By David Chung
Three years after the release of his tenth studio album, “Heaven Upside Down,” and three standalone cover singles of “Cry Little Sister,” “God’s Gonna Cut You Down,” and “The End,” Marilyn Manson has returned with his new album “WE ARE CHAOS.” Here we’re presented with a big shift in Manson’s sound and composition, even more than the cinematic-esque albums of “The Pale Emperor” and “Heaven Upside Down.” This time around, we’re given the clearest look into Manson’s mind we’ve ever been offered, and with collaboration with outlandish country musician Shooter Jennings in the production booth with Manson, this look is not only clear but beautiful, abrasive, and sensitive all in remarkable ways.
The album opens up with “RED BLACK AND BLUE” with this spoken word monologue by Manson that’s reminiscent of George Clinton’s monologue from Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain,” but quickly transitions to incredibly tight percussion that contrasts well with Manson’s gritty and layered voice which is later complemented by the distorted guitar in the track’s chorus. It’s an incredible opening to the record and also notably catchy which tends to occur throughout the entirety of the album. Following that is the title track which was the only pre released single of the album. In context of the previous track it’s without a doubt a drastic turn which isn’t completely outlandish but the title track does seem to fall short in certain areas. While the production and Manson’s vocals are pretty nice on this track and create a cinematic feel that is totally new for Manson’s discography, it just doesn’t sit as perfectly as I’d for it to. This track also has some of Manson’s worst writing throughout the album, it isn’t as awfully cringey as some of his tracks from his previous records but in context with the track here it’s without a doubt up there. Following that we immediately come back to a more aggressive feel with “DON’T CHASE THE DEAD.” As the album progresses a pattern emerges in the first half of the album where Manson’s oscillating between his more familiar abrasive sound and his new sensitive and feel-good tone which is represented in the next tracks “PAINT YOU WITH MY LOVE” and “HALF-WAY & ONE STEP FORWARD,” the second of the mentioned having a Leonard Cohen reference which was well placed.
The second half of the album starts with “INFINITE DARKNESS” with a similar tone to the first track of the album. The next track “PERFUME” continues the in-your-face sound and the intensely thick and layered production incredibly well while still sounding distinct. The writing on that particular track reminisces tracks like “Killing Strangers” and “The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles” that has that cinematic hard rock feel and the intense action inducing lyricism (Speaking of action, “Killing Strangers” was actually featured during an episode of the hit television show “The Blacklist”). Manson’s versatility in his vocals really shine in that track as well as the next track “KEEPING MY HEAD TOGETHER” where his growling bass acts as a binding agent for his layered vocals and just as well as a standalone effect that emphasizes specific lines in his writing. By now it seems like Manson’s mentality is becoming stronger, in the sense that he’s now more open to expressing himself and facing his personal fears and pain, especially given the unfortunate death of his parents back in 2014, his father being one of his biggest supporters who’d join him on his tours. We approach the end of the album with “SOLVE COAGULA,” which supports his coming to self saying, “No one else I wanna be like, so I stayed the same like nobody else.” The distorted guitars and bass come to a close as acoustic guitars play with the final track, “BROKEN NEEDLE,” where Manson acknowledges the pain that lying and concealing his mental health has inflicted him. He repeats in the outro “I’ll never ever play you again,” without a doubt signifying a change in character and a period of personal growth for Manson. He’s ready to possibly let go of this persona he’s been “playing” for years and embrace his true self that’s been held captive.
After listening to the album a couple times I’ve become incredibly curious as to where Manson plans to go and what that will sound like. Although about to turn 52 this January, he’s proved with this project that not only he can still write and sing with incredible talent, but he may have ambitions further down the road which may introduce us to an even farther out Marilyn Manson sound. Although the albums have some weak points such as the title track as well as “INFINITE DARKNESS” and “HALF-WAY & ONE STEP FORWARD,” they’re really just not as impactful in context to the other tracks. It’s tough to find points in this album that are full of blunders on Manson and Jennings’s part; the writing’s still on a good level, the production is amazing and tight and hits all the feels, and again provides a new sound of Manson.
Rating: 8/10
Favorites tracks: RED BLACK AND BLUE, SOLVE COAGULA, BROKEN NEEDLE
Least favorite tracks: WE ARE CHAOS, HALF-WAY & ONE STEP FORWARD
If you enjoyed this you might like this: “The Pale Emperor” (Marilyn Manson), “We Are Not Your Kind” (Slipknot)
