Marilyn Manson

Fort Lauderdale to Nothing Records

The band formed in Fort Lauderdale in 1989 under the name Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids, put together by singer Brian Warner and guitarist Scott Putesky. Both took stage names built from the same formula — a screen star welded to a murderer — and Warner kept his after the rest of the conceit wore off. Putesky performed as Daisy Berkowitz.

The break came in 1993, when the group became the first act signed to Nothing Records, the imprint run by Trent Reznor. Reznor also handed them an opening slot on Nine Inch Nails' Self Destruct tour, which put a Florida club band in front of arena audiences before it had released anything. The debut album followed in 1994.

The records that set the terms

Antichrist Superstar, released in 1996, entered the Billboard 200 at number three on first-week sales of 132,000. It is the record the rest of the catalogue is measured against, and the one the current touring plan is organised around. Mechanical Animals went to number one in 1998 with more than 223,000 copies in its first week, trading the industrial abrasion for glam rock staging and a different character.

The Golden Age of Grotesque repeated the number one debut in 2003 with 118,000 copies, and sold more than 400,000 internationally. The commercial contraction that followed is plain in the numbers: The Pale Emperor, widely regarded as the strongest late-period album, reached number eight in 2015 on 51,000 copies. The band has four Grammy nominations, entered the Kerrang! Hall of Fame in 2000, and claims sales above 50 million records worldwide.

The label history traces the arc — Nothing, then Interscope, then the independent Cooking Vinyl for the run that included The Pale Emperor and 2020's We Are Chaos, and since 2024 the metal specialist Nuclear Blast.

Four years of investigation

In 2021 more than a dozen women made allegations of abuse against Warner, among them the actors Evan Rachel Wood and Esmé Bianco. He denied them and sued Wood in 2022. The commercial consequences were immediate: management, label and booking relationships fell away, and the touring operation stopped.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office ran a four-year investigation. On 24 January 2025 the District Attorney, Nathan J. Hochman, announced that no charges would be filed, stating that his office had "determined that allegations of domestic violence fall outside of the statute of limitations, and we cannot prove charges of sexual assault beyond a reasonable doubt." That decision is the pivot on which everything since has turned — it removed the legal jeopardy without settling the argument, and the argument has followed the tour from venue to venue.

Chapter 1 and Chapter 2

One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1 arrived on 22 November 2024 through Nuclear Blast, the first album in four years, trailed by the singles "As Sick as the Secrets Within" (2 August 2024), "Raise the Red Flag" (16 August) and "Sacrilegious" (27 September). It reached number 32 on the Billboard 200 and number 36 in the UK, but performed considerably better in German-speaking markets — number four in Germany and Switzerland, number six in Austria. Blabbermouth called it "a solid and accomplished record with some great tunes"; Sputnikmusic described an "explosive return"; it topped the year-end readers' polls at both Metal Injection and Revolver.

Chapter 2 followed on 14 August 2026: ten tracks, 42 minutes and 58 seconds, written and co-produced with Tyler Bates and recorded between April 2023 and April 2024 across three Los Angeles studios — The Abattoir, NRG and EastWest. The singles were "Exit Wound" (12 June), "Front Toward Enemy" (17 July) and "Unalive", issued with the album. Revolver characterised "Exit Wound" as "a brooding fracas of slinky hi-hat grooves and see-sawing industrial riffage", and it topped the magazine's mid-year fan poll.

Commercially it broke a long streak. Chapter 2 debuted at number 41 on the Billboard 200 — the first Marilyn Manson studio album to miss the American top 40 since the 1994 debut — while again charting higher abroad, at number three in Austria, five in Germany, 13 in Australia and 27 in the UK. Reviews split. AllMusic thought Manson and Bates "really click"; Sputnikmusic found it less immediate than Chapter 1 but rewarding on repeat; Blabbermouth judged that it "doesn't quite carry the same weight" as its predecessor and missed the industrial textures.

A band rebuilt while the tour was running

The One Assassination Under God tour has run since August 2024 and is scheduled to close in November 2026, across nine legs and roughly 153 shows. It opened with North American co-headline dates alongside Five Finger Death Punch and Slaughter to Prevail, with The Funeral Portrait opening, and a sold-out European headline leg followed in February 2025. Later support slots went to VOWWS, Dead Posey, Black Satellite and others.

The band that started the tour is not the band playing it now. Tyler Bates announced on 6 January 2026 that he was ending his touring commitment — "I have decided to conclude my time touring with Marilyn Manson to focus on my artist, film, and television projects" — while continuing to write and produce, calling Chapter 2 "my fourth album with Manson, which I believe is our finest work together". Tim Sköld rejoined in February 2026, eighteen years after leaving in 2008. Reba Meyers of Code Orange, the first woman to play in the band, left in April 2026 and was replaced on lead guitar by Nick Annis, who has toured with Dorothy and Kesha. Gil Sharone remains on drums and Piggy D. has shifted instruments to cover the churn.

The spring headline run opened at the Yaamava' Theater in Highland, California, in late April 2026 with a 17-song set that pulled up material the band had not touched in years: "Dried Up, Tied and Dead to the World" for the first time since 2018 and "(s)AINT" for the first time since 2005.

Where it stands in autumn 2026

Bookings remain contested in Britain. The Brighton Centre date of 29 October 2025, intended to open the UK leg, was cancelled after a campaign by the group No Stage For Abusers and a letter from the MP Siân Berry, co-signed by victim support organisations and the University of Sussex students' union; Berry argued that "the council has a responsibility to take action where there are risks of discrimination, harassment and victimisation". A 31 October date at Bournemouth International Centre drew similar opposition, with BCP Council leader Millie Earl saying she did not believe "Marilyn Manson reflects the values we have in BCP". Ticketmaster refunded Brighton buyers.

The summer was spent on Freaks on Parade, the fourth co-headline package with Rob Zombie: 21 North American amphitheatre shows between 20 August and 20 September 2026, with The Hu and Orgy supporting. Ticket sales across that leg were reported as modest rather than strong, which matters for what comes next — the autumn run is deliberately small-room.

The closing dates are eight theatre shows marking thirty years of Antichrist Superstar, two nights in each of four cities: The Fillmore in New Orleans on 14 and 15 October, The Aztec Theatre in San Antonio on 17 and 18 October, Emo's in Austin on 21 and 22 October, and The Wiltern in Los Angeles on 31 October and 1 November, with a festival appearance in Fort Worth on 24 October alongside. The run grew out of a single Wiltern booking that sold out, and the added New Orleans night went on general sale on 24 July 2026. Manson's stated brief is "a set that dives deep into this defining record and spans the milestones that followed".