Intensive listening: MARILYN MANSON: “As Sick As the Secrets Within”

“As Sick As the Secrets Within” is the first musical sign of life from cult rocker Marilyn Manson in over four years. Despite all the accusations the musician has had to endure since the beginning of his career, the events of recent months have probably cast the biggest shadow over his career. Manson prefers to keep these “secrets inside” to himself in the new single. “As Sick As the Secrets Within” is the US-American’s first release under the German label Nuclear Blast Records. For this song at least, he appears to be continuing his collaboration with producer and songwriter Tyler Bates, who has been the band’s lead guitarist since 2014. We can assume that the upcoming album will also be another joint effort. But let’s listen to the song.

Self-reflection?

It is difficult to compare “As Sick As the Secrets Within” with past pieces. Stylistically, it fits more in the direction that Manson took with the albums “The Pale Emperor” and “Heaven Upside Down”. The song is produced in a very modern and contemporary way. Although you might expect a harder pace after the intro, it remains continuously slow, less melodic and dissonant. Marilyn Manson is very familiar with this mood. What is new, however, is the cool tension that the song radiates. Brian Warner’s vocals are very clear and deliberate. He repeats certain phrases and melodies like a mantra. Not a superfluous note emerges from his voice. The whole song seems cold and monotonous, the effect in his voice in the chorus disconcerting. This cool atmosphere goes hand in hand with an uncompromising web of lyrics. The lines “This is no longer my community” or “The blood from the cup is so cold” sound like the words of an artist who is currently preoccupied with one topic in particular, namely himself and his (social?) environment. Physically, Manson currently looks fitter and healthier than he has for a long time. The lines: “One reason for me to get through was a desire to get high” show that he has dealt intensively – and apparently successfully – with his demons and addictions. The song is a slow mid-tempo number, which deliberately does without a climax.

Trapped in yourself?

The video for the song is just as cryptic and abstract. Here you can see different facets of Manson’s personality staged one after the other. The cult figure MM, encased in fractal-like tentacles. An art and cult figure that we have ultimately also created over the past 30 years. The introverted artist, dressed in a white shirt, in front of the mirror, thoughtful and serious, reflecting on himself. The Manson of the present, caught up in himself, with a dark, evil look as he speaks to us through the camera. “Go back to sleep, I’ll make you dream of me …” he repeats, almost like a threat, until the end of the song. Ultimately, we also see the rebirth of a new Marilyn Manson, as he fights his way through a kind of organic cocoon. In the song he sings: “There’s a trick to getting out of your skin. You’re only as sick as the secrets inside!” We will soon find out what this new Marilyn Manson looks and sounds like.

A new beginning?

“As Sick As the Secrets Within” certainly seals a new beginning in Marilyn Manson’s career. But the song only feels like part of a chapter, or more like a prologue. It is currently a secret which topics the shock rocker will be tackling on his upcoming album. Perhaps openness would not be wrong. Far too often in the course of his 30-year career, it was the exceptional artist’s undoing that he occasionally wore the masks he presented to society himself. Wouldn’t it be a good time to take off your masks? Because behind this mask, as hideous as it may be, there is one thing above all: one of the most important and influential artists that today’s pop culture and society has produced. And at the moment, the stars are looking good that his career is far from over. “Go back to sleep, I’ll let you dream about me …”

Sam Oeder

See for yourself:

Experience MARILYN MANSON live:
10. February 2025 CH-Zurich, Halle 622
11. February 2025 IT-Milan, Alcatraz
13. February 2025 DE-Munich, Zenith
14. February 2025 CZ-Brno, Hala Vodova
16. February 2025 DE-Berlin, Columbiahalle
17. February 2025 DK-Copenhagen, KB Hall
19. February 2025 NL-Amsterdam, Afdas Live
21. February 2025 UK-London, City Hall
23. February 2025 UK-Wolverhampton, Civic Hall

Do you already have your tickets? Attention, some dates are already sold out!