MARILYN MANSON 'One Assassination Under God - Chapter 2'

MARILYN MANSON
One Assassination Under God - Chapter 2
Nuclear Blast

Listen when I say that I love MARILYN MANSON's music, and when I say that I was blown away when 'One Assassination Under God - Chapter 1' was released. I've been a Manson fan for a long time (albeit not as long as my dad, a fact he will always be able to hold over my head) and I feel confident in saying that his musical integrity has remained consistent throughout the years while also riffing on his skills as a musician and bringing variety into his discography. Many musicians default back to the same sounds after years and years of playing; MARILYN MANSON is not one of those musicians.

Chapter 1 of this album blew me away. I firmly believe that As Sick As The Secrets within is one of Manson's best songs in years. It's nigh-vampiric. It's misanthropic and deeply vicious and almost fantastical in a way. Manson is the master of demonic imagery, and 'One Assassination Under God - Chapter 2' is macabre in a way that is only fitting.

"Unalive" isn't Manson's hardest song, but it is a powerful, punchy start to the album. Lyrics like "stand in a circle, take out your sword / now stab to your right. / Go around in a daisy chain / until you're all unalive" is delivered in a way that makes the listener uncomfortable, like he's right there in your ear—the image is almost religious. Imagery is evoked from both the Old and New Testament (a source of inspiration Manson draws from often), and it seems that he depicts himself as somewhat as a martyr and victim of persecution.

Naysayers and disbelievers are condemned; MARILYN MANSON has more than enough strength to stand boldly in front of others.

As our intro fades out, what fades in is what I believe to be this album's peak. "Don't Open The Door" is just the perfect sort of creepy and grimy song that Manson is known for—psychologically inflammatory and near distressing in the same breath. It's defensive and desperate as can be seen from the use of such urgent language (begging, the vagueness of the lyric "I brought something back with me," the plea to "let us in,"). In a way, I'm almost reminded of the intensity from albums like 'Antichrist Superstar' back in the day. 

A somber guitar riff is the perfect way to end this song, too, haunting and leaving you totally unprepared for the raw rage of 'Front Toward Enemy.' It's a call to fight, purposefully incited violence. Fans of MARILYN MANSON's older, heavier albums will, with full certainty, love this song. It's full of every bit of mid-late 90s riffs and lyrics, and just as angry as was expected of the time period. After 'Front Toward Enemy' is 'All The Vilest Things,' with an almost EDM sound to it. 

It speaks primarily to Manson's resilience, his disinterest in other people and his antisocial tendencies we've known for years now. It's at large, a tried-and-true fuck you to those who detest him, and a proper showcase of just how much the world of rock, metal, and industrial music rely on him. 

MARILYN MANSON knows full well that he's fundamental to the sound of modern rock. If you were him, wouldn't you own it too?

"None Of The Suns" is… odd. It's not my favorite song on the album. The opposite, probably. But in a way, I'm very much charmed by the clear homage to goth and rock artists (GHOST is what comes to mind for me), and is much more playful than the rest of the album. It's not bad, per se, there is very much an audience for this song. It breaks out from Manson's typical eerie, deathlike sound. It's refreshing, it's interesting, it's noticeable. "You Can't Die Young" falls into a similar vein for me, although I find this sound much more agreeable and like Manson grew into this sound more following the creation of "None Of The Suns."

A variation on a riff we saw at the end of "Don't Open The Door" is almost perfect to me for the song that is "Lucifer's Teardrop." We've returned to the gothic, detective aesthetics and sounds of the 80s, and supposedly, this song is based on a painting. MARILYN MANSON refers to himself in more than one song as a fallen angel, and does so here again—he paints the picture of himself as a pariah, and it seems almost to me as an unholy, forgotten, shunned call to arms. 

I think it's interesting to note the description of himself as a fallen angel in "Lucifer's Teardrops," and then a call to return to hell in "The Arsonist." To be clear, none of these songs are necessarily noble, but "The Arsonist" is by far the most anarchistic song on this album. He is not threatening, nor does he play or dance around the imagery of battle and strife. MARILYN MANSON picks his fights wisely and this one is not chosen without proper thought. 

Which is strange, because I feel as if the intensity that boiled over in "The Arsonist" simply does not carry over to "Exit Wound." By all means, "Exit Wound" is a good listen, it is powerful, but it feels… at many points, very dissonant from the storyline that was being built up from the album. It has very little payoff, and sits at a precipice it can't fully fall from.

What follows is "Enantiomorph," which if you did not know what that means: an enantiomorph is two mirror images (like your hands!). This is by far the longest and most morbid song in the album; dare I say, it is almost balladic.

The conclusion I finally came to: "Enantiomorph" is a love song.

Perhaps the first proper love song in MARILYN MANSON's entire career. Isn't that remarkable? It seems that in the narrative of 'One Assassination Under God - Chapter 2,' Manson has finally found someone. Something. The ice of misanthropy is melted away into a ruminatory, beautiful exit note. It's hard to say if he is speaking in the present in the past tense, if he and his lover are alive or dead.

I do think, though, that it is best I remain undecided.

'One Assassination Under God - Chapter 2' did not disappoint. It is evocative and just the level of dark that really gets me. I hope MARILYN MANSON continues in this direction in the future, and I hope that he continues with the artistic and literary associations with his work. I hadn't expected to be dragged through such a wide range of feelings by none other than Mr. Murderater himself.

4.0 Out Of 5.0