Marilyn Manson, Heaven Upside Down, A Review (2017)

Marilyn Manson, Heaven Upside Down, A Review (2017)

By: Ghost Writer

Rock N Roll Animal

The good news are that finally Marilyn Manson made the Alice Cooper record we have been expecting for years, yes, finally Manson seems to be gaining his musical focus again, and even production wise, Heaven Upside Down is a good return to the industrial sound Trent Reznor majestically have him on Antichrist Superstar, on opener Revelation 12, something both strange and fascinating is revealed about Manson, the closer he gets to the shock rock approach of his obvious ancestor (AC), the farther he gets from Bowie, a big aesthetic influence on Manson, but one whose chameleonic legacy was getting MM out of focus, perhaps Heaven Upside Down is not as avant-garde ambitious as some of his previous recordings, but is a definitely strong rock n roll record, is weird saying that on the song Manson and company sound “garagey”, but yes that´s the approach, sort of poor´s man Ministry led by the Cooper, and perhaps that touch of “garage” is exactly what sets apart the record from being a merely formulaic “Antichrist Superstar 2”, a great work by Gil Sharone on drums, who keeps the band going on without rest, and of course a superb guitar work by Tyler Bates, who is slowly becoming a key member of Manson´s band, fleshing up perfectly each one of the tunes, giving them a pure punk raw quality, like on Tattooed in Reverse, a piece of modern rock (think a little bit of Korn) with another stunning Manson performance and Sharone pulverizing drum work, but is on the truly scary We Know Where You Fucking Live were Manson starts revealing that abrasive nature (thanks to Bates) his music lacked in his previous recordings, there are some really out there beats thanks to the aforementioned Sharone and long tome collaborator Twiggy Ramirez, production wise the song is a complete triumph taking us almost every second to unknown places, some might even mention de “death pop” touches a la Orgy, but is remarkable listening to Manson reaching zenith once again, and even letting some room for additional experimentation like on Say10, with Manson using an encompassing approach as his version of the quiet/loud dynamics of grunge, perhaps one of the most interesting part of the musical proposal on this record.

Kill4Me is a typical Manson tune, with obvious flirtations to synth music and pop and heavy basses, guitars are wonderfully treated and the tune has a great menacing quality, is closer to the work of MM on Mechanical Animals, another big approximation to pop done in a very gracious way, to be followed by the rocking Saturnalia, another scary tune with a great instrumental performance and a ferocious Manson, the band finding a locked groove and refusing to let it go, as the groovy Jesus Crisis proves, but not all HUD is top notch stuff, there are some missteps too, like on the quasi ballad Blood Honey, that simply goes nowhere, or the laid down title track, that could easily come out of a The Cure´s Robert Smith nightmare, a strange closing for an album that starts in a glorious way but somehow gets lost as it moves forward, the remarkable thing on HUD is the fact that Manson has recovered his focus, he seems to be more inclined towards making great music and not just being popular, when he is on the target he is able to condense the best of Alice Cooper, Nine Inch Nails or Ministry, when he is simply out of gas, he sounds like a second rate Korn, but as you know, with MM is impossible to remain indifferent, you either love or loath his music, and although he excels in becoming once again a loathed person, his music is sounding way better than it has sounded in years.         

The record closing track is called Threats of Romance and despite been a little mellow, Bowiesque stuff, it gives the chance to Manson to relax a bit and try a bit his superstar stuff, composition wise is weak, with languid guitars and not enough punch to leave you waiting impatiently for the nest record, but the thing is that overall, Manson is delivering a very strong record, and proving the fact that the old snake has still some venom in his fangs, and that beyond the shock, there´s an artist willing to recover his strength beyond the realms of pop music, Manson wants to scare you again, he still wants to be loved, but his music comes first.