The record was co-produced by the band's eponymous vocalist alongside former Nine Inch Nails member Chris Vrenna, who left shortly after its completion to focus on other production work.

A cover version of Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" featuring Johnny Depp was included as a bonus track on all editions of the record.

[4] That same day, the band confirmed that they had been composing new material while touring in support of their previous studio album, The High End of Low (2009).

[15] Ginger Fish, the band's drummer since 1995, quit in February 2011, explaining that he "decided to step down as a member of Marilyn Manson and see where my life, and the knowledge of my availability cares to take me.

"[16] By the end of the year, Vrenna had also departed the group, to focus on other production work, whilst indicating that the band's eighth studio album was "largely completed".

[19] The title also references the nature versus nurture argument,[20] with Manson elaborating to CNN: "In any story, the villain is the catalyst.

"Pistol Whipped" uses wordplay to liken phytotomy with sexual violence, while the title of "The Flowers of Evil" was inspired by Charles Baudelaire's poetry collection Les Fleurs du mal.

Numerous other works are also referenced, including Federico Fellini's 1968 film Spirits of the Dead (itself based on the short story "Never Bet the Devil Your Head" by Edgar Allan Poe)[19] and Greek mythology.

He worked on the album in a minimally decorated apartment located above a liquor store in Downtown Los Angeles, which was once owned by actor Billy Zane and was the site where Manson created his first painting in 1996.

The CMYK coloring was also notable with regard to an acrostic which appeared in a journal entry accompanying the site changes, spelling out the words "Christianity Manufactures Yesterday's Killers".

[32] That same month, Manson and Twiggy attended the opening of artist Nick Kushner's exhibition at the Studio Servitu Gallery in LA, where the upcoming album was played in its entirety.

[28] Born Villain was released worldwide from April 30,[12] with a cover of Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" included on all editions as a bonus track.

[39][40] The pair met at a Kills concert, after which LaBeouf screened Maniac – his directorial collaboration with rappers Kid Cudi and Cage – and then offered to direct the band's next music video.

[36] It was released exclusively through the Hollywood outlet of Hennessey & Ingalls, where Manson and LaBeouf hosted a private screening and book signing on September 1.

[42] Cooking Vinyl CEO Martin Goldschmidt called the leak a "masterstroke", saying "we had all these exclusives lined up around the world, and then Manson blew them all.

"[43] The song spent fourteen weeks on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart, peaking at number twenty-six, making it the band's best-performing single there since "Personal Jesus" in 2004.

[47] The band performed at the 2012 Revolver Golden Gods Awards, where they were joined on-stage by Depp and The Pretty Reckless singer Taylor Momsen for "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and "The Beautiful People".

Directed by Tim Mattia for AmpRockTV, it contains backstage and live performance footage from concerts in Milan, Brixton and Los Angeles.

[54][55] The former tour received significant media attention when a feud developed between Manson and Zombie, culminating in a series of on-stage insults.

"[69] Loudwire's Graham Hartmann praised the album as a whole,[63] as did Rick Florino of Artistdirect, who said: "From top to bottom, it's Manson's most vicious and vibrant effort since Antichrist Superstar.

Fred Thomas of AllMusic complimented them for disposing of the introspective material which appeared on prior albums and choosing to "accentuate all the throbbing rhythms, metallic guitars and bilious disgust that defined the band's best work."

[1] Reviewing for Classic Rock, Mick Farren – who was cynical of the hype the album was receiving – said "to my delight as a closet fan, Born Villain turns out to be little short of excellent", praising its emphasis on "bone-crunching rhythm".

"[72] Mayer Nissim of Digital Spy praised the album for being more fun than previous work,[73] while Gary Graff from Billboard applauded it for containing a wide variety of moods and styles.

[26] Stephen Dalton of The National complimented its more aggressive and humorous tracks, but said the album was "not quite the knockout blow needed to regain his title as the world heavyweight champion of shock rock.

was also unimpressed, although he praised "Breaking the Same Old Ground" as an emotional climax for the record, writing: "For a man who's spent so long appearing not to be human, the deliverance of naked soul makes for a nice twist.

"[61] Conversely, a review by Simon Price for that publication's sister edition, The Independent on Sunday, gave the album their top score of five stars, saying that it "features some of his finest lyrics yet and, musically, it often approaches the heyday of Holy Wood and Mechanical Animals.

[93] In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number fourteen – five places higher than The High End of Low – selling almost 7,000 copies on its first week.