Marilyn Manson released “KILL4ME” on September 20, 2017, as the second single from Heaven Upside Down. Written with producer Tyler Bates, the song offered another side of the partnership behind the album. After the aggression of “We Know Where You Fucking Live,” its synthesizers and new wave influences gave Manson’s lyrics a more measured setting.
Manson described the song’s premise in an interview with Loudwire. Although its central demand was phrased as a question, he regarded it as a condition placed on a relationship. “It’s an ultimatum, I think,” he said. He explained that he preferred songs to communicate his position clearly, leaving listeners to form their own questions afterward. That distinction framed “KILL4ME” as a demand for proof of devotion, with the threat embedded in the language of romance.
Bates had already worked with Manson on The Pale Emperor, released in 2015. Their introduction came through the television series Californication, for which Bates composed music and Manson appeared as a guest. The collaboration developed into both a recording partnership and a live one, with Bates playing guitar on tour. By the time they made Heaven Upside Down, they had experience building songs together in the studio and performing them in front of audiences.
Speaking to Revolver in 2017, Bates explained that writing with Manson operated differently from composing for films, where music had to accommodate changing edits and a director’s requests. Their songs developed through conversation, with music and lyrics taking shape in the same room. “We make it pretty much on the spot,” he said. Bates would develop musical ideas while Manson worked on words beside him, allowing each part to affect the other as the song formed.
For the album sessions, that proximity extended to the recording setup. Bates told Pop Disciple that he had a vocal booth but preferred keeping the singer next to him. Working in headphones, they could quickly revisit a cadence or melody without interrupting the exchange. Some performances combined vocals with an instrumental part recorded simultaneously. Guitar sound could bleed into the vocal microphone, creating complications during mixing, but Bates considered the character of those performances worth preserving. Manson also experimented with Bates’ effects pedals while they worked, and some of those sounds became part of the recordings.
Their touring experience affected the album’s direction, too. Bates said they had played 50 concerts together before making Heaven Upside Down, giving him a stronger understanding of Manson’s physical relationship with the music onstage. He wanted the new record to account for that experience while exploring a sharper industrial approach than the blues-based work they had made together previously. “KILL4ME” placed a melodic, rhythm-driven song within that broader approach.
The single became available to stream and as an immediate download with album preorders. Heaven Upside Down followed on October 6, 2017, through Loma Vista, becoming Manson’s tenth studio album. Bates handled production and shared the songwriting credits with Manson.
The song’s visual counterpart followed in November 2017. Director Bill Yukich reunited Manson with Johnny Depp after their “SAY10” video, casting Depp alongside models Jocelyn Binder and Bailee Cowperthwaite in a mansion-set film. The video extended the album’s combination of desire and menace into a second collaboration with Depp. “KILL4ME” also reached No. 5 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart during its radio run.
