"Lunchbox" is a song by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released as the second single from their debut album, Portrait of an American Family (1994). A heavy metal song that features elements of death metal, industrial music and punk rock, "Lunchbox" was written by the band's eponymous vocalist, Daisy Berkowitz, and Gidget Gein, and produced by Manson with Trent Reznor. According to Berkowitz, the track was written as the frontman's plea to be left alone; it was also inspired by a time where Manson defended himself from bullies with a Kiss lunchbox. The track features elements of "Fire" (1968) performed by Arthur Brown, a musician who influenced the band. "Lunchbox" received predominantly positive reviews from critics, with the writers and readers of Metal Hammer separately deeming it one of the best heavy metal songs of the 1990s; several critics also praised Berkowitz's musicianship on the track. The band's decision to sample "Fire" helped to revive interest in Brown. A music video for the song was directed by experimental filmmaker Richard Kern and released in 1995. It depicts a young Manson played by a then-six year-old Robert Pierce. In the clip, the young Manson is tormented by bullies before becoming a rock star; another part of the video shows the band at a roller rink. The video received a mixed response from critics, and "Lunchbox" charted at number five on the Canadian Hot 100. Background and release According to Daisy Berkowitz, "Lunchbox" was written as "tacit plea—for the frontman to be left alone with his thoughts in the back of a swank tour bus." Its lyrics were inspired by Manson's use of a metal Kiss lunch box to defend himself against school bullies, an incident which prompted the school to ban all metal lunch boxes. The band performed the track during their audition for Sony Records' head of A&R Richard Griffin. Berkowitz recalled that Griffin "personally rejected us within minutes, saying he liked the show and the idea but 'didn't like the singer.'" Instead, the label signed Pearl Jam. "Lunchbox" became a "fan favorite" of the band's live sets; Manson said that during performances of the song, "I regularly set a metal lunchbox on fire, took off all my clothes and danced around it, trying to exorcise its demons." The band were signed to Trent Reznor's Nothing Records in 1993. "Lunchbox" was released as a single on February 6,