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...
Towards the end of the August 22, 2025 episode of The Tucker Carlson Show, guest and Stained frontman Aaron Lewis talked about his "penpal" friendship with Marilyn Manson, when asked by Tucker who the truly good people in the music industry are.
"I have a lot of acquaintances in the industry. Like there’s people that I have huge love and respect for. Like me and you text all the time, me and Marilyn Manson text all the time. He'd actually surprise you... Brian is one of the most intelligent, profound conversations I have ever had with somebody. I use the word evil lightly, but he's like an evil genius. He is fully aware of every single button he is purposely pushing... Like it's all been calculated... He knows exactly what he's doing. He knows exactly what buttons he's pushing and he's pushing them on purpose. He's amazing... He's like my modern-day pen pal. We never actually talk on the phone. We just text."
"I have a lot of acquaintances in the industry. Like there’s people that I have huge love and respect for. Like me and you text all the time, me and Marilyn Manson text all the time. He'd actually surprise you... Brian is one of the most intelligent, profound conversations I have ever had with somebody. I use the word evil lightly, but he's like an evil genius. He is fully aware of every single button he is purposely pushing... Like it's all been calculated... He knows exactly what he's doing. He knows exactly what buttons he's pushing and he's pushing them on purpose. He's amazing... He's like my modern-day pen pal. We never actually talk on the phone. We just text."
Tucker Carlson also mentioned interviewing Manson years ago:
"I interviewed him in the 90s, Brian, and I thought he was smart. In maybe 1999 at the Chateau Marmont in LA."
To read the Tucker Carlson interview with Marilyn Manson, see here.
"I interviewed him in the 90s, Brian, and I thought he was smart. In maybe 1999 at the Chateau Marmont in LA."
To read the Tucker Carlson interview with Marilyn Manson, see here.
Tucker's full interview with Aaron Lewis can be seen here.