In a new interview, Marilyn Manson says God is responsible for his recent back-to-back on-stage accidents, one of which broke his leg, resulting in the cancellation of many upcoming live dates. And I don’t mean he says God is responsible as a metaphor; I mean he really does point the finger at God:
“I think it was possibly the whole nature, God, whatever it might be — someone was trying to put a stop to things. If you believe in one thing, you gotta believe in the other power.”
So, I guess I’m pretty naive, but I never thought Manson actually, like, believed in Satan. I thought he just used Satan as a concept or metaphor, the way everyone old enough to know there’s no Santa Claus ought to. But no. Manson thinks God struck him down for being an agent of The Other Guy.
Manson’s comment reminded me of another prominent metal musician who believes in fairy tales: Dave Mustaine. The Megadeth mastermind, you may recall, once claimed that the power of prayer, and not a team of backstage medical professionals who gave him medicine and painkillers, enabled him to perform one night despite suffering from a kidney stone.
So now that we’ve established that both Mustaine and Manson think God plays a part in their on-stage success (or lack thereof), it seems pretty clear what needs to happen: a Megadeth/Marilyn Manson tour where every night each band performs a pre-show ritual in which they pray to God or Satan, and then they see who gets a better crowd response that night (as measured by the loudness of the fans’ cheers, amount of merch sold after the show, and the average numbers of bathroom breaks, walk-outs, futzing with phones, etc. during each set). I mean, if we’re thinking God and Lucifer are real entities engaged in a battle for our souls or whatever, let’s make it interesting. Let ’em duke it out in the arena of rock n’ roll. C’mon, promoters with lots of money and connections and know-how. Make it happen.
In the meantime, Manson has also cancelled the rest of his current tour, which isn’t surprising.
[Metal Sucks – original article]
[Picture: Metal Sucks]