One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2 is the thirteenth studio album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on August 14, 2026, by Nuclear Blast. It was written and co-produced by the band's eponymous vocalist, Marilyn Manson, and multi-instrumentalist Tyler Bates. "Exit Wound" was released as the lead single on June 12, followed by "Front Toward Enemy" on July 17 and "Unalive" on August 14. The album will be promoted by the Freaks on Parade Tour, a co-headlining tour with Rob Zombie, which will take place in North American arenas and amphitheatres from August 2026.

Composition and style Every song on the album was written and co-produced by Marilyn Manson and Tyler Bates. It is the band's fourth album to be produced or co-produced by Bates, following The Pale Emperor (2015), Heaven Upside Down (2017), and One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1 (2024).

Release and promotion

Manson confirmed the album's release in a social media post in November 2025, saying: "It has been a great year since the release of Chapter One. Be prepared for Chapter Two very soon." In January 2026, co-producer Tyler Bates announced he amicably departed the live band in order to focus on his film score work. He said he would be "actively supporting" the upcoming album, which he described as their "finest work together". The same month, readers of Revolver voted it the second most anticipated album of 2026.

One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2 was released on August 14 by Nuclear Blast. Its track listing contains "Front Toward Enemy", a song that previously appeared as a B-side on the band's 2024 single "Raise the Red Flag". The record was issued in various formats, including CD, LP, cassette, and digital, and as a limited edition box set. The latter was limited to 3,000 copies worldwide, and contained exclusive collectables including art prints created by Manson. The album's release was confirmed on June 12. "Exit Wound" was released as the lead single the following day. Its music video was directed by Rizz and Gretchen Lanham. "Front Toward Enemy" was released as the album's second single on July 17. A music video, directed by Henri Alexander Levy, was released on four days later. A music video for the third single, "Unalive", directed by Tony Silva, was released August 14, the day of the album's release.

The record was released the week before the beginning of the Freaks on Parade Tour, a North American arena and amphitheater co-headlining tour with Rob Zombie. It will take place in August and September, and features opening acts The Hu and Orgy. Manson's lineup for the tour includes former bassist and producer Tim Skold, who announced his return to the live band in February 2026 after an eighteen year absence, alongside drummer Gil Sharone, rhythm guitarist Piggy D. and former Black Light Burns guitarist Nick Annis. On 28 August, 2026, an "Expanded edition" of the album was released with the inclusion of a new track, "You Can’t Die Young".

Artwork The artwork for the album is a watercolor self-portrait created by Manson. Revolver noted similarities to Manson's appearance on the cover with the personification of Death in Ingmar Bergman's 1957 film The Seventh Seal.

On August 14, 2026, the day of the album's release, Manson opened a virtual art exhibit through his official website titled One Assassination Under God. The exhibit explores "a collection of original visual works alongside the music created to accompany them, with audio commentaries by Marilyn Manson".

Critical reception

The album received positive reviews upon release. AllMusic praised the collaboration between Manson and Bates, saying that when they collaborate, they "really click." They described Chapter 2 as "another solid Manson album, regardless of era, and Bates' keen ear for dramatic scope and catchy melody elevates Manson's vocals, which remain strong." They said that despite some uneven dips, the album provides fans of previous albums enough to "rejoice in another late(r) era album highlight." A staff writer for Sputnikmusic said Chapter 2 was less immediate than its predecessor on first listen, but that it reveals its qualities over repeated listens and provides "a nice counterpoint to Chapter 1." They said that despite sharing titles, Chapter 2 was incommensurable to Chapter 1, describing One Assassination Under God as "an eighty-six-minute concept album designed to be heard in its entirety". In a mixed review, Blabbermouth.net said that when compared to its predecessor, Chapter 2 "doesn't quite carry the same weight. It even borders on pedestrian." He complained the album lacked the riffs and "industrial musings" of its predecessor, saying it instead consists of an accessible sequence of songs comparable to their 1998 album Mechanical Animals. Tinnitist did not provide a review, but their writer Darryl Sterdan included it on their list of albums of the week.

Commercial performance Industry trade publication Hits Daily Double confirmed the album sold 18,505 copies on its first week of release in the United States, with 16,609 in pure album sales and nearly 2,000 additional sales derived from album-equivalent units. The figure made it the fourth highest-selling physical album and new release of the week, but it entered the Billboard 200 at number 41, based on a lack of streaming activity. The position made it the band's first studio album to miss the top forty of the Billboard 200 since their 1994 debut, Portrait of an American Family. Despite this, the album debuted on seven different Billboard charts, of which five were top ten debuts. This included a number two debut on Top Hard Rock Albums, number four debuts on Top Album Sales and Vinyl Albums, number eight on Top Alternative Albums and number ten on Top Rock Albums.

Conversely, Chapter 2 outperformed Chapter 1 in several major European markets. It debuted at number 24 on the Dutch Album Top 100, in comparison to the number 66 peak of its predecessor. Chapter 2 peaked at numbers 32 and 3 in the Belgian territories of Flanders and Wallonia, respectively, higher than the number 112 and number 16 peaks Chapter 1 achieved in the same territories two years earlier. The record debuted within the top five of the German Albums Chart, and at number three on the Austrian Albums Chart, where Chapter 1 debuted at number six. Chapter 2 debuted at number 14 on both the Finnish Albums Chart and French Albums Chart, where Chapter 1 debuted at numbers 23 and 25, respectively. In Spain, it debuted at number 17 compared to a peak of number 31 for its predecessor, while it peaked at number 24 in Portugal compared to Chapter 1s peak of 46. It also debuted at number 7 in Poland, compared to a number 12 peak for Chapter 1.

In the United Kingdom, the Official Charts Company predicted the album was on course to debut within the top twenty of the UK Albums Chart, after it appeared at number eight on the UK Midweek Albums Chart. The album eventually debuted at number 27, with sales of 3,624 copies, making it the band's fourteenth entry on the UK Albums Chart. It also peaked at number two on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart. The album debuted at number 13 on the Australian Albums Chart, an improvement on Chapter 1, which peaked at number 44 on the same chart. The record debuted at number 30 on the New Zealand Albums Chart, compared to the number 35 debut of Chapter 1. In Japan, it debuted at number 34 on the main Oricon Albums Chart, with first week sales of 896 copies, based on two days of sales.

Track listing

Notes An expanded digital edition of the album was released on August 28. "You Can't Die Young" was added as a free download to anyone who purchased the digital edition of the album. The song lasts 3:35, which brings the total length of that version of the album to 46:33, as opposed to the CD and vinyl length of 42:58.

The vinyl edition does not include "You Can't Die Young", and moves "The Arsonist" to track five as the final song on side A, with "None of the Suns" and "Lucifer's Teardrop" moved down to appear as the first two songs on side B.

Personnel Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

Recorded at The Abattoir in Los Angeles, NRG Studios in North Hollywood, and EastWest Studios in Hollywood, between April 2023 and April 2024.

Musicians Marilyn Manson – vocals Tyler Bates – guitars, bass, keyboards, GuitarViol Gil Sharone – drums

Technical Marilyn Manson – composition, production, album artwork Tyler Bates – composition, recording, production Will Borza – mastering at Howie Weinberg Mastering Robert Carranza – recording and mixing Rob Kimura – artwork layout Jake Rene – second engineer at NRG Studios Lindsay Elizabeth Warner – photography Howie Weinberg – mastering at Howie Weinberg Mastering

Charts + Chart performance for One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2 Chart (2026) Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA) 13 Danish Vinyl Albums (Hitlisten) 9 French Rock & Metal Albums (SNEP) 1 German Rock & Metal Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 2 Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ) 6 Italian Albums (FIMI) 22 Japanese Albums (Oricon) 34 Japanese Digital Albums (Oricon) 27 Japanese Download Albums (Billboard Japan) 17 Japanese Rock Albums (Oricon) 5 Japanese Top Albums Sales (Billboard Japan) 22 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 30 Portuguese Albums (AFP) 24 Swedish Hard Rock Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 6 Swedish Physical Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 7 US Top Rock & Alternative Albums (Billboard) 11

Release history Region Date Label Format(s)Worldwide August 14, 2026 Nuclear Blast CD, cassette, LP, digital

References