apanthropy

Marilyn Manson
One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1
Nuclear Blast Records
Released: 11/22/24

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1 – One Assassination Under God
2 – No Funeral Without Applause
3 – Nod if you Understand
4 – As Sick as the Secrets Within
5 – Sacrilegious
6 – Death is not a Costume
7 – Meet Me in Purgatory
8 – Raise the Red Flag
9 – Sacrifice of the Mass
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Having formed in 1989 and finding their first major label home in 1993, Marilyn Manson have produced 12 studio albums, 2 EPs, 36 singles and a colossal 47 music videos. With a staggering list of line-up changes, controversaries, criminal charges, and allegations, frontman Marilyn Manson continues to forge ahead on his age-old shock rock identity as an cancel culture-proof icon of industrial heavy metal. One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1 is the newest addition to the band’s relatively sterling discography, with a battery of singles pre-released to lead into its genesis, with many of the singles reaching career-high chart peaks.

It’s not exactly secret information that Manson has undergone and is still in the middle of a heated controversy, resulting in him being dropped by his management and label, with many former confidants now distancing themselves from the musician. Having now signed with the globally known Nuclear Blast Records, Manson sees himself surrounded now by musicians Tyler Bates, Gil Sharone, Piggy D, and Reba Myers.

Many see this record as a “comeback” album, a resurgence following the fallout of his most recent controversies.

“There’s no more dreams for me to sell
I choose my nightmares wisely
I don’t want to ruin the story
But it doesn’t turn out well”

Opening with the title track, a multi-layered execution of synth and ambient guitar work, Manson establishes pace for the record. Unlike the ‘one-two punch’ delivered on albums such as 1996’s Antichrist Superstar, which opened with the feral ‘Irresponsible Hate Anthem,’ followed up with the iconic ‘The Beautiful People,’ Manson takes a marked, slower approach to the opening One Assassination Under God, similar to that of 1998’s Mechanical Animals or 2007’s Eat Me, Drink Me.

‘You can send away your firing squad
You’re gonna need to behead me
Immoral looking to be immortal
But nothing fits to a T‘

‘No Funeral Without Applause’ follows tonality and pacing of that of the opener. Spindly lightly distorted single note melodies carry the verses into a power-chord heavy chorus. Piggy D.’s heavily distorted bass lines anchor the track to the abyss. Multi-layered guitars signify a new depth to the writing process, an extension to the two previous albums, 2020’s We Are Chaos and 2017’s Heaven Upside Down.

”I need destruction
I want towers to crumble
Mothers tossing babies from the windows above

Who would wanna wake up if this was their world?
Who would wanna wake up if this was their world?”

https://www.youtube.com/embed/qhW9bnuO8Bk?si=7hQHbOCRhvuFVvmA

‘Nod if You Understand’ is the first taste of heaviness the album offers up. Riding a gradual build-up of chunky bass lines, ambient guitars and the simple timing of a repeating bass drum strike. Expanding out further, the song morphs into a hook-heavy guitar line, execution similar to that of ‘Disposable Teens’ or ‘Little Horn.’ Surely this should find a place in the live rotation of future tours. Closing the song is a biting section of heavy and rapid double-bass drumming and screamed vocals. It would probably be asking too much for more of this template in future music, but it’s a stark contrast with how the song begins, and a welcome change to the band’s conventional songwriting mechanics. There is a lot of aggression on display here and a bit of a wake-up call against the two opening tracks.

‘A reason for me, for me to get by
Became a need, a need to get high
Then into a life that was no life at all
No life at all’

https://www.youtube.com/embed/vOd8hE-xTDY?si=PbiH5WJpsBim_l2Z

‘As Sick as the Secrets Within’ was the lead single of the album, released as a teaser track to the initial announcement of new music. Over its debut weekend, the track received over a million views on YouTube and a total of three million views across all digital platforms. It also debuted as number one on the Billboard’s Hard Rock Digital Song Sales. Opening with discordant and cacophonous guitar work, the song rides a rhythm of intensified downbeats, an almost tribal beat that leads into more tempered verse sections of clean guitar licks and conventional drumming. The chorus section features synth flourishes tying it together and what appears to be a pretty serious admission of the singer’s past mistakes. Closing the track is the same pounding rhythm that opened the song, a circular approach to songwriting. Manson excels heavily in his work on singles and this is no different. Captivating, raw, emotional, and dense.

”You can climb to the top of my horns
But make sure that you don’t look down
Don’t spit in the face of God
When you’re trying to wear his crown”

‘Sacrilegious’ is a poppy number that was released as the final single prior to the full album being dropped. Bouncing drums, drilling synths and a vocal forward approach to the narrative, Marilyn Manson produces an up-tempo number that would have fit well in the ranks of 2000’s Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death).

”I’ll break your sunshine
To scare my shadow away”

‘Death is not a Costume’ is a bit of a goth rock number that carries the energy similar to that of many tracks off of 2017’s Heaven Upside Down. Slower pacing and ambience carries the track into emotionally powerful choruses.

“Will you stay by my side
Or will you stand in their way?
What will you do
When they come to murder me?

‘Meet Me in Purgatory’ could have easily been a single in itself. Hook-heavy, rich in detail, and bearing the famous execution mark of Manson’s best songs. Verses of sparse drumming and crunchy bass lines leave the atmosphere wide-open for Manson to fill with stark and powerful lyrics and vocals. The chorus line is just a massive hook of conventional goth/industrial perfection. It’s hard to find music like this anywhere else. The closing lines are emotionally charged and stoic. This is certainly a Marilyn Manson track from start to finish, one that others are incapable of replicating on their best day.

”Your autopsy table is ready
Pay off the drug deals you made with God
A last meal then your crucifixion
If you’re not paranoid, it’s probably too late”

Approaching the end of the record, for some reason, is another powerhouse single, ‘Raise the Red Flag.’ Why this particular track wasn’t moved up higher in the track listing is something worth debating. Released as a 3,000-unit Maxi Single, it sold out within a matter of days. This is easily the most direct and hard-hitting track of the album and one that contains some of the most charged lyrics. This is Marilyn Manson spitting in the face of those occupying the other side of the aisle, those against him. From the opening bass line to the anthemic bridge and powerful choruses, this is a track that will find home in Manson’s live rotation for years to come and absolutely nobody will complain about it.

The closing track of Marilyn Manson’s records are always something to cherish, from the emotionally draining ‘Man That You Fear’ from Antichrist Superstar, to the powerful ‘Coma White’ from Mechanical Animals, ‘Count to Six and Die’, ‘Threats of Romance’ and practically every other closing track Marilyn Manson has produced has always served as the perfect dropping-off point to his albums. ‘Sacrifice of the Mass’ follows suit, identically, and is another perfect closing track to add to the canon of the artist. Haunting and with musicality that, when stripped of its lyrics, would fit perfectly into an 80’s horror film.

’The greater the star
The more violent its demise
Maybe it was forced attrition
When you pray you cannot lie

When we lifted the stone
We should have known
We’d be bitten by the snake below’

Manson utilizes his full range of vocals here, for good reason, much like ‘As Sick as the Secrets Within’ and ‘Raise the Red Flag’, these are real-world emotionally charged lyrics based on real life.

After twelve albums, Marilyn Manson still has it. While it’s not a particularly heavy album, it’s not a snooze-fest either. Packed full of singles and material that could easily serve as singles, Manson poured his personal demons into this one. A performance from a sober artist with a notorious history of drug use usually ends in disaster, but this is an emotionally genuine experience and a solid addition to the band’s staggering catalogue. From the stark opener to the equally stark closer, this is an album that can easily be played multiple times in the same session.

Even after all the controversaries and accusations and critical nonsense thrown at the musician, Marilyn Manson still continues to produce world-class music and now shows himself as a more grounded, powerful individual. This was a renewal years in the making and a great comeback from the undisputed king of industrial heavy metal.

Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Band: Marilyn Manson

AJK