There is a point in One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2 where the language of survival finally becomes the language of retaliation. “The Arsonist” is that point. The song is not simply about having survived an attempt to destroy you. It is about what happens afterward, when the person who has been burned decides that the fire did not finish him and that the scars it left behind have become part of his strength. Manson himself described the song as the moment when the narrative of the two chapters “crystallizes into a battle stance,” and, referring to the painting he created for it, said that the “burned scar tissue” had formed into armor. That description gets very close to the heart of the song. The fire has not disappeared. It has changed him. The title is important because Manson does not call the song The Survivor or The Victim . He calls it "The Arsonist." An arsonist deliberately starts a fire, and this changes the entire perspective of the song. The speaker is no...
Colonel Kurtz has posted the full exclusive interview on her YouTube channel with Scott Alan Wade, the childhood best friend of Marilyn Manson. Scott discusses past experiences and shares interesting never-before-heard stories and also gives his opinion on the allegations against Manson. Scott also spent a lot of time with Manson in adulthood and discusses the evolution of Manson as a person and as a rock star, even clarifying stories we read about in Manson's autobiography The Long Hard Road Out Of Hell. He also hung out with Manson and his accuser Evan Rachel Wood on tour and has some strong opinions about her and the other accusers. Scott also talks briefly about the upcoming documentary on Manson which will be aired on Channel 4 in Britain, since he was contacted to offer his contributions to it.