9 Times Marilyn Manson Was The Greatest Rockstar In Any Circle Of Hell

Album: Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) (2000)

Killer Lyrics: “But I’m not a slave to a god / That doesn’t exist”

The most anthemic track of Marilyn Manson’s post-Columbine album mocks college football anthems colloquially known as fight songs. Manson’s aim was to draw a parallel between the violence in sports and violent acts off the field, All-American sports being one of the few areas of pop culture that right-wing Christians were yet to link with corrupting children into mindless, aggressive thugs. The song's video builds on this idea with a jock verses goth football aesthetic. Some in the conservative media claimed the video echoed Columbine.

Manson’s vocal delivery is pure wrath, a call for the outcasts to fight back against the mainstream, to destroy its strawmen and sensationalist defamation. Manson screams the chorus in a way that riles up fans to direct each syllable back to the stage with as much violence and vigour. Musically the track is a classic hard rock number, with listeners noting its similarities to Blur’s Song 2. However, of all the band’s work, The Fight Song is their most likely track to be found on a karaoke machine, albeit a fairly niche one.