Costumed candy fiends who ring the bell on Marilyn Manson's house in Los

Angeles might find, instead of "fun size" Snickers and too many rolls of

Smarties, that the trick is on them.

"I'm probably just going to sit in my living room with apples and razor

blades and hope for some kids to knock on the door," Manson joked of his

Thursday agenda. "Answer the door with my pants off or something like that."

Manson's lackluster reaction isn't surprising; he doesn't need the last day

of October as an excuse to play dress-up. "Not to sound cliché, but

it tends to be Halloween for me all year round," he said.

What has the controversial pop icon most excited this week is Tuesday's

(October 29) release of his "God, Guns and Government World Tour" home

video. It chronicles Manson's last tour, in support of 2000's Holy Wood

(In the Valley of the Shadow of Death) with concert footage, backstage

action and "The Death Parade," a short film directed by Manson.

The pale, imposing figure is the first to admit that most concert videos

just plain suck. Armed with that opinion, he crafted "God, Guns and

Government" to transcend the single-show concert experience and provide a

feeling of what it'd be like to tag along for the entire tour.

"I've never really been excited by the idea of concert DVDs even with my

favorite bands," he explained. "Instead of keeping it consistent and having

it end up being one concert, I tried to feature shots from each concert we

did in every city around the whole world. And I took what most people would

just consider backstage footage and made it into a 30-minute short film. ...

Even if you don't like my music it's entertaining, and it gives you a real

look into my lifestyle on the road and what it's like to be involved in

something so dangerous and sometimes funny and sometimes scary but always,

always Marilyn Manson."

Though he was a little surprised by how often he ended up appearing naked in

the film, Manson wasn't shocked by the tribulations surrounding his tour.

And while he is convinced his diehard fans will enjoy the ride, he knows

they're equally as tough to impress.

"I think [my fans] will just be happy and entertained that they get to see

behind the curtain but it's not one of those things where it's

demystifying," he said. "It's not like 'The Wizard of Oz,' where you pull

back [the curtain] and I'm some guy that's going to be disappointing to

them. I am who I am all the time. Onstage it's obviously turned up to 11,

but backstage sometimes it's worse."

In addition to putting the finishing touches on "God, Guns and

Government"and showing his paintings last month at a Hollywood gallery (see

[article id="1457704"]"Marilyn Manson Brings 'Ass-Stabbing Fun'

To Fore At Gallery Exhibit"[/article]), Manson has been diligently plugging

away at The Golden Age of Grotesque, his sixth album, due early next

year.

The disc marks the emergence of bassist Tim Skold of KMFDM, who co-produced

the effort with Manson. Skold was enlisted after Twiggy Ramirez left the

band in May (see [article id="1454584"]"Marilyn Manson Splits

With Bassist Twiggy Ramirez"[/article]).

Although he revealed only a handful of song titles expected to surface on

Golden Age -- the title track, "Use Your Fist Not Your Mouth"

and "The F--- You Song," a track that "says 'f---' more than any song in the

history of mankind" -- he described the LP as the most focused of his

discography.

It primarily deals with relationships, and its aesthetic thread is

grotesque, as in theater of the grotesque, which, despite commonly held

connotations, doesn't necessarily concern itself with disgusting imagery,

just that which is exaggerated for effect and art's sake.

"I've been giving people a taste of the aesthetics through our Web site, art

show and film projects," he said. "I just want things to be more decadent. I

want them to be more degenerate. I want people to excel in vulgarity, and I

want people to have a good time doing it. And I want people to not forget

that you might not be here tomorrow, so let's do everything bad we can

tonight ... and look good while we're doing it."

For a look at Manson's artwork, check out

href="/bands/m/manson_marilyn/news_feature_092002/">"Marilyn Manson,

Hanged."