Why Marilyn Manson Released His New Album on Old PlayStation Discs

Singer Marilyn Mansion has a new album out called The Pale Emperor. It's his ninth studio record, but it's his first released on old PlayStation discs.

Wait, what?

Yes, Manson released his latest collection of songs on the black discs that everyone played their original PlayStation games on back in the '90s.

The album's art directors, Hassan Rahim and Willo Perron, reveal to Kill Screen that they sought out the CDs directly from Sony. In fact, the discs came from the same plant as PlayStation CDs did.

But there's more to understand.

Rahim and Perron say the special discs are meant to highlight the "dark and light" theme of The Pale Emperor itself. They told the site that Manson said he "sold [his] soul to be a rockstar," and only recently "got the mortgage back on [his] soul."

Mirroring this, the discs first appear pure-black, but--with the help of a new thermal layer--they turn white during playback. This is meant to reflect the transition Manson says he's gone through in his own life.

For lots more on this cool story, check out the full Kill Screen feature.