Skip to main content

ALBUM REVIEW: "Heaven Upside Down" by Marilyn Manson

   Manson's 10th studio album trades the bass-heavy glam swagger of 2015's The Pale Emperor for a more industrial, metallic tone reminiscent of Mechanical Animals era Manson, which was a disappointment for me. Instead of expanding his turf and exploring the newer, less-worn areas of his artistic output, we have a re-tread of what Manson has already proved himself to be adequate at, but without the danger and vitality his music was dripping with in the 90s. No one is going to be banning this album today, and he isn't the automatic scapegoat he once was, so this return to the past is as tiresome as it is confusing. Manson fans will likely jump right in, and there certainly is a certain glory-days vibe to Heaven Upside Down, but looking in from the outside I have no reason to care for something that was controversial and shocking 20 years ago, but dull and exhausting today (lyrics "so fuck your bible" don't do it for me on the first iteration, let alone the fifteenth time in three minutes). Didn't care for this album at all.

   Favourite Tracks: SAY10, Saturnalia and Blood Honey

    Least Favourite Tracks: Tattooed In Reverse, WE KNOW WHERE YOU FUCKING LIVE, KILL4ME and Threats of Romance

   Rating: 3/10

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

1 YEAR LATER: "22, A Million" by Bon Iver

   Bon Iver's third studio album turns 1 in about a week (where did that year go?), so I thought it would be interesting to talk a bit about how my impressions of the album have changed - or how they haven't - over the last 12 months. When this album was released I was more excited than I think I ever have been to hear a new album. For Emma, Forever Ago is one of my all time favourites, and I love his self-titled second album too, so I had huge expectations for this album, but was also wary that expectations might ruin my experience of the music. This was particularly the case for 22, A Million , because it is unlike anything else Justin Vernon has released. There have been hints at this more processed, electronic direction previously, like the song "Woods" on the Blood Bank EP and occasional flourishes on Bon Iver , but 22, A Million is a drastic departure from the Bon Iver sound we had grown accustomed to at this point in time. Or at least, that's what I thought...
Post a Comment
Read more

ALBUM REVIEW: "Mesmer" by Northlane

   On Friday Northlane released their fourth studio album Mesmer without any warning, and it's pretty awesome. Fans that were keeping up had been getting hints for a while, with cryptic announcements and a seriously cool chatbot, but Mesmer was a complete surprise for everyone, and one that has brought with it a more cohesive and complete sound for the band.    2015's  Node was a great way to open up the second chapter in the band's trajectory and featured a fantastic performance from new singer Marcus Bridge, but definitely felt like a transition album for a band that had forged such a signature sound and was in the middle of great change. Mesmer immediately feels a lot more comfortable than Node  for a bunch of reasons, which is to be expected now the band has been touring with Bridge almost non-stop for more than two years. While the production on Node didn't quite fit the sound they were going for and seemed a little flat across the board, David Bend...
Post a Comment
Read more