One Assassination Under God Tour

The One Assassination Under God Tour is a concert tour by American rock band Marilyn Manson.^[1] It was launched in support of their twelfth studio album, One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1, which was released on November 22, 2024. The first leg of the tour was a North American co-headlining tour with metal bands Five Finger Death Punch and Slaughter to Prevail, with The Funeral Portrait appearing as opening act. The tour was interspersed with Marilyn Manson's own headlining shows. They went on to embark on their own tours of Europe, North and South America, and Asia. The tour is the band's first following multiple allegations of abuse leveled at the band's eponymous vocalist, and an ensuing criminal investigation, which resulted in no charges filed against Manson.^[2] The allegations have been cause to some minor protesting and criticism of the tour.^[3]

The band's lineup for the tour consists of Marilyn Manson on vocals, guitarist Tyler Bates and drummer Gil Sharone. The latter two were returning members, while two new members also joined the band: guitarist Reba Meyers and bassist Piggy D., also known as Matthew Montgomery.^[4] Meyers, the first female member of the band, was met with a mixture of support and criticism on social media after it was revealed she had joined.^[5][6] In response, she issued a statement saying she was "proud to represent the growth, confidence, forgiveness, humanity, and change that comes with this, and to be up there [on stage] with such talented motherfuckers. Everyone is aiming for growth and not stagnation. World needs that attitude right now." She received messages of support from Ray Luzier of Korn, Andy Williams of Every Time I Die, Greg Puciato of Better Lovers, and her bandmates Piggy D. and Gil Sharone.^[7]

The first leg of the tour was a co-headlining arena and amphitheater tour with American bands Five Finger Death Punch and Slaughter to Prevail.^[8][9] The opening act, The Funeral Portrait, were also the opener for a series of solo dates by Manson, which were interspersed throughout the co-headlining tour.^[10] These were Marilyn Manson's first solo headlining dates in five years.^[11] The Funeral Portrait were harassed online after it was revealed they would be performing alongside Manson.^[12] In response, the band's bassist said: "I'm sorry my band that has consistently played 200 cap[acity] venues for 7 years + has a chance to open shows in front of thousands of people, and people wanna be upset by it. ... If what we are doing isn't affecting your life personally, then why get mad about it? You weren't a fan before, and that's fine. No one is forcing anyone to go to these shows."^[13] The Funeral Portrait's song "Suffocate City" became their first number single on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart shortly after the completion of their portion of the tour.^[14]

The tour continued throughout 2025 and is set to continue in 2026.^[15][16] Other opening acts included 5¢ Freakshow,^[17] The Blackmordia,^[18] Black Satellite,^[19] Seven Hours After Violet,^[20] and Dead Posey.^[21]

The tour's September 6, 2024 date at the Honda Center in Anaheim was met with a small protest. Billboard contributor Dave Brooks said overall sales for the Five Finger Death Punch, Marilyn Manson and Slaughter to Prevail tour were "OK at best". He said that Manson had previously done well in markets such as California, and that "some" of the Californian shows not selling out was "not great" for Manson. He said the real test of Manson's commercial viability as a touring act would come when he "does a small headline show or a real co-headline run".^[3] A writer for Houston Music Review said they were "blown away" by the amount of audience members who exited the 16,500-capacity Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in Houston following the completion of Manson's set. They said: "How would I know if it were hundreds or a thousand or more? All I can report is that I have never seen a massive exit like this one." Their writer noted: "I don't think it was at all a boycott of [Five Finger Death Punch]. I believe it was simply that Marilyn Manson was who they came to see and, satisfied, they were ready to go home."^[22]

The second leg of the tour was a sold-out Marilyn Manson headlining tour of Europe, which began in February 2025.^[23] In reviewing the band's show at Columbiahalle in Berlin, Rolling Stone Germany commended Manson's stage presence, saying: "The show that Manson delivers is fantastic. Manson, now clean, is so good, so physically present, that he no longer has to hide behind show/shock effects and costumes; his pure physical presence carries the entire evening."^[24] When reviewing the band's show at the Eventim Apollo in London, The Daily Telegraph praised the stage show and the band's musicianship, but their writer said they felt uncomfortable during the band's cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" due to its lyrics, despite saying fans were "kind, polite and rational."^[25]

The band appeared at the Arizona Bike Week Festival at WestWorld in Scottsdale on April 5. Their appearance was announced just three weeks before the festival took place, after Five Finger Death Punch withdrew "due to a family matter". The festival's organizer abandoned their no refunds policy as a result, and provided ticket holders with instructions on how to obtain a full refund. The festival's producer said: "We haven't had a ton of requests. A few people, but a lot of people are just as excited about Marilyn Manson."^[26]

In June in the United Kingdom, the Liberal Democrats leader of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, Millie Earl, called for the cancellation of the October 31 concert at Bournemouth International Centre. The venue is owned by the Council, but the artists chosen to perform there are determined by the external entity BH Live. Earl contacted BH Live to protest the concert, but said the council could not force a cancellation due to the terms of the lease agreement.^[27] Earl was acting in response to an online campaign organized by Björn Suttka, who fights for "men accused of abuse to be denied a public platform."^[28] The concert went ahead as scheduled.^[29]

That same month, Green Party MP Siân Berry called for the cancellation of the October 29 concert at the Brighton Centre.^[30] She had written an open letter to the leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, asking them to cancel the concert at the Brighton Centre, which is wholly under state ownership.^[31] This campaign was also organized by Suttka.^[32] A week later, Ticketmaster informed customers that the show had been canceled. Supporters of Manson noted he had not been charged or convicted of any of the accusations following a four-year investigation by law enforcement, and said the cancellation was a result of cancel culture, artistic censorship, and was an infringement on freedom of speech.^[33][34]

Suttka additionally lobbied Nottingham City Council to cancel the band's November 2 at Motorpoint Arena Nottingham. Similar to the Bournemouth International Centre, the acts who perform at the Motorpoint Arena are determined by an external body.^[35] The Labour MP Alex Norris wrote to that external body, asking them to cancel the show, while the leader of Nottingham City Council, Neghat Khan, wrote to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper for legal advice. Khan said the council were reluctant to cancel the show outright, as they were forced to pay over £11,000 in legal bills and compensation, and issue a public apology, after they forced the cancellation of a talk by Julie Bindel at a library.^[36]

Nick Tyrone of Spiked said it was "striking" how progressives in the United Kingdom in the 2020s used the same tactics as the conversatives and religious right in North America in the 1990s to ban Manson from performing. He noted both campaigns threatened the future funding of state-owned venues, and amplified unproven claims in mainstream media, to achieve their goal of cancelling a concert. He said both groups were "absolutely convinced that Manson's mere presence" would have a "terrible impact on 'locals and the wider community'. And they're also absolutely convinced that they are in the right. ... It isn't enough for [people] to disagree with something—they have to ban it on behalf of everyone else. As they see it, no one in society should be subjected to something as supposedly morally wicked as Marilyn Manson. Won't anyone think of the children?"^[37]

The Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Luis Potosí in Mexico, Jorge Cavazos Arizpe, wrote to the state's governor Ricardo Gallardo Cardona, asking him to cancel the band's appearance at the Potosina National Fair in San Luis Potosí on August 10 "for the sake of society and the sake of all Christians".^[38] In response, governor Cardona said the concert would go ahead, saying: "We're [no longer] in the time of the Holy Inquisition to forbid artistic expression."^[39] Archbishop Arizpe's request was described by Mexican journalist Rafael Aguilar as a "hypocritical publicity stunt", considering the "scandals involving some priests."^[40] Despite the cancellation attempt, the concert went ahead as scheduled, with the band performing to over 205,000 people at the event.^[41]

† denotes a solo show performed by the band during their co-headlining tour with Five Finger Death Punch.
‡ denotes a festival performance.

Notes