'Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)' is the fourth full length studio album from Marilyn Manson, a nineteen track construction of music and one that has a run time of over an hour in length. It's really quite a powerful piece of music, a well put together album and one that features many excellent tracks. The album tackles subjects such as religion, fame, and gun crime also; the lyrical content of the album is strong and always Marilyn Manson here has plenty to say.

The album begins with 'Godeatgod', the first of many tracks to reference God in the title of the track alone. It's a decent way to start the album, not the best track on 'Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)' but certainly a strong one nonetheless. The lyrical content of the track lays our clearly what you can expect from the rest of the album; the fickleness of fame is spoken about here, the 'plastic' nature of people and God and guns do of course also get a mention. The lyrical theme continues into the second track 'The Love Song' as Marilyn Manson shouts 'Do you love your guns, God, the government?' to a chant of 'Yeah' after each. It's another excellent piece of music powerfully put across by Marilyn Manson and his band. What I like most about this album is the strength of the lyrics, Marilyn Manson always has plenty to say throughout this album and the lyrics spoken always are intelligently put across. After the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 blame was put onto the music of such artists as Marilyn Manson and Rammstein; 'Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)' was Marilyn Manson's first album after the massacre and hence the lyrical direction of the music.

'The Fight Song' is I feel one of the best tracks from this album, with its poignantly sung lyrics such as 'I'm not a slave to a God that doesn't exist, I'm not a slave to a world that doesn't give a s**t' it is an incredibly hard hitting piece of music. Throughout this album never does the music of Marilyn Manson disappoint, always the man has plenty to say and with every track the lyrics are incredibly well put across. As well as featuring strong lyrical content this track also displays some brilliant drumbeats, fantastic guitar work, and as ever the fine vocal style of one Marilyn Manson. 'Disposable Teens' follows on directly from this track on the album, once more the music of Marilyn Manson impresses hugely and the man has much to say. It's the driving guitar riff throughout this track that makes the music so effective I feel, it's an absolutely excellent piece of music and instrumentally the track is truly brilliant here.

'The Nobodies' is without doubt my favourite track from this album, it was the first I heard from this release and every time I listen to this one it makes me smile. The chorus is so hard hitting, the track is full of energy and always the vocal performance of Marilyn Manson is highly passionate. 'The Nobodies' just seems to have it all, it's an absolutely fantastic piece of music and one that I personally am an absolutely massive fan of. Both vocally and instrumentally also the music is excellent here; the track is three and a half minutes long and what a fine few minutes of music it is too. It's the tenth track on the album, a perfect centrepiece for the 'Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)' release and my personal favourite from the album.

As well as featuring a 'Love Song' and a 'Fight Song', this album also includes 'The Death Song'; another powerful piece of music with plenty to offer. The drumbeats power through the track here, the vocals are extremely well put across by Marilyn Manson and not once does the music disappoint. The drumbeat is repetitive, hugely effective though and it certainly drives through the very heart of the music here and helps make this track the hard hitting piece of music that it is. 'Lamb of God' comes next on the album and this is yet another exceptional piece of music from Marilyn Manson. The pace is slowed down a little here, the track is still excellent however and as ever the lyrical content of the track is incredibly strong. The music is well put across by Marilyn Manson here; it's a moving musical piece and vocally/lyrically is where this one shines I feel.

'Valentine's Day' is yet another excellent track from this album, instrumentally the music is well put across by Marilyn Manson here and vocally also the performance is powerful. There's quite an eerie vibe about this one, the music is quite disjointed but the sound created is one that works terrifically well. 'In the Valley of the Shadow of Death' is spoken out many times by Marilyn Manson throughout this track, the music is well delivered and always highly impressive.

'Count to 6 and Die' is the track that brings this album to an end, it's an atmospheric piece of music and features a breathy vocal performance from Marilyn Manson just as opener 'Godeatgod' does. The piano progression of the track is strong here, the lyrics spoken are excellent also and the vocal performance is an incredibly interesting one. 'Count to 6 and Die' brings the 'Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)' album to an excellent end, the music certainly doesn't disappoint here and the track is in fact very well put together indeed. 'Count to 6 and Die' provides the album with a fantastic final three minutes of music; it ends the release well and has you wanting for more.

I would not say that 'Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)' is a flawless album, there are a few tracks that are not so strong as the others but the lyrical content of the release most definitely always has plenty to offer. Lyrically this album is an incredibly intelligent construction, always the lyrics are extremely well put across in the music and the way that they are sung out by Marilyn Manson truly is absolutely excellent. Marilyn Manson was certainly a well chosen stage name by the man that was born Brian Hugh Warner, were it not for his make-up and strong stage name then I very much doubt he'd have sold so many records over the years as a plain faced Brian. 'Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)' is most definitely an album that I'd strongly recommend investing in, the lyrical content is brilliant and instrumentally the music has much to offer also. Vocally the sound created here shines through strongly and throughout this album never is there a dull moment and always the Marilyn Manson music created here should impress.