It was announced that 102.9 THE HOG and Manyo Motors will present HOG Fest - Shock and Awe 2025 with Five Finger Death Punch headlining and Marilyn Manson and The Funeral Portrait as guests. This will take place on Thursday, July 17th at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After spending a considerable amount of time on the road together this past summer, the three bands will reunite, though as far as we know it will be for one show only. PRESALE – Thursday, December 5th | 10AM – 10PM | USE CODE: OAUG1 ON SALE – Friday, December 6th | 10AM BUY TICKETS HERE
The day has finally arrived! Since September 11, 2020, we have been living in the "We Are Chaos" era, and what a chaotic time it has been. Many could not have imagined that what happened to Marilyn Manson in 2021 would have resulted in his 12th studio album "One Assassination Under God - Chapter 1" released on November 22, 2024. This is the moment we have patiently waited for, this is the moment we have earnestly fought for. And not only do we have a new album, but a new video for the title track was released this morning, the fourth video released for this nine track album, which is amazing in itself. Every song on this album is excellent, and certainly beyond my expectations. Tyler Bates and the band have given Manson a fresh new sound to work with that captures the emotion and atmosphere of each track really well, and the accompanying videos directed by Billy Ukich and the rest of the crew, with the photography by Joey Cultice, Perou and Lindsay have provided stunning, thought-provoking and beautiful images of this new era in Manson's career. With all this following a successful comeback tour, 2024 has indeed been our year, as Manson said on his birthday this past January. And it is looking like 2025 will be bigger and better.
With the release of the new album and the new video today, Manson issued the following statement:
With the release of the new album and the new video today, Manson issued the following statement:
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A lot can be dissected from this statement, the first being that we have now been informed there will be only two chapters to this series, and since this album has nine tracks then it is likely the next album will have nine tracks as well, thus completing the second half. We are also told this album is "my story", therefore it is a concept album and biographical or semi-biographical. In saying the "songs were conjured from purgatory" means that it comes from a place of suffering and hope. Years ago Manson said that he felt like he didn't belong in heaven or hell, so he perceived himself as being below hell, that he had to look up just to see hell. Here Manson is not in an irredeemable place of eternal despair, but in a place where he has to go through a purification process in order to get where he aspires to be. Describing the songs as being "as a row of broken teeth that slightly resemble a smile" illustrates that they are the product of brutal battle which brought a measure of happiness. "My art is what I live for," indicates the inspiration behind what has kept Manson going and that the product he is sharing with us comes from his very soul. The last two lines indicates that the album may mean something to him that it will not mean to the individual listener, and that it is okay for the listener to likewise give it the personal meaning that they do.
With that being said, usually by this time when a new Manson album has been released, we would have had some interviews and/or writings from Manson to guide us in delving deeper into his thinking and creative process in forming the songs and art behind the album. Besides a few statements like the one above, we have had nothing. It really does seem that this personal album from Manson is meant to be personal for us listeners as well. But as I've delved into the lyrics and the imagery a little bit, as well as some other symbolic indicators, what I have found is that there are inspirations behind the songs that led to their creation and that esoteric mysteries give it greater meaning not just on a personal basis but for the general audience as well, if someone is willing to go that deep.
In future posts I will focus specifically on the songs and videos that we have so far, but for now I want to quickly make a general introduction into what I have noticed that makes up various themes of the album, and will go deeper into them as I explore the songs and videos with more depth later on.
As many have noticed, Manson has evoked imagery and concepts from his Tryptich ("Antichrist Superstar", "Mechanical Animals", "Holy Wood") leading up to this album, especially from the "Holy Wood" era, which was a time similar though to a lesser degree than our own after the repercussions Manson faced following the false accusation that it was his art and music that inspired the horrific Columbine massacre. What a lot of people haven't understood was the meaning behind the imagery, which is understandable since it wasn't until today that even I was able to grasp a more detailed understanding of it. Until now, all I could do was speculate and hope for the best in putting together the story of the album. And though the story of the album does have that biographical element Manson mentioned, it also tells his story from the angle of other stories.
For example, why was the new album released on November 22nd? Manson never explained the reasoning behind this. However, because we know that in "Holy Wood" the figure of John F. Kennedy plays a significant role in the concept of that album, and we can safely assume that since John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, that he will play a significant role in this album as well. But how? The title of the album further indicates this conclusion. Interesting also is that on November 22nd, King Philip IV of France (deeply in debt to the Knights Templars) and Pope Clement V (eager to put an end to the order) colluded together to destroy the Knights Templars. Thus on November 22, Clement issued a papal bull ordering the disbandment of the Knights Templar, and calling for their arrests and the seizure of their properties. Following their arrests, they were put on trial for crimes that historians conclude never occurred. We can also bring up the fact that according to Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians, November 22nd is the feast day of the virgin martyr Saint Cecilia, who is widely considered the patron saint of music.
If we judge each of the nine tracks of this album just by their titles, we will notice a few themes there as well. The first thing we notice is a heavy use of language about death. There is also religious language, and specifically language oriented towards Roman Catholicism. The videos also portray these, and add something ritualistic and personal to them.
If we were to combine all of the above factors, what we have is a concept that surfaced in the "Holy Wood" era that has been little understood, and it revolves around the concept of Celebritarianism. The occult, alchemy as well as Freemasonry, have been underlying, reoccurring and key elements throughout Manson's art to speak of the concept of Celebritarianism. The flashing upside down double crosses onstage during Manson's recent comeback tour was a part of this. Celebritarianism centers around the theme of American culture, hypocrisy and the morbid fascination with death. Just as Manson views Jesus Christ as the first celebrity and the first rock star, he also views President John F. Kennedy as the closest thing to a Christ-figure that we have in our times, and hence a Celebritarian icon. These are all concepts that are revisited in "One Assassination Under God - Chapter 1".
To go a little deeper, there is an esoteric rite known as the Killing Of The King which I believe permeates throughout the new album. This is based on a ritual in Freemasonry to become a third degree Freemason. Though I plan on talking about this more later, for now I will explain the basic concept just so you can see how it plays out in the album. In "Holy Wood" we saw this especially in the song 'King Kill 33' which refers to the 33rd degree angle of the bullet that struck Kennedy in the head and killed him. In Freemasonry, the highest level of enlightenment and knowledge is reserved for those who attain to the 33rd degree. Some people believe that Kennedy's assassination was a ritualistic murder by Scottish Rite Freemasons with connections to the Knights Templar as a reenactment of the assassination of Hiram Abif. In Manson's song, he sings the line "and I want you now to just kill the king..." as a reference to this idea. The ritual to become a third degree Freemason is basically, as I said, the reenactment of the murder of Hiram Abif, who Masons say was the chief architect of King Solomon's Temple, and was assassinated by three ruffians with a square, gauge, and gavel for refusing to divulge his secrets soon after the Temple was built. In the ritual, his death, autopsy, burial and resurrection are reenacted by the initiate aspiring to the third degree of Freemasonry.
As I see it, therefore, one of the things Manson is doing in this album, to a certain degree and in his own interpretation, is reenacting the Killing Of The King ritual by invoking Kennedy's assassination to depict his own personal transformation and resurrection and help bring the same type of transformation and resurrection to his listeners. By focusing on such transformation, it evokes memories of how Manson would describe the purpose behind "Antichrist Superstar", which was about bringing to an end the negative aspects of American culture and religion within us and transforming ourselves to our own raw individuality and authenticity.
It's still hard to be sure that what I described above is what is really going on, mainly because we know a chapter 2 of this album is coming and is part of the story. However, it is difficult to ignore what seems obvious and what has been described by Manson before. Manson has described the Tryptich as cyclical in nature, and that as soon as you come to the conclusion you enter again into the cycle. This is because new factors arise in our lives that require us to overcome some other difficulty and give us another opportunity for personal growth and transformation. Essentially this is what I think the new album is about, as reflected also in its accompanying imagery.
I will delve deeper into more specific elements of this and other aspects of the album in my next post on the subject. It will also give me more time to reflect on the album, which I heard today in its entirety for the first time.
With that being said, usually by this time when a new Manson album has been released, we would have had some interviews and/or writings from Manson to guide us in delving deeper into his thinking and creative process in forming the songs and art behind the album. Besides a few statements like the one above, we have had nothing. It really does seem that this personal album from Manson is meant to be personal for us listeners as well. But as I've delved into the lyrics and the imagery a little bit, as well as some other symbolic indicators, what I have found is that there are inspirations behind the songs that led to their creation and that esoteric mysteries give it greater meaning not just on a personal basis but for the general audience as well, if someone is willing to go that deep.
In future posts I will focus specifically on the songs and videos that we have so far, but for now I want to quickly make a general introduction into what I have noticed that makes up various themes of the album, and will go deeper into them as I explore the songs and videos with more depth later on.
As many have noticed, Manson has evoked imagery and concepts from his Tryptich ("Antichrist Superstar", "Mechanical Animals", "Holy Wood") leading up to this album, especially from the "Holy Wood" era, which was a time similar though to a lesser degree than our own after the repercussions Manson faced following the false accusation that it was his art and music that inspired the horrific Columbine massacre. What a lot of people haven't understood was the meaning behind the imagery, which is understandable since it wasn't until today that even I was able to grasp a more detailed understanding of it. Until now, all I could do was speculate and hope for the best in putting together the story of the album. And though the story of the album does have that biographical element Manson mentioned, it also tells his story from the angle of other stories.
For example, why was the new album released on November 22nd? Manson never explained the reasoning behind this. However, because we know that in "Holy Wood" the figure of John F. Kennedy plays a significant role in the concept of that album, and we can safely assume that since John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, that he will play a significant role in this album as well. But how? The title of the album further indicates this conclusion. Interesting also is that on November 22nd, King Philip IV of France (deeply in debt to the Knights Templars) and Pope Clement V (eager to put an end to the order) colluded together to destroy the Knights Templars. Thus on November 22, Clement issued a papal bull ordering the disbandment of the Knights Templar, and calling for their arrests and the seizure of their properties. Following their arrests, they were put on trial for crimes that historians conclude never occurred. We can also bring up the fact that according to Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians, November 22nd is the feast day of the virgin martyr Saint Cecilia, who is widely considered the patron saint of music.
If we judge each of the nine tracks of this album just by their titles, we will notice a few themes there as well. The first thing we notice is a heavy use of language about death. There is also religious language, and specifically language oriented towards Roman Catholicism. The videos also portray these, and add something ritualistic and personal to them.
If we were to combine all of the above factors, what we have is a concept that surfaced in the "Holy Wood" era that has been little understood, and it revolves around the concept of Celebritarianism. The occult, alchemy as well as Freemasonry, have been underlying, reoccurring and key elements throughout Manson's art to speak of the concept of Celebritarianism. The flashing upside down double crosses onstage during Manson's recent comeback tour was a part of this. Celebritarianism centers around the theme of American culture, hypocrisy and the morbid fascination with death. Just as Manson views Jesus Christ as the first celebrity and the first rock star, he also views President John F. Kennedy as the closest thing to a Christ-figure that we have in our times, and hence a Celebritarian icon. These are all concepts that are revisited in "One Assassination Under God - Chapter 1".
To go a little deeper, there is an esoteric rite known as the Killing Of The King which I believe permeates throughout the new album. This is based on a ritual in Freemasonry to become a third degree Freemason. Though I plan on talking about this more later, for now I will explain the basic concept just so you can see how it plays out in the album. In "Holy Wood" we saw this especially in the song 'King Kill 33' which refers to the 33rd degree angle of the bullet that struck Kennedy in the head and killed him. In Freemasonry, the highest level of enlightenment and knowledge is reserved for those who attain to the 33rd degree. Some people believe that Kennedy's assassination was a ritualistic murder by Scottish Rite Freemasons with connections to the Knights Templar as a reenactment of the assassination of Hiram Abif. In Manson's song, he sings the line "and I want you now to just kill the king..." as a reference to this idea. The ritual to become a third degree Freemason is basically, as I said, the reenactment of the murder of Hiram Abif, who Masons say was the chief architect of King Solomon's Temple, and was assassinated by three ruffians with a square, gauge, and gavel for refusing to divulge his secrets soon after the Temple was built. In the ritual, his death, autopsy, burial and resurrection are reenacted by the initiate aspiring to the third degree of Freemasonry.
As I see it, therefore, one of the things Manson is doing in this album, to a certain degree and in his own interpretation, is reenacting the Killing Of The King ritual by invoking Kennedy's assassination to depict his own personal transformation and resurrection and help bring the same type of transformation and resurrection to his listeners. By focusing on such transformation, it evokes memories of how Manson would describe the purpose behind "Antichrist Superstar", which was about bringing to an end the negative aspects of American culture and religion within us and transforming ourselves to our own raw individuality and authenticity.
It's still hard to be sure that what I described above is what is really going on, mainly because we know a chapter 2 of this album is coming and is part of the story. However, it is difficult to ignore what seems obvious and what has been described by Manson before. Manson has described the Tryptich as cyclical in nature, and that as soon as you come to the conclusion you enter again into the cycle. This is because new factors arise in our lives that require us to overcome some other difficulty and give us another opportunity for personal growth and transformation. Essentially this is what I think the new album is about, as reflected also in its accompanying imagery.
I will delve deeper into more specific elements of this and other aspects of the album in my next post on the subject. It will also give me more time to reflect on the album, which I heard today in its entirety for the first time.