The question which persists to irritate me, is why build a new album almost entirely around a retrospective mind-set? Why look back at previous works when there was a whole world to discover with this new grandiose, cinematic soundscape? To try and understand Manson’s frame of mind you need to look at his roots, given how Manson’s trajectory into stardom stemmed from a collection of shock-rock tactics and a punk-like attitude when it came to lyric-writing his topics shining on societal flaws and problems in America: politics, religion and the unattainable American Dream. The bottom-line: it would be an album more reflective of the past than one which pushed creative boundaries. But surprise came to many when he announced in interviews, back at the start of the year when the new album was announced, it’d be a departure from The Pale Emperor, sounding more like a cross between The Golden Age… and Mechanical Animals. A career defining achievement, and one that yearned for a continuation if there was ever going to be another album. The results were a refreshing success, a sharp and mature experience which delivered the most electric sounding album since Holy Wood. For a guy who went arguably irrelevant as far back as Eat Me Drink Me, he somehow managed to garner universal praise in 2015 for his ninth studio effort, The Pale Emperor a record that fused his bare-bone Born Villain sound with a blues bite. I’m still not quite sure what Manson’s thought process was when developing Heaven Upside Down, given the success of his previous album. Review Summary: The God of almost fu*king it up.
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