Marilyn Manson
Heaven Upside Down

After the successful "The Pale Emperor" which marked the temporary transition from industrial metal to more blues rock and classic alt-rock sounds, the tenth album "Heaven Upside Down" is a bit of a summary between the predecessor's sounds, the more classic ones, and also some new elements. It starts with Revelation #12, a track with typically industrial sounds, though lacking inspiration both in lyrics and musically with a stale sound, already heard and reheard, in my opinion, the worst of the tracklist, not a good way to start. With Tattooed in Reverse, the mood completely changes: martial rhythms similar to Rammstein's, almost dubstep, electronics pumped to the maximum and lyrics spitting anger against religion; the beautiful electronic groove flows smoothly under Manson's hoarse voice, although no longer what it used to be. The third track is We Know Where You fucking live, the first single released, but in my humble opinion, also among the album's weak points, an industrial sound already heard, vaguely reminiscent of This is the new shit, due to the alternation between spoken verse and shouted chorus and the electronic inserts at the end of each chorus. But, as said, nothing new, just a (bad) copy of the glory days. Say10, on the other hand, is an energetic track characterized by a whispered verse with a trap-like electronic base that explodes in the chorus and develops in a continuous crescendo. It's then the turn of Kill4me, track number 5, a blatantly catchy, radio-friendly song, with a chorus you can't help but hum and an extremely catchy musicality; a brilliant find by producer Tyler Bates, close to the sound of the previous album. The next track, Saturnalia, another gem of the album, written after his father's death, is a beautiful and hallucinogenic 8-minute anthem where Manson embarks on a journey to the underworld. Pleasant sound, psychedelic electronic bases, and a beautiful crescendo that explodes in the chorus. A track that greatly resembles Bauhaus. Then comes Jesus Crisis, another weak point of the album, bland, nothing that hasn't been heard before. Blood Honey is instead the best piece of the album, the only one that can be compared to the songs from the golden era, a piano line introduces us to the track, suffering, full of pathos, with a powerful and simultaneously anguished chorus, like those from Mechanical Animals, and whispered verses, at the end of which a goosebump-inducing synthesizer sound kicks in as Manson whispers suffering: "I'm dripping blood honey." Heaven Upside Down pays the price of the previous track's grandiosity, but it's still a decent track, which is pleasantly listenable, also dedicated to his deceased father. The album closes with Threats of Romance, a good song as well, especially in the verses where guitar interludes and Manson's powerful and anguished voice alternate against the background of almost blues-like piano arpeggios. Heaven Upside Down is certainly a three-star album, you can feel the skillful hand of the producer and the partly regained poetic vein of Brian Warner. However, it feels like the album is Marilyn Manson and not by Marilyn Manson. Personally, I place it a little step below The Pale Emperor due to the presence of a few too many fillers, but we can definitely confirm that Marilyn Manson, after the dark period from 2007-2012, even if partially, is back. Those who don't believe it should go read the Catholic controversies in reaction to his appearance with Bonolis, it seems like being back in the nineties.