So the these last two albums suck but I think there's hope for the future.

I know some people like the OUAG albums most of those people seem to be on this sub. There are also plenty of people here who don't like them and we tend to have a very similar view of the issues.

1. The vocal effects.... Everyone knows they suck and give every song this weird samey generic AI feel or something. If anything it makes his vocals seem thinner and less interesting total opposite of what is intended. Makes tracks sound like they belong to a no name generic goth artist who gets 36 spottily streams a month. I have a feeling he will drop this from future albums. It's really sad because technically he is a more capable singer than he has been for well over a decade. We all know he performs so much better live now but the vocal effects make everything sound so cheesy it offsets that to the point where its worse than anything else he has ever done.

2. Tyler Bates songwriting these albums ? It definitely can't be worse than the production but it's not great. I'm not really sure if it's his fault really I think Manson wanted a particular sound and bates had to kinda work around that. Songs just have no flow and partially it feels like Manson's vocal melodies just feel off. Like there's really nothing interesting going on in these albums. I basically never find myself nodding my head to any of these songs.

3. Lyrically these albums are several tiers below any previous Manson album. This is really sad to even say because I have always thought Manson is really in a league of his own in this area. Like would say he's objectively the greatest rock lyricist that originated in the 1990s no doubt. No one can match his consistency and output..... Until these albums... I mean it doesn't help the songs suck and the presentation is all off. Having all this weird vocal effect shit and that Manson seems like he's doing an impression of what other people think Marilyn Manson vocals sound like really doesn't help the impression I get from the lyrics. Seriously though like wtf is this shit? Can anyone tell me most of these lyrics aren't awkward as fuck? Like Obviously Manson always uses metaphors and things but it all feels so forced. Like he's forcing metaphors and trying to express and ideas that feel mostly fabricated.

Stand in a circle, take out your sword
Now stab to your right
Go around in a daisy chain until you’re all unalive
Stand in a circle, take out your sword
Now stab to your right
Go around in a daisy chain until you’re all unalive

Like dude please stop I can't take anymore cheese. Like Manson before these albums pass out the cheese here and there. A super stereotypical goth melodramatic line here and there? Alright that can give a song a bit of character kinda fun. It's like he decided to do that with every song and most lines.

The good news is from what I understand these songs come from the same writing and recording sessions. So it's possible they just made a bunch of unfortunate experimental decisions and they ended up having to commit to it. Manson usually pivots away from things that don't work fairly quickly. When he gets tired of a particular he moves onto something else. He will move on from this as well. I think it's also all these allegations and lawsuits have gotten in his head. The lyrics feel like they are suppose to be angry and raw but at the same time they seem so reserved....... It feels like he's self censoring himself in someways? I have never gotten that impression from Manson before. I think he's kinda afraid to really let loose and speak his mind freely. I hope he can move on to writing about other things outside of his recent public allegations. I suspect it will feel more natural and less forced then.