Christ 's death is also compared to Abraham Zapruder 's film of the assassination of John F. Kennedy , which Manson called " the only thing that 's happened in modern times to equal the crucifixion . " He watched the clip many times as a child , and said it was the most violent thing he had ever seen . John Lennon is also referred to on the album as an assassinated icon murdered by a born-again Christian , Mark David Chapman , who was incensed by Lennon 's " more popular than Jesus " remark . While recording '' Holy Wood '' , Manson was drawn to The Beatles ' 1968 '' White Album '' , due to its alleged role in inspiring the Charles Manson " Family " murders , and the parallels he observed between that incident and Columbine , saying : " To my knowledge , it 's the first rock n ' roll record that 's been blamed and linked to violence . When you 've got " Helter Skelter " taken from the Beatles song of the same name written in blood on someone 's wall , it 's a little more damning than anything I 've been blamed for . " The record is primarily an industrial metal album , although it has also been described as hard rock , and gothic rock . The vocalist claimed in a pre-release interview with '' Kerrang ! '' that the album would contain some of the heaviest material the band had recorded to date . '' Holy Wood '' combines the glam rock-influenced production of '' Mechanical Animals '' with the industrial rock soundscape of the band 's earlier work . He also called the record " arrogant , in an art rock sense " and said that , as a result of the lyrical content , most of the songs contained three or four distinct parts , although the band took great care to avoid being " self-indulgent " . He also said that the record was intended to be the " industrial '' White Album '' " , and that he wrote '' Holy Wood '' in the same house where The Rolling Stones wrote their 1970 single " Let It Bleed " — another source of inspiration
assassinated icon
Murder of John Lennon
Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)