But there have always been in-between albums, times when Manson simply retread the ground he'd already covered: Smells Like Children, Holy Wood, and (save for some nods to old-school rock 'n' roll) 2007's Eat Me, Drink Me.

Manson's latest, The High End of Low, belongs in the latter category. There's a blues influence here and there, such as on the acoustic-guitar intro to "Four Rusted Horses," but there's really no new and interesting sound that ties the record together and sets if off from Manson's previous work. Fortunately, though, High End is a high-quality, consistent effort, and longtime fans will find themselves listening to it again and again. Manson has reunited with guitarist Twiggy Ramirez (who provided demonic noise from Portrait through Animals), and as good as John 5 and (especially) Tim Skold were for Manson, it's refreshing to hear such a solid record from the original partners in crime.

Plenty of songs here are just what you'd expect from Manson: Catchy, mid-tempo rock/metal anthems made dark by Manson's distinctive voice and angry lyrics. At other times, he even goths up the sound of modern pop-rock -- with a different singer, "Unkillable Monster" or "Into the Fire" could fit into a montage on a teen drama, but as they appear here, they're powerful and unique.

Most of all, though, High End draws together virtually everything that has made Manson great for a decade and a half. Lead single "Arma-g**damn-motherf***in-geddon" hearkens back to the gleeful misanthropy of Manson's earliest work, and even indulges in a little good-natured self-parody ("F***! Eat! Kill! Et cetera!"). "I Want to Kill You Like They Do in the Movies" demonstrates both Manson's lyrical prowess and his musical ambitions, clocking in as it does (a bit too late) at nine minutes. "I Have to Look Up Just to See Hell" re-tools the riff from Children's "I Put a Spell On You." "Running to the Edge of the World" evokes Animals's "The Speed of Pain."

There are only two nits to pick on High End. One is that "WOW" features some of the most awkward and musically flat verses in rock history. The other is that "We're From America" comes off as a (poorly) calculated attempt at controversy -- the music isn't good, and it's hard, more than a decade after Manson's most over-the-top stunts, to get riled up about caricatures of Americans as folks who "eat [their] young" and think they live "where Jesus was born." The few attempts at actual argument, like "We don't like to kill our unborn / We need them to grow up and fight our wars," don't even follow logically, no matter what side of the political spectrum you're on.

One investment that purchasers might want to make is the special edition, which features six alternate versions of songs from the record. Most are just acoustic versions -- which work well, but aren't must-haves -- but the remix of "Arma-g**damn-motherf***in-geddon" makes it all worthwhile. The album version of the song itself brings back the circus-like elements from Portrait, but the infusion of techno and dance sounds in the remix really puts the track over the top. It's that rarity of rarities: A remix that's not only interesting, but better than the original.

It's easy to write off a shock rocker, and indeed Manson will never again intimidate parents the way he did in the mid-to-late '90s. But his musical vitality has not waned, and The High End of Low proves it yet again.