Marilyn Manson has officially released "Front Toward Enemy" across global streaming platforms. The track serves as the second single from his upcoming album, One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2 , due August 14 via Nuclear Blast Records. For casual listeners, it's a welcome return to the aggressive industrial metal that defined Manson's mid-'90s peak. For longtime fans, however, today's release feels like long-awaited vindication. To understand why, you have to go back to late 2024. When Manson ended his four-year public silence with One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1 , he also released the highly limited "Raise the Red Flag" maxi-CD. Hidden on that disc was an exclusive B-side titled in all caps: "FRONT TOWARD ENEMY." For more than a year, the song became something of a holy grail among collectors. Many fans believed it was simply too abrasive to fit the dark, introspective atmosphere of Chapter 1 , and speculation grew that it...
On Saturday the 3rd of August 2024, Marilyn Manson returned to the stage for his first headline show since 2019 in Silver Spring, Maryland at The Fillmore. The performance lasted approximately one hour and twenty minutes, with a very excited audience throughout the entire show.
The day before the band had performed as the opener for Five Finger Death Punch in Pennsylvania, kickstarting their Summer 2024 North American tour.
The setlist in Silver Spring included the songs from the previous day, but added one song from Holy Wood ("Cruci-Fiction In Space"), two songs from Mechanical Animals ("Great Big White World", "Coma White"), one song from Pale Emperor ("Third Day Of A Seven Day Binge"), and for the first time his new single "As Sick As The Secrets Within" was performed live.
The day before the band had performed as the opener for Five Finger Death Punch in Pennsylvania, kickstarting their Summer 2024 North American tour.
The setlist in Silver Spring included the songs from the previous day, but added one song from Holy Wood ("Cruci-Fiction In Space"), two songs from Mechanical Animals ("Great Big White World", "Coma White"), one song from Pale Emperor ("Third Day Of A Seven Day Binge"), and for the first time his new single "As Sick As The Secrets Within" was performed live.
A fan-filmed video of the entire show is available below:
* Cruci-Fiction In Space 03:02
* Disposable Teens 08:09
* Angel With The Scabbed Wings 11:25
* Say10 15:32
* This Is The New Shit 20:10
* Great Big White World 24:44
* Deep Six 29:49
* Third Day Of A Seven Day Binge 35:16
* mOBSCENE 40:01
* Interlude 43:45
* Tourniquet 45:46
* The Dope Show 50:46
* As Sick As The Secrets Within 54:54
* Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) 1:00:45
* The Love Song 1:05:43
* The Beautiful People 1:09:07
* Coma White 1:15:34
A few things stick out from this setlist worth mentioning.
First, the three songs in the beginning go well together thematically, as they can perhaps be called Marilyn Manson's three revolutionary songs. They also combine an element of both crucifixion and resurrection, and the evolution that comes through such trials, which leads to a revolution.
Second, in my post on Manson's show in Hershey, I mentioned how it was interesting that he introduced "The Dope Show" by introducing himself as a recovering drug addict (see here). He did the same thing in this show at Silver Spring, however after he performed "The Dope Show", it seems strategic that he would then perform his new single "As Sick As The Secrets Within" which is a personal song about his addiction and recovery, as I previously explained (see here).
Third, the addition of "Coma White" at the end of the show I think is also strategic. The song appears at the end of the album Mechanical Animals. Manson has described the making of the previous album to this it, Antichrist Superstar, as a process that left him numb to emotion due to all the drug abuse at the time. When he entered into a new relationship and began writing Mechanical Animals, he was no longer abusing drugs and began to feel emotions again. "Coma White" explores the idea of the numbness that goes along with drug abuse, combined with the emotions of caring for someone. It also explores the paralyzing effect of celebrity culture. With all that Manson has been through over the past four years, a song like this is as relevant if not more so than when he wrote it a few decades ago.
Marilyn Manson had a total of seven headline shows scheduled for this tour, so he has six more to go.
* Cruci-Fiction In Space 03:02
* Disposable Teens 08:09
* Angel With The Scabbed Wings 11:25
* Say10 15:32
* This Is The New Shit 20:10
* Great Big White World 24:44
* Deep Six 29:49
* Third Day Of A Seven Day Binge 35:16
* mOBSCENE 40:01
* Interlude 43:45
* Tourniquet 45:46
* The Dope Show 50:46
* As Sick As The Secrets Within 54:54
* Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) 1:00:45
* The Love Song 1:05:43
* The Beautiful People 1:09:07
* Coma White 1:15:34
A few things stick out from this setlist worth mentioning.
First, the three songs in the beginning go well together thematically, as they can perhaps be called Marilyn Manson's three revolutionary songs. They also combine an element of both crucifixion and resurrection, and the evolution that comes through such trials, which leads to a revolution.
Second, in my post on Manson's show in Hershey, I mentioned how it was interesting that he introduced "The Dope Show" by introducing himself as a recovering drug addict (see here). He did the same thing in this show at Silver Spring, however after he performed "The Dope Show", it seems strategic that he would then perform his new single "As Sick As The Secrets Within" which is a personal song about his addiction and recovery, as I previously explained (see here).
Third, the addition of "Coma White" at the end of the show I think is also strategic. The song appears at the end of the album Mechanical Animals. Manson has described the making of the previous album to this it, Antichrist Superstar, as a process that left him numb to emotion due to all the drug abuse at the time. When he entered into a new relationship and began writing Mechanical Animals, he was no longer abusing drugs and began to feel emotions again. "Coma White" explores the idea of the numbness that goes along with drug abuse, combined with the emotions of caring for someone. It also explores the paralyzing effect of celebrity culture. With all that Manson has been through over the past four years, a song like this is as relevant if not more so than when he wrote it a few decades ago.
Marilyn Manson had a total of seven headline shows scheduled for this tour, so he has six more to go.