Marilyn Manson – “Heaven Upside Down” [Album Review]

Over the years, I have had a sort of love/hate relationship with Marilyn Manson. The first three albums (Portrait of An American Family, Antichrist Superstar, and Mechanical Animals) were staples of my younger years and, to this day, songs such as “Lunchbox,” and “The Dope Show,” are still played regularly. I can’t say I have been on board with everything Manson has released, though; I could never really get into some of his later stuff (The Born Villain, The Pale Emperor). While they were decent, sure, they never really got my blood pumping like the classic material. The good news is that Heaven Upside Down grabbed my attention from opening track “Revelation #12” and essentially kept it all the way through.

The record, while still firmly rooted in the Goth genre, has a bit more edge, and bit more of a punk/industrial feel to it; this is a good thing as it’s arguably where Manson excels and remains king. No one writes big industrial anthemic tunes like “The Beautiful People” and “Disposable Teens,” like he does; no one! Those songs defined a generation and a genre.

With all that being said, I think the only song on here that compares to those early anthems is “Say10,” a clever play on words and a track that is so big and bad it burrows into your auditory canals festering there and commanding your attention. In no time at all you will be singing along.

The rest of the record is quite good, however, and all the songs, minus the “Saturnalia” (which, to me, is too long and never really goes anywhere), are really a return to form for Manson and one I think die-hard fans are going to appreciate.

Manson has been a bit under the radar for a while now and I think with the release of Heaven Upside Down that is going to change. Manson has returned with an album that is going to put him back on the proverbial map.

Track Listing:

01. Revelation #12
02. Tattooed In Reverse
03. We Know Where You Fucking Live
04. Say10
05. KILLME
06. Saturnalia
07. Jesus Crisis
08. Blood Honey
09. Heaven Upside Down
10. Threats Of Romance

Run Time: 47:29
Release Date: October 6, 2017

Check out the music video for new single “We Know Where You Fucking Live”