Manson is back. Vocally sobriety seems to be doing him favors. His upper range is not as strained. His 12th album is once again produced by Tyler Bates. It sounds like Code Orange's Rebe Meyers is playing for him and lending backup vocals, which makes sense as she has been a part of his most recent touring band. The first two songs are dark, and melodic with enough rock guitars to make sense. The first aggressive song is "Nod if You Understand". His lyrics "I won't repent, this is what I was sent here for" set the tone for the album, since this is his comeback, after an unsuccessful cancellation. Really if you want Manson to be anything but a sleazebag, you were never into his music in the first place or just don't pay attention.
"As Sick as the Secrets Within" was one of the lead singles from this album. It does pretty much what you would want Manson to do in 2024, though it's somewhat moodier and like an alternative power ballad from the 90s. It brings "Mechanical Animals" to mind. "Sacrilegious:" has the same kind of "Dope Show' strut, he is known for. Not the strongest on the album, but it works well enough. There is a more organic rock feel on this album and less electronic pulsing. His lower vocals take on a more "Beautiful People' cadence, so there is an element where Manson feels like need to bring in familiar elements to remind you why you liked him. Things are streamlined, and less experimental, which is still effective for what he is going for here.
"Death is Not a Costume" is darker with more grit to the creeping bass line. The most "goth" song so far. The chorus works really well on this one. "Meet Me in Purgatory" is driven by a punk-tinged bass line. Bate's has really figured out how to dial Manson's voice into the mix. The sounds are very clean, and he could have used less noise gating and allowed some of the tones to have more feedback and grit, particularly on a song like this. 'Raise the Red Flag" is another of the singles that preceded the album. It does have that grit I was just referring to on the bass, but the album as a whole needs to be dialed in like this song. Manson's vocals could still be the focal point, and he is not screaming a helluva like on this album, he does dig in more on the chorus here.
The last song is a ballad, which works well enough, he sounds good on it, perhaps not what I would have chosen for him to do, but there is a creepy little melody in the background. He does go into his head register for a note, which I like. Lyrically it's interesting and honest so it prolly just needs to grow on me, so I will round this album up to a 10, and give it some time to settle in, but aside from a few glances back at his legacy, his voice sounds great and it's dark enough to work for me.
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