Marilyn Manson released Heaven Upside Down on October 6, 2017, through Loma Vista Recordings. His tenth studio album continued his partnership with producer and co-writer Tyler Bates, but its final shape depended on three songs that were missing when Manson first thought the record was finished.
Bates wanted their follow-up to 2015’s The Pale Emperor to move in a different direction. In a September 2017 interview with Collide Art & Culture, he recalled starting the music for “WE KNOW WHERE YOU FUCKING LIVE” a few hours before Manson arrived for their first writing session. It became the first song written for the album and later its lead single.
The two had met through the television series Californication. As Bates explained to Revolver in 2017, their songs developed through conversations in the studio, with the music and lyrics taking shape together. That gave him a different kind of collaboration from his film work, where a score had to accommodate dialogue, sound effects and a director’s changing requirements. Working with Manson, he could follow an idea as the singer found the words for it.
For his part, Manson kept the lyrics in a single notebook. He and Bates sat close together wearing headphones, with Manson holding a microphone and Bates playing guitar. Manson told Loudwire there was no separate vocal booth; they could look each other in the eye as they worked. They would build a song around a beat and record live drums afterward, with Gil Sharone playing on the album. Manson also told Revolver that many of his vocals were single takes: “I wanted it to feel live.”
The album had initially been announced as SAY10 for Valentine’s Day 2017, but that date passed without a release. Manson later explained that he already had the lyrics for “Revelation #12,” “Saturnalia” and “Heaven Upside Down,” but had not yet found the music for them. He described the three songs to Loudwire as the acts of a film, establishing its beginning, middle and ending. Completing them also gave the record its new title.
Bates said those additions did not require them to rewrite the songs they had already completed. As the album developed, they listened for what was missing and let that guide the next writing session. “Saturnalia” was the last track finished, stretching to nearly eight minutes on the digital release.
The final song grew from a shared affection for the Cure. Manson told Loudwire that he and Bates both named the band when discussing music they would have played to someone they wanted to romance. He wanted “Saturnalia” to unfold gradually, with the guitar helping tell the story, and Bates encouraged him to draw on Jim Morrison.
The day after they finished “Saturnalia,” Manson learned that his father, Hugh Warner, was dying. He told Revolver that he flew to Ohio and was with his father when he died on July 7, 2017. Manson had wanted to play him the completed album but never had the chance. Heaven Upside Down was dedicated to him.
