The self-proclaimed God of Fuck is back after three years after 2017's Heaven Upside Down (which I reviewed here - check it out, as I am really proud of that review) with the first single - "WE ARE CHAOS" - from his upcoming eleventh studio album (due to drop on September 11th, 2020) of the same title. When I first listened to the song, I instantly fell in love with it, although it definitely surprised me because despite its title, it is anything but chaotic. It is a beautiful power ballad reminding me a bit of The High End of Low (2009)'s "Running to the Edge of the World," making it a surprising lead single. It is, however, not the first time that a rock or metal act this year has released a surprising lead single from a new album. This past April, Evanescence released "Wasted on You" (which I reviewed here), the first single from their upcoming studio album The Bitter Truth, and it surprised a lot of fans because it didn't really have the energy of a lead single; like "WE ARE CHAOS," it is a power ballad that sounds more like an album's closing track than a lead single, and that is definitely the case here, as well. "WE ARE CHAOS" sounds like a track that could effectively close the album, although it isn't going to; it will be the second track on the album. The reason why I bring the Evanescence song up, however, is that frontwoman Amy Lee said that "Wasted on You" was not originally intended to be the first single but seemed appropriate because of the times that we were living in (as in the COVID-19 pandemic), and given the song's second verse, I wholeheartedly agreed: "Once, this was a garden. This was a world. All of the nightmares stayed in the dark. A little too much time by yourself and you become the enemy. Just look at us now." It seemed to describe the world - having to quarantine and isolate because of the virus - pretty perfectly, and I think that Manson might have chosen "WE ARE CHAOS" as this album's lead single for the same reason - that and just how chaotic that 2020 has been in general. I, in fact, would even venture as far as to say that the lyrics were likely directly written about or at least heavily inspired by the pandemic: "If you say that we're ill," Manson opens the first verse with his signature throaty moan, "give us your pill. Hope we'll just go away, but once you've inhaled death, everything else is perfume." The parallel there to this year's situation is, in my opinion, pretty obvious.
Genius describes "WE ARE CHAOS" as being more uplifting than most of Manson's music tends to be, and I would definitely agree - both sonically and lyrically. The song is sonically light and has a bit of a dreamlike quality to it, namely because of the softly strumming acoustic guitar and Manson's slightly echoed and displaced vocals. There is some electric guitar in the mix (which comes in later), but it's really not heavy and makes the song more of an alternative track than a hard rock or metal track. It is a stark contrast when considering Heaven Upside Down's lead single "WE KNOW WHERE YOU FUCKING LIVE," which is arguably one of the heaviest songs of Manson's career thus far. The song is also, as just mentioned, lyrically uplifting, although it may not seem that way at first glance. The anthemic hook declares that "we are sick, fucked up, and complicated" and that "we are chaos; we can't be cured." This seems to suggest, since it says that we can't be cured, that humanity is a hopeless case. I am, however, reminded of the X-Men franchise in which some people try to find a cure for mutants, but some of the mutants rebel, claiming that they don't need a cure because there is nothing wrong with them. It is a stark parallel with real life situations in which LGBTQ+ people are subjected to treatments such as conversion therapy. Manson could therefore be saying that we can't be cured because there isn't anything wrong with us. He could also be saying that what is wrong with us is what makes us human. He admits that we are complicated, and that word implies that there are good aspects to humanity. Near the end of the first verse (probably my favorite part of the song), Manson sings, "In the end, we all end up in a garbage dump, but I'll be the one that's holding your hand." His garbage dump is likely a euphemism for death; he is saying that death doesn't negate the importance of life - that it, in fact, makes life that much more beautiful because it is an opportunity for love to fulfill promises. It's arguably somewhat cliché but also a beautiful line and could possibly be inspired in part by his having lost his father three years ago, an event that deeply impacted Manson emotionally. I just adore this song so much; it is a rare example of a song hitting me upon first listen, as I even got chills and nearly cried when I first heard it. Manson has said that he is very proud of WE ARE CHAOS, referring to it as a masterpiece, and if this first single is any indication, then we are definitely in for a treat!
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