***Review and photos by Jaffer Hasan***

Marilyn Manson Returns to Boston with Blood, Snow, and Thunder at the House of Blues.

It wasn’t just a concert — it was a resurrection.

MARILYN MANSON stormed back into Boston’s House of Blues (currently known as Citizens House of Blues) like a gothic godfather reclaiming his altar. The room was beyond packed — shoulder to shoulder, boot to boot, black lace clashing with leather jackets in a tightly wound pit of anticipation. The sweat was already dripping before the lights even dropped, and yet no one seemed to care. We were all there for the same reason: to feel something sharp, loud, and unforgettable.

The curtain stayed drawn, but a sickly green light started pulsing behind it. A low hum bled into the room, like an electric prayer. Then came the sound — low and ominous at first, like something bubbling up from a haunted basement. It got heavier. The green turned blood red. The tension climbed. Then, all at once, it dropped.

Manson emerged — no delay, no ceremony. Just impact. The Antichrist Superstar himself, boots hitting the stage like a war drum, launching full-throttle into “Disposable Teens.” The crowd exploded. It wasn’t just noise; it was a roar — primal, unified, almost spiritual. You could feel it in your ribs.

His voice? As dangerous and commanding as it ever was. His presence? Still that eerie blend of preacher and predator. Between verses, he paused to acknowledge the city: “Boston… I missed you. And they won’t take you away from me.” Each time he said it, the room got louder. Fans shrieked, fists shot up, people climbed on each other’s shoulders like they were trying to reach him physically.

At several points in the show, in a perfectly grotesque Manson flourish, he’d grab a crisp tour shirt from the stage setup, wipe the sweat from his face and chest with it like it was a communion cloth — then fling it into the sea of hands with a smirk. It wasn’t just merch at that point. It was a souvenir soaked in madness, and fans clawed for it like it meant salvation.

The setlist played like a requiem for the old world — each track crashing harder than the last. “The Beautiful People” turned the floor into a writhing sea of bodies, and “mOBSCENE” brought out the chaos with such force it almost tore the walls off. Crowd surfers popped up like popcorn, riding waves of hands and howling like lunatics.

But Manson’s not just about chaos — he’s about control. He wielded the atmosphere like a weapon, tightening and releasing with perfect timing. Energy? It never dipped. Not once. Even the walls were sweating.

And just when it felt like we’d hit the limit, the encore delivered the sucker punch. Fake snow — pure white, cascading down like ash — poured across the stage as Manson drifted into a haunting, theatrical version of “Coma White.” It was strange, beautiful, and totally unhinged.

Then — the real surprise. With a wry smile and a devilish glint, he launched into a cover of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight.” Darker, slower, and more menacing than ever. That iconic drum break? It hit like a sledgehammer to the chest. The whole place lost it.

In a world obsessed with reinvention, Manson doesn’t have to change — he just has to show up. And when he does, it’s not just a concert. It’s a ritual.

Boston will be feeling this one for a long time.

Setlist
Nod If You Understand
Disposable Teens
Get Your Gunn
Tourniquet
This Is the New Shit
Sacrilegious
The Nobodies
Say10
mOBSCENE
Long Hard Road Out of Hell
The Dope Show
As Sick as the Secrets Within
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (Eurythmics cover)
The Beautiful People

Encore:
In the Air Tonight (Phil Collins cover)

Encore 2:
Coma White
One Assassination Under God

Band members
Marilyn Manson – lead vocals
Tyler Bates – guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
Reba Meyers – guitars, backing vocals
Piggy D. – bass, backing vocals
Gil Sharone – drums

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