nine Inch Nails" "Self Destruct" tour, in support of the Industrial giant's 1994 multi-platinum epic, The Downward Spiral. The tour unquestionably did wonders for Marilyn Manson's popularity, exposing their hysterically industrial sound to like-minded fans, and it definitely gaves the band credibility with Trent Reznor backing them.

But tucked away within the depths of the heavily sampled and downright ghoulish tracks was a true gem. Presumably under the influence of a great number of hallucinogens and other assorted pharmaceutical delights, Marilyn Manson picked the Eurhythmics epic single "Sweet Dreams" as their first effort at a cover. Surely, neither Marilyn Manson, nor the musical genius of Trent Reznor, foresaw the absolute pandemonium that swept the musical community upon the release of this incredibly dark and ghoulish track. Like wildfire, Marilyn Manson rocketed up the charts, sweeping the world with a foreboding and haunting unheard since Alice Cooper's best days. Quickly establishing themselves on the psyche of a generation beginning to grow bored with the Grunge movement, "Sweet Dreams", backed by a phenomenally demonic video under heavy rotation by MTV and Canada's MuchMusic, swept North America like an Australian brush fire. People who had not even heard of Marilyn Manson were instantly fans, singing along stupidly on their wretched commutes amidst their dreadfully pathetic lives. Indeed, the gross popularity of the song, which certainly superceded the band's name and image, helped the struggling artists establish a greater fan base before their newly baptized fans realized what the band was all about. "Sweet Dreams" truly thrust Marilyn Manson into the spotlight, and became their first accessible track to the general public. The spine-tingling single redefined the word "cover", and made Marilyn Manson an even stronger presence in the public's constantly wandering eye. Marilyn Manson had officially crossed over into the mainstream.