It was announced Thursday January 17th 2025 that Film Director David Lynch died of emphysema at the age of 78, just a few days before his 79th birthday on Monday. Both Lindsay and Manson paid tribute to Lynch on Instagram, with Lindsay posting in her stories a broken heart under the poster for Wild at Heart and Manson posting the poster for Lost Highway with the message: "May you live forever inside our dreams." Manson and Lindsay have both said that Wild at Heart (1990) is their favorite Lynch film and favorite romance film, to the point where their wedding theme in 2020 was inspired by Wild at Heart , and they even invited Nicolas Cage, the star of the film, to attend, which he did via a video call. Also, a quote from the film spoken by Crispin Glover can be heard in the song "Lunchbox", when you hear: "I'm making my lunch!" Manson's first film appearance was as a snuff film pornstar along with bandmate Twiggy Ramirez in Lynch's film Lost ...
Marilyn Manson has successfully completed their Summer 2024 Tour of North America. It began on August 2nd in Hershey, Pennsylvania and ended in Houston, Texas on September 19th. A total of 30 shows, 6 of which he headlined to sold out crowds. During this time they released two new songs and two new music videos, "As Sick As The Secrets Within" (Aug. 2) which until now the music video has been viewed 4.4 million times on YouTube, and "Raise the Red Flag" (Aug. 16) which has been viewed 3.8 million times. They also released the Maxi Single CD on August 16th containing the two new songs along with a third new song "FRONT TOWARD ENEMY", which was limited to 3,000 CD's and sold out in less than 12 hours.
What have we learned over the past month and a half of this tour?
Since February of 2021 we had been told that everyone dropped Marilyn Manson after the allegations brought against him, that nobody wanted to work with him, that nobody would ever sign him again to a record label, that he would never make music again, that there was no possibility of recovery from the blow he received to his career and reputation. And yes, it often seemed like any recovery to his career and reputation would be hopeless, especially with the nearly complete media bias against him and in favor of his accusers, culminating in the so-called Rolling Stone "investigation" and the release of Evan Rachel Wood's HBO docuseries Phoenix Rising. The four lawsuits against him didn't help the situation either. As Eddie Trunk put it, "Marilyn Manson was canceled with a capital C."
What brought Marilyn Manson out of such a dismal situation that led to him completing a successful tour in the Summer of 2024? There are a number of factors, but the most important one is that Manson did not allow himself to despair, but as he was being punched and beaten relentlessly he believed in himself enough to patiently and diligently focus on improving himself physically and mentally and spiritually to fight back for his legacy and for his future. A turning point was when he decided to fight back against the allegations by hitting at the source with a lawsuit against Evan Rachel Wood and Illma Gore in March of 2022. By this time people were already beginning to see through the falsehoods and lies that were labeling him a monster and pariah, but the lawsuit for many showed that there was solid evidence in his favor. Then as one lawsuit after another was being dismissed and settled, including the one in which one of his accusers, Ashley Morgan Smithline, recanted her accusations and became a supporter of his, the soil became fertile for new flowers to grow.
But this was also a community effort. First of all, Manson had a very strong and supportive wife who always stood by his side because she knew he was innocent of what he was accused of and she believed in him without wavering. Second, he had friends who believed in him that were supportive and spoke out on his behalf, especially those who had known him for many years and didn't stand to benefit at all by standing by him, but instead had much to lose. Third, he had fans that stood by him and refused to let such a great artist get caught up in a baseless MeToo hoax and die by the wayside. I personally always knew Manson would reemerge and that everything he had been going through would turn out to his benefit, which is why in 2021 I started this website and called it Marilyn Manson Uncanceled to document this journey as it was happening. And of course, I wasn't the only one who fought with him. Together we were all part of the army to fight for the man who had and continued to fight for us.
Then all of a sudden, on Manson's birthday in 2024, he announced that 2024 was going to be our year, as rumors of an album being completed were circulating. This became very real when on May 15th of 2024, we received news through a teaser video that Marilyn Manson had signed to a new label, Nuclear Blast Records, and that not only was a new album on the horizon, but a new North American tour as well. He could have headlined a tour, but before diving into a pool sometimes you have to dip your toe in first to test the temperature. In fact, when I met Manson after his show in New Jersey on August 5th, he told me a funny analogy. He compared himself to the main character of one of his favorite shows Eastbound & Down, Kenny Powers, who was once a dominant Major League Baseball pitcher, but had his professional career diminished and destroyed, and in an effort to slowly return back to Major League Baseball he starts at the bottom as a substitute high school physical education teacher. In a way, the analogy is true, because a comeback was indeed at one time out of the question, but enough people believed in him to begin his comeback into the "Major Leagues". We see this already happening, where all ten dates for his European Winter Tour in 2025 have been completely sold out.
Though Manson has a few more lawsuits to deal with along with negative press coverage continuing, everything is taking a turn for the better. The North American tour was beyond expectations. Not only did Manson look great and sound great night after night, but he has a band to back him up that has been solid and positive and just having a great time doing what they all love. Ultimately this is not just a victory for Manson and his fans and supporters, but it is a victory for art and rock and roll. This is because we have seen the power they have in making a statement that mere words and the justice system do not have. And the fans have received the new and improved Manson with great enthusiasm and favor, with reviews that show no disappointment despite most of his shows were supporting Five Finger Death Punch and limited to about a 50 minute performance. I haven't heard one complaint that said they were not happy or satisfied to have witnessed this comeback tour.
What we have learned over the past month and half of this tour is that no matter how bad the storm, even if it causes havoc and destruction, the sun will shine its rays through the clouds at some point and what has been destroyed will be rebuilt as long as the work and effort is done collectively. I think this is one of the messages Manson was trying to convey on this tour. As for what's next, we can confidently say this is just the beginning of moving upward and forward. A new album will be released soon and more concerts will follow, among other things. What is certain is that it is an exciting time to be a Marilyn Manson fan.
What have we learned over the past month and a half of this tour?
Since February of 2021 we had been told that everyone dropped Marilyn Manson after the allegations brought against him, that nobody wanted to work with him, that nobody would ever sign him again to a record label, that he would never make music again, that there was no possibility of recovery from the blow he received to his career and reputation. And yes, it often seemed like any recovery to his career and reputation would be hopeless, especially with the nearly complete media bias against him and in favor of his accusers, culminating in the so-called Rolling Stone "investigation" and the release of Evan Rachel Wood's HBO docuseries Phoenix Rising. The four lawsuits against him didn't help the situation either. As Eddie Trunk put it, "Marilyn Manson was canceled with a capital C."
What brought Marilyn Manson out of such a dismal situation that led to him completing a successful tour in the Summer of 2024? There are a number of factors, but the most important one is that Manson did not allow himself to despair, but as he was being punched and beaten relentlessly he believed in himself enough to patiently and diligently focus on improving himself physically and mentally and spiritually to fight back for his legacy and for his future. A turning point was when he decided to fight back against the allegations by hitting at the source with a lawsuit against Evan Rachel Wood and Illma Gore in March of 2022. By this time people were already beginning to see through the falsehoods and lies that were labeling him a monster and pariah, but the lawsuit for many showed that there was solid evidence in his favor. Then as one lawsuit after another was being dismissed and settled, including the one in which one of his accusers, Ashley Morgan Smithline, recanted her accusations and became a supporter of his, the soil became fertile for new flowers to grow.
But this was also a community effort. First of all, Manson had a very strong and supportive wife who always stood by his side because she knew he was innocent of what he was accused of and she believed in him without wavering. Second, he had friends who believed in him that were supportive and spoke out on his behalf, especially those who had known him for many years and didn't stand to benefit at all by standing by him, but instead had much to lose. Third, he had fans that stood by him and refused to let such a great artist get caught up in a baseless MeToo hoax and die by the wayside. I personally always knew Manson would reemerge and that everything he had been going through would turn out to his benefit, which is why in 2021 I started this website and called it Marilyn Manson Uncanceled to document this journey as it was happening. And of course, I wasn't the only one who fought with him. Together we were all part of the army to fight for the man who had and continued to fight for us.
Then all of a sudden, on Manson's birthday in 2024, he announced that 2024 was going to be our year, as rumors of an album being completed were circulating. This became very real when on May 15th of 2024, we received news through a teaser video that Marilyn Manson had signed to a new label, Nuclear Blast Records, and that not only was a new album on the horizon, but a new North American tour as well. He could have headlined a tour, but before diving into a pool sometimes you have to dip your toe in first to test the temperature. In fact, when I met Manson after his show in New Jersey on August 5th, he told me a funny analogy. He compared himself to the main character of one of his favorite shows Eastbound & Down, Kenny Powers, who was once a dominant Major League Baseball pitcher, but had his professional career diminished and destroyed, and in an effort to slowly return back to Major League Baseball he starts at the bottom as a substitute high school physical education teacher. In a way, the analogy is true, because a comeback was indeed at one time out of the question, but enough people believed in him to begin his comeback into the "Major Leagues". We see this already happening, where all ten dates for his European Winter Tour in 2025 have been completely sold out.
Though Manson has a few more lawsuits to deal with along with negative press coverage continuing, everything is taking a turn for the better. The North American tour was beyond expectations. Not only did Manson look great and sound great night after night, but he has a band to back him up that has been solid and positive and just having a great time doing what they all love. Ultimately this is not just a victory for Manson and his fans and supporters, but it is a victory for art and rock and roll. This is because we have seen the power they have in making a statement that mere words and the justice system do not have. And the fans have received the new and improved Manson with great enthusiasm and favor, with reviews that show no disappointment despite most of his shows were supporting Five Finger Death Punch and limited to about a 50 minute performance. I haven't heard one complaint that said they were not happy or satisfied to have witnessed this comeback tour.
What we have learned over the past month and half of this tour is that no matter how bad the storm, even if it causes havoc and destruction, the sun will shine its rays through the clouds at some point and what has been destroyed will be rebuilt as long as the work and effort is done collectively. I think this is one of the messages Manson was trying to convey on this tour. As for what's next, we can confidently say this is just the beginning of moving upward and forward. A new album will be released soon and more concerts will follow, among other things. What is certain is that it is an exciting time to be a Marilyn Manson fan.