The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles

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"The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles"
Promotional single by Marilyn Manson
from the album The Pale Emperor
ReleasedMay 11, 2015
Recorded2014
Los Angeles, California
(Abattoir Studios; Igloo Studios)
Genre
Length4:57 (album version)
3:13 (radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Manson
  • Bates

"The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles" is a song by American

promotional single from the band's ninth studio album, The Pale Emperor
(2015).

Composition and style

"The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles" is a

verse, while each chorus is composed of four repetitions of an Am–Cmaj7–F–G sequence.[3]

Music video

Directed by Francesco Carrozzini and featuring a cameo from The Wire and Boardwalk Empire actor Michael K. Williams – who began uploading images from the video shoot to their social media accounts in late March[7] – the official music video for the song was released on May 11, 2015 on the band's official YouTube channel.[8]

Synopsis

The black-and-white video begins with Michael K. Williams emerging from a shadowy alleyway. Acting as a Faustian narrator, he presses his head between two steel bars and says "The first time I met him, I could feel the hounds of hell on my trail".[9] Williams is dressed in attire similar to the kind worn by 1930s blues musician Robert Johnson – who, according to legend, entered into a Faustian pact with the Devil in exchange for his musical prowess.[10] Williams' soliloquy goes on to describe his first encounter with Mephistopheles, the character played by Manson, before a title sequence appears.[11]

Mephistopheles holding aloft his deceased victim.

As the song begins, it is interrupted by loud chants of "

demonic possession
. All members of the gang then embrace Mephistopheles, and follow him out of the open space.

In a subsequent scene, Mephistopheles is seen wandering down an alleyway, where he enters a room with a

kiss of life, only to forcibly hold her under the water once again. After a prolonged, sinister gaze directly in to the camera, Mephistopheles holds the now-thrashing woman underwater until she appears lifeless. The video ends with Mephistopheles holding her drowned body in the air.[9][11][12][13]

Track listing

Promo CD (French version)[14]
  1. "The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles" (Radio Edit) - 3:13
  2. "Fated, Faithful, Fatal" (Radio Edit) - 3:09
Promo CD (UK version)[15]
  1. "The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles" (Radio Edit) - 3:13
  2. "The Mephistopheles Of Los Angeles" (Album Version) - 3:09

Versions

  • "The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles" — Appears on The Pale Emperor.
  • "Fated, Faithful, Fatal" — Acoustic version, appears on deluxe editions of The Pale Emperor.

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
German Alternative Singles (Deutsche Alternative Charts)[16] 3

References

  1. ^ a b Reed, Ryan (January 12, 2015). "Marilyn Manson's Eerie New LP 'The Pale Emperor' Now Streaming". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  2. ^ Brown, August (January 20, 2015). "'Pale Emperor' ushers in the return of Marilyn Manson". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  3. ^
    Ultimate-Guitar.com. Archived from the original
    on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  4. Rovi Corporation
    . Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  5. Rovi Corporation
    . Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  6. ^ Hasted, Nick (December 20, 2014). "Marilyn Manson: Resurrection Man - Features". Classic Rock. TeamRock. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  7. ^ Zadrozny, Anya (March 27, 2015). "Marilyn Manson Teams Up With 'The Wire' Actor Michael Kenneth Williams for New Music Video". Loudwire. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  8. ^ "Marilyn Manson - The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles - YouTube". YouTube. May 11, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  9. ^ a b Spanos, Brittany (May 11, 2015). "Watch Marilyn Manson Become 'Mephistopheles of Los Angeles'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  10. ^ Lach, Stef (June 9, 2015). "Manson on Pale Emperor's brush with the blues". TeamRock. Classic Rock. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  11. ^ a b Childers, Chad (May 11, 2015). "Marilyn Manson Unveils Gritty Video for 'The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles'". Loudwire. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  12. ^ Teitelman, Bram (May 11, 2015). "Marilyn Manson is the Mephistopheles of Los Angeles in new video". MetalInsider.net. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  13. ^ Information adapted to text from video.
  14. ^ "Marilyn Manson – The Mephistopheles Of Los Angeles (Promo French CD)". Discogs. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  15. ^ "Marilyn Manson – The Mephistopheles Of Los Angeles (Promo UK CD)". Discogs. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  16. ^ "Deutsche Alternative Charts - Week: 16 Year: 2015 Category: Single". Deutsche Alternative Charts. Archived from the original on May 29, 2015. Retrieved June 10, 2015.