48 hours after the release of "God is a Weapon", the music video has garnered 1.5 million views on YouTube and was trending there at #2 for music, while previously in just one day it had hit a million views and at its peak was trending at #4 for all YouTube videos. The song has been trending on all the major streaming services as well. The music video has inspired many reaction videos on YouTube als (most of which are very funny and worth watching at least for the reaction when they realize Marilyn Manson is a part of it), and out of the 20 or so that I saw it was received very positively, primarily because the song is often described as an earworm that is very pleasant to listen to which slowly builds up but doesn't take too long to do so, and the video has cinematic production value, while at the same time the lyrics and symbolism are thought provoking. These are perfect ingredients for a song to be listened to repeatedly. As for Falling in Reverse and their lead singer...
48 hours after the release of "God is a Weapon", the music video has garnered 1.5 million views on YouTube and was trending there at #2 for music, while previously in just one day it had hit a million views and at its peak was trending at #4 for all YouTube videos. The song has been trending on all the major streaming services as well.
The music video has inspired many reaction videos on YouTube als (most of which are very funny and worth watching at least for the reaction when they realize Marilyn Manson is a part of it), and out of the 20 or so that I saw it was received very positively, primarily because the song is often described as an earworm that is very pleasant to listen to which slowly builds up but doesn't take too long to do so, and the video has cinematic production value, while at the same time the lyrics and symbolism are thought provoking. These are perfect ingredients for a song to be listened to repeatedly. As for Falling in Reverse and their lead singer Ronnie Radke, it is described as very different from what the band has done but a step in the right direction. The common factor in every reaction video, however, is the complete shock and surprise everyone experiences when they realize it is a collaboration with Marilyn Manson. I don't know if it is for marketing reasons or some other reason that Marilyn Manson is not mentioned as a collaborator in this video, since on YouTube it only says it is a video by Falling in Reverse, but for whatever reason Manson is not mentioned it worked for its marketing. The video and song dropped a few days ago without any announcements from either Falling in Reverse or Marilyn Manson, so when people saw the video they assumed it was only a Falling in Reverse video, but as the many reaction videos online show us, when they realize Marilyn Manson is also a part of this song and video then it all makes sense why Falling in Reverse took a direction that would seem inspired by Manson.
The reactions to the video and its thought provoking nature has also inspired people to try and interpret the song and video. The fact that this song has four writers, including Manson and Radke, makes it a little difficult to interpret in so far as who had a say in what. As someone who knows Manson as a writer much more than the others, I can definitely see Manson's influence on the writing and concepts, especially the parts where he sings. The video sort of reminds me of the "Say10" video Manson did with Johnny Depp (even though only Manson sings on that track), in reference to the fact that there are two figures who represent two opposite characters, like God and Satan or Cain and Abel. In the "God is a Weapon" video, Ronnie sings about God as a woman who he desires and wants to marry while Manson sings about this God as a weapon which makes him feel like if he lost her then he would explode like a grenade. Poetically their lyrics sound the same but say opposite things. And these opposites can be seen in the rest of the short video, where we see scenes from a battle in which Manson sits among the weapons and fallen soldiers while Ronnie kisses a woman (played by Dana Dentata, who is also Ronnie's real girlfriend and ironically sang backup vocals for Manson in his song "Heaven Upside Down" which is thematically equivalent) who in the video is supposed to represent God, thus showing the opposites of love and war or love and violence. But then these opposites come together where God as a woman is shown to also be a weapon who destroys all the men except Ronnie and Manson. The meaning of the song therefore in my opinion (which can be wrong) is that when a man loves a woman it elevates her to a God-like status in his mind, desiring her so much that he wants to spend the rest of his life with her, while at the same time if things fall apart and man loses the woman he loves, it could reduce him to self-destruction, among other low points, leaving him feeling that he would rather be dead than be a force of destruction. By the end of the video they all stand together united and God as a weapon consumes everything and everyone.
Another common reaction I've been seeing is people talking about how well the collaboration between Ronnie Radke and Marilyn Manson works, leaving them wanting to hear more from the two. As far as I know, this may be their only collaboration, but I think the collaboration between both Manson and Radke has opened new doors for both artists to each other's fandom. It has made Manson fans wanting to hear more from Falling in Reverse and Falling in Reverse fans have mostly become aware that Manson is back with a vengeance and worth listening to. I think this is the ultimate goal of any great collaboration.
Now people are talking about if this song should be the song of the summer. I'm sure for certain audiences, it will be, though on the popular level I have yet to hear it on the radio (yet), so it may just have to be a personal decision.
The music video has inspired many reaction videos on YouTube als (most of which are very funny and worth watching at least for the reaction when they realize Marilyn Manson is a part of it), and out of the 20 or so that I saw it was received very positively, primarily because the song is often described as an earworm that is very pleasant to listen to which slowly builds up but doesn't take too long to do so, and the video has cinematic production value, while at the same time the lyrics and symbolism are thought provoking. These are perfect ingredients for a song to be listened to repeatedly. As for Falling in Reverse and their lead singer Ronnie Radke, it is described as very different from what the band has done but a step in the right direction. The common factor in every reaction video, however, is the complete shock and surprise everyone experiences when they realize it is a collaboration with Marilyn Manson. I don't know if it is for marketing reasons or some other reason that Marilyn Manson is not mentioned as a collaborator in this video, since on YouTube it only says it is a video by Falling in Reverse, but for whatever reason Manson is not mentioned it worked for its marketing. The video and song dropped a few days ago without any announcements from either Falling in Reverse or Marilyn Manson, so when people saw the video they assumed it was only a Falling in Reverse video, but as the many reaction videos online show us, when they realize Marilyn Manson is also a part of this song and video then it all makes sense why Falling in Reverse took a direction that would seem inspired by Manson.
The reactions to the video and its thought provoking nature has also inspired people to try and interpret the song and video. The fact that this song has four writers, including Manson and Radke, makes it a little difficult to interpret in so far as who had a say in what. As someone who knows Manson as a writer much more than the others, I can definitely see Manson's influence on the writing and concepts, especially the parts where he sings. The video sort of reminds me of the "Say10" video Manson did with Johnny Depp (even though only Manson sings on that track), in reference to the fact that there are two figures who represent two opposite characters, like God and Satan or Cain and Abel. In the "God is a Weapon" video, Ronnie sings about God as a woman who he desires and wants to marry while Manson sings about this God as a weapon which makes him feel like if he lost her then he would explode like a grenade. Poetically their lyrics sound the same but say opposite things. And these opposites can be seen in the rest of the short video, where we see scenes from a battle in which Manson sits among the weapons and fallen soldiers while Ronnie kisses a woman (played by Dana Dentata, who is also Ronnie's real girlfriend and ironically sang backup vocals for Manson in his song "Heaven Upside Down" which is thematically equivalent) who in the video is supposed to represent God, thus showing the opposites of love and war or love and violence. But then these opposites come together where God as a woman is shown to also be a weapon who destroys all the men except Ronnie and Manson. The meaning of the song therefore in my opinion (which can be wrong) is that when a man loves a woman it elevates her to a God-like status in his mind, desiring her so much that he wants to spend the rest of his life with her, while at the same time if things fall apart and man loses the woman he loves, it could reduce him to self-destruction, among other low points, leaving him feeling that he would rather be dead than be a force of destruction. By the end of the video they all stand together united and God as a weapon consumes everything and everyone.
Another common reaction I've been seeing is people talking about how well the collaboration between Ronnie Radke and Marilyn Manson works, leaving them wanting to hear more from the two. As far as I know, this may be their only collaboration, but I think the collaboration between both Manson and Radke has opened new doors for both artists to each other's fandom. It has made Manson fans wanting to hear more from Falling in Reverse and Falling in Reverse fans have mostly become aware that Manson is back with a vengeance and worth listening to. I think this is the ultimate goal of any great collaboration.
Now people are talking about if this song should be the song of the summer. I'm sure for certain audiences, it will be, though on the popular level I have yet to hear it on the radio (yet), so it may just have to be a personal decision.
In addition, for the first time Ronnie's girlfriend and the front woman of her own band Dana Dentata also responded to people who wanted to know where she stood as far as supporting Manson and Radke, and she posted the story below in her Instagram to make it clear that she stands by them both.
The reason she clarified her position was because she used to be close friends with Laney Chantal and Gabriella Accarino, who have both died. Both of them made statements against Manson, and as a friend to them and other accusers Dana joined them in making a statement against Manson back in 2021. When they both died, Dana slowly felt more comfortable making her real position known, even attending Manson's last two birthday parties. With this statement she posted yesterday, there should be no more confusion where her loyalties really lie.
