It was released on May 13, 2003, by Nothing and Interscope Records, and was their first album to feature former KMFDM member Tim Sköld, who joined after longtime bassist Twiggy Ramirez amicably left the group over creative differences.

This was done to avoid creating music similar to hip-hop influenced forms of nu metal, a then-predominant genre that the vocalist considered cliché.

[5][6] Manson collaborated with artist Gottfried Helnwein to create several projects associated with the album, including Doppelherz, a 25-minute surrealist short film which was released on limited edition units of the record as a bonus DVD.

The album's lyrical content is relatively straightforward, and was inspired by the swing, burlesque, cabaret and vaudeville movements of Germany's Weimar Republic-era, specifically 1920s Berlin.

In an extended metaphor, Manson compares his own work to the Entartete Kunst banned by the Nazi regime as he attempts to examine the mindset of lunatics and children during times of crisis.

[7] In late 2001, the eponymous vocalist worked with composer Marco Beltrami and former KMFDM multi-instrumentalist Tim Sköld to create an original score for the 2002 film Resident Evil.

This was the second project on which Manson collaborated with Sköld, after the band's cover of "Tainted Love",[8] which became an international hit when released as a single from the Not Another Teen Movie OST in 2001.

[9] The Resident Evil OST was released in March 2002, and included a remix of "The Fight Song" created by Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison.

[10] The soundtrack to Queen of the Damned was also released that month, which featured Manson performing lead vocals on the Jonathan Davis-composed track "Redeemer".

[17] This collaboration had been facilitated by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, with Manson saying that he "wanted to make Andrew a permanent part of history, sealed up in distortion and megabytes of plastic.

[19] In a 2008 interview with a now-defunct fansite, Manson claimed to have performed the majority of the keyboards and synthesizer on the album, and not the band's longtime keyboardist Madonna Wayne Gacy.

According to Manson, Gacy displayed little interest in contributing creatively, and eventually detached himself from the rest of the group to such a degree that he refused to attend studio sessions when informed that recording was to begin in June 2002.

"[26] He also found inspiration in the flamboyance of Dandyism, along with the cultural and artistic movements of Surrealism and Dadaism,[7] the life of the Marquis de Sade,[16] and the theater of the grotesque.

[28] The record utilizes the narrative mode of stream of consciousness as Manson attempts to examine the response of the human psyche during times of crisis, particularly focusing on the mindset of lunatics and children.

[29] In addition to the album artwork, the pair created large-scale multi-media installation art pieces that would go on to be exhibited in various galleries throughout Europe and the United States.

[37] The album was preceded by the release of its lead single, "Mobscene", which was serviced to mainstream and alternative rock radio formats on April 21.

[45] The film's audio consists of a repeating loop of album opener "Thaeter", accompanied by a stream-of-consciousness spoken-word recitation from Manson.

Directed by Asia Argento and containing scenes of violence, nudity, masturbation, drug-use and self-mutilation, Interscope considered it "too graphic" and refused to be associated with the project, although it was later included on international editions of the Lest We Forget: The Best Of bonus DVD.

[27] Much of the elaborate attire and clothing worn by the band on tour was tailored by French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier.

[58] The injuries sustained by Jones closely resembled those of actress Elizabeth Short, who was murdered in 1947 and was popularly referred to by media as the Black Dahlia.

[63] A ten-minute excerpt from the film, as well as several paintings by Manson depicting the Black Dahlia's mutilated body, were presented as evidence during the trial.

[68] Manson later dismissed claims that his work inspired the murder, arguing instead that "the education that parents give their children and the influences they receive" plays a more direct role in violent behavior, and criticised media who attempted to "[put] the blame elsewhere.

"[65] The Golden Age of Grotesque is the final studio album to feature longtime keyboardist Madonna Wayne Gacy and guitarist John 5, who would both acrimoniously quit the group over the following years.

[72] He would later file a $20 million lawsuit against Marilyn Manson for unpaid "partnership proceeds",[73] accusing the vocalist of spending money earned by the band on "sick and disturbing purchases of Nazi memorabilia and taxidermy, including the skeleton of a young Chinese girl.

[75] Although appearing on several publication's year-end lists for 2003,[86] other critics considered this to be the band's weakest album, arguing that it lacked thoughtful lyrics when compared to its predecessors.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said: "In an era when heavy rockers have no idea what happened in the '80s, much less the '30s, it's hard not to warm to this, even if his music isn't your own personal bag.

[79] This sentiment was echoed by Entertainment Weekly, who called it "inventive and powerful enough to merit intermittent attention, but ultimately crushed by the weight of its hoary pretensions.

"[80] Industry forecasters predicted that The Golden Age of Grotesque was on course to become the band's second number one album on the Billboard 200, following 1998's Mechanical Animals, with estimated first-week sales of around 150,000 copies.

[98] This broke the record previously held by Nine Inch Nails' 1999 album The Fragile for the largest drop from number one in the chart's history.