NORTH SEA ECHOES, the project featuring progressive metal pioneers, singer Ray Alder and guitarist Jim Matheos, of Fates Warning, today unveils a video for “Good Enough.” The sentimental track appears on the band’s latest studio album, How To Cast A Shadow, out now on Metal Blade Records.
Comments Alder, “‘Good Enough’ was one of the first songs written for How To Cast A Shadow. It’s a simple yet beautiful song, and it quickly became one of my favorite songs that Jim and I had written together. While we never intended for it to be released as a single or video we decided that while we were together for a photo shoot we would also shoot a video for this. I think that we both agreed that this song was just too nice not to be shared with others.“
Watch NORTH SEA ECHOES‘ previously released video for “Enjoy The View” HERE and “I’ll Leave A Light On” video HERE.
On NORTH SEA ECHOES‘ 2024-released Really Good Terrible Things full-length, Alder and Matheos garnered rave reviews for songs that possessed, “liberating sonic space and emotional vulnerability… from somnambulant electro-fog to gritty, overdriven disquiet, to the quietly devastating (Blabbermouth).” With How To Cast A Shadow, the band’s identity is further expanded upon and explored.
“This record is a bit heavier,” asserts Matheos, “with several more songs featuring real drums, played by Dennis Leeflang. It wasn’t necessarily intentional or planned, just the way things shaped up and how they emerged this time.“
From the radio-ready rock of “All That Comes After” and the intimate, escalating “A Time Of Innocence And Purpose” to the powerful, timeless ballad “Villains Or Saints,” How To Cast A Shadow cohesively crosses genres and challenges aural preconceptions.
Writes Metal Hammer, “Evoking the feeling of Geoff Tate returning to his prime and Queensrÿche reconnecting with their greatest strengths, How To Cast A Shadow is nothing short of a catchy, anthemic, and captivating masterpiece that explores the full spectrum of timeless progressive rock… a sheer delight.” New Noise Magazine agrees, “Atmospheric, melancholic, ambient… this is the way NORTH SEA ECHOES navigates through while composing their music. Their sound takes one to a gloomy voyage that deals with the feeling of yearning and nostalgia. Yet, the music is so captivating that you keep playing it on and on.”
The Prog Report notes, “In the wide variety of progressive bands that are out there, this album capitalizes on the simplicity and honesty of music in one of its most organic forms: pure, raw emotion… How To Cast A Shadow is proof that you don’t need overly complex songs for you to feel the music. There’s a shade of melancholy that permeates the album and provides glue that holds the songs together. When it comes to feeling music, the question of ‘how’ doesn’t factor as much as ‘why.’ Explore the ‘why.’” Adds Maximum Volume Music, “How To Cast A Shadow does not abandon the sound of the debut; it expands it. The darkness remains, but this time there are louder drums, heavier guitars and even greater emotional weight. It turns out those shadows still contain plenty of really good things.”
The duo’s shared and separate histories help to forge a fresh creative opus. Alder has been the vocalist and main co-writer for prog metal heroes Fates Warning for 37 years, recording ten albums between 1988 (No Exit) and 2020 (Long Day Good Night). Rounding out his discography are seven albums with Redemption, two solo records, and the band A-Z, which debuted in 2022.
Revered guitarist and producer Matheos is a cofounder of Fates Warning, the lineup debuting with 1984′s Night On Bröcken on Metal Blade. In addition to thirteen albums with Fates Warning, Matheos launched several solo albums, four LPs alongside former Dream Theater keyboardist Kevin Moore under the name OSI, and Kings Of Mercia, which launched in 2022.
How To Cast A Shadow is out now on CD and digital formats. Preview/purchase the record at: metalblade.com/northseaechoes
How to Cast a Shadow Track Listing:
01. A Time of Innocence and Purpose
02. Enjoy the View
03. Good Enough
04. I’ll Leave a Light On
05. All Fall Away
06. Revenge
07. Villains or Saints
08. What Is and What Was
09. All That Comes After
10. How to Cast a Shadow
🔥 Who Will Rise as This Week’s Champion on the MDR Battle Of The Bands? 🔥 And who will dominate next month as Band of the Month on Metal Devastation Radio?
Last month’s winners, OKL’S FRUITLOOPS, crushed the competition with a staggering 5,083,542 VOTES , claiming the title of Band of the Month on Metal Devastation Radio! You can check them out HERE !
This is the weekly championship edition of the Band Of The Month – Battle Of The Bands that we host every month on MDR!
How does it work? Every Monday, we launch a new poll featuring bands that submit music each week on metaldevastationradio.com. Voting runs until Friday at 9PM EST .
Each Friday night , at the start of The Zach Moonshine Show , I’ll be spinning the Top Six weekly winners , and announcing the #1 band of the week live on air — getting thousands of listens on Mixcloud !
At the end of the month , all weekly votes are added up, and the band with the highest total votes becomes our Band of the Month !
Winning Band of the Month gets:
A featured post on our Facebook page, reaching thousands of fans
A front-page spotlight on metaldevastationradio.com , which pulls in hundreds of thousands of views every month
A free PR email blast from Metal Devastation PR, hitting 40,000+ contacts including labels, zines, stations, and more
Airplay every hour during general rotation
Tons of social media shares and exposure across our network
If you want the world to know who your band is, this is the easiest way to make it happen!
💥 Want in on the next battle? Comment below with your band name and we’ll add you to next week’s poll — or email me at zach@metaldevastationradio.com with “Battle Submission” in the subject line.
Bands can compete as many times as they want , and if you enter multiple weeks in the same month, your votes combine toward the Band of the Month title!
👇 Click on the bands below to vote as many times as you like, or add your own! Poll closes Friday, September 4th at 9PM EST!
Who Will Rise as This Week’s Champion on the MDR Battle Of The Bands? 08/31/26 – 09/04/26
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OKL’S FRUITLOOPS CROWNED SEPTEMBER 2026 BAND OF THE MONTH AFTER MASSIVE 5,083,542 VOTE VICTORY
Slovenian melodic death metal force Okl’s FruitLoops have officially been crowned Battle of the Bands Champions and Band of the Month for September 2026 after dominating the competition with an incredible 5,083,542 votes , securing a massive victory in Battle of the Bands history.
The overwhelming support from metal fans across the globe propelled Okl’s FruitLoops to the top of the competition, proving once again that the underground metal community has no shortage of passion when it comes to supporting the bands they believe in.
Formed in 2022 , Okl’s FruitLoops have quickly established themselves as a rising force in the Slovenian metal scene. The band delivers an aggressive blend of melodic death metal , combining crushing riffs, dark melodies, intense musicianship, and high-energy live performances.
The band’s sound draws influence from legendary melodic death metal acts including In Flames, Arch Enemy, Children of Bodom, and Kalmah , while Okl’s FruitLoops bring their own identity and intensity to the style.
Their debut album, “Scream Of Silence,” was officially released on March 30, 2026 , marking a major milestone for the band. The album features ten tracks packed with aggressive guitar work, dark atmosphere, melodic hooks, and relentless metal energy.
The full track listing includes:
1. Scream Of Silence 2. Icons Of Insanity 3. Nightmare Rhapsody 4. Mr. Grim 5. Timeless Chaos 6. Fearless Knights 7. Fallen Demon 8. At the End of This World 9. Their Time Will Fall 10. Call For Freedom
“Scream Of Silence” was mixed and mastered by Simon Jovanović at Studio Evolucija in Ljubljana , with Timotej Hrastar handling drum recording. The finished album showcases the band’s ability to balance melodic songwriting with the aggression and intensity expected from modern melodic death metal.
The band’s massive 5,083,542 votes in the Battle of the Bands competition represent an incredible showing of support from metal fans around the world. Their victory demonstrates the power of the underground metal community and the growing international reach of Okl’s FruitLoops.
As September 2026 Band of the Month , Okl’s FruitLoops now join the ranks of Battle of the Bands champions who have earned their place through the votes and support of metal fans worldwide.
Congratulations to Okl’s FruitLoops on an absolutely massive victory and a well-earned place in Battle of the Bands history!
Keep your horns raised for Slovenia and get ready for more from Okl’s FruitLoops!
Marilyn Manson’s albums now number thirteen across three decades, and ranking them is less a music exercise than a psychological autopsy of American culture.
Brian Warner has spent thirty years as rock’s most polarising figure and its most restless shapeshifter — industrial grit in the mid-nineties, glam-rock excess at the millennium, blues-soaked reinvention in the 2010s, and a gothic-rock second wind right now. August 2026’s One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2 is the newest entry, and it’s already drawing his strongest reviews in a quarter-century. Here’s the complete discography ranked worst to best.
The count, cleared up
Worth stating plainly before the countdown, because almost every ranking online gets this wrong.
Marilyn Manson has released thirteen studio albums, from 1994’s Portrait of an American Family through to Chapter 2 in August 2026.
There’s also Smells Like Children (1995), which is technically an EP — but at 54 minutes, and as the record that carried “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” into every household in America, it earns a place in this ranking. It’s marked as an EP where it lands.
Fourteen entries. Thirteen albums and one EP.
How this ranking works
Three criteria: impact, longevity, and pure replay value.
Not sales. The soul of the records.
That longevity criterion matters for one entry in particular, and we’ll flag it when we get there — a two-week-old album can be brilliant without having proved it can last.
Following a highly publicised split from Dita Von Teese, Manson moved away from social commentary into deeply personal, almost emo-tinged territory. Tim Sköld’s guitar work is technically proficient, but the album lacks the world-building scale of everything around it.
“Heart-Shaped Glasses” was a minor hit. Next to the grandiosity of Holy Wood, though, this plays like a man retreating into himself — a sombre, vampire-themed detour concerned with the pain of one individual rather than the sickness of a nation.
It has defenders for its vulnerability. It doesn’t have the punch to sit higher.
13. Born Villain (2012)
Billed as a comeback and a return to his industrial roots, Born Villain is a gritty, stripped-back affair.
“No Reflection” earned a Grammy nomination and there are genuinely good moments, but the production overall feels thin and muddy. It was a necessary step to shed the pop-metal sheen of the mid-2000s, and it plays more like a rehearsal for the greatness that arrived three years later.
Manson at his most raw — authentic, and occasionally difficult to get through in one sitting.
12. The High End of Low (2009)
Twiggy Ramirez returned, and you can hear that old chemistry immediately.
It’s expansive, messy and long — glam, acoustic balladry and industrial noise all in one place. “Running to the Edge of the World” is one of his best ballads and a reminder of a vocal range plenty of people forgot he had.
But fifteen tracks makes it unfocused, as though the band couldn’t decide between garage rock and nihilistic art project. A fascinating look at a creative mind in flux.
11. Heaven Upside Down (2017)
The second collaboration with Tyler Bates, attempting to bridge the blues-rock of The Pale Emperor and the industrial fury of Antichrist Superstar.
There are high-energy bangers here built for the live stage. What’s missing is the cohesive, cinematic atmosphere of its predecessor — it’s a solid, aggressive rock record that occasionally feels like Manson playing the greatest-hits version of himself rather than forging something new.
Punchy and violent. Short on soul.
10. Smells Like Children (1995)
Technically an EP, but at 54 minutes it’s longer than most albums, and it was the world’s true introduction to Manson mania.
Driven by the enormous success of the Eurythmics cover “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” it’s a disturbing, sample-heavy trip through the band’s early psyche. Messy, noisy, and genuinely uncomfortable at times — the interludes sound like a fever dream in a haunted asylum.
A fascinating artefact of a band on the verge of exploding, and proof that creepy could be a lucrative business model.
9. Portrait of an American Family (1994)
Produced by Trent Reznor. This is where the legend began.
Essentially a Scooby-Doo-on-acid record — horror-movie samples, distorted basslines, and Manson’s high-pitched youthful shriek. “Get Your Gunn” and “Lunchbox” are raw, punk-infused industrial metal aimed squarely at the hypocrisy of the American family unit.
The production dates it next to the Triptych, but the hunger and the us-versus-them attitude on this record is what built the cult. The sound of a band with everything to prove and nothing to lose.
8. The Golden Age of Grotesque (2003)
Manson’s Berlin era.
Heavily influenced by 1930s cabaret and industrial stomp, it’s his most commercially accessible heavy record. “mOBSCENE” and “This Is the New Shit” were dance-metal floor-fillers that dominated the early 2000s, and it was his last number one album for a long time.
It lacks the lyrical depth of Holy Wood and makes up for it with high-gloss production and catchy, swing-influenced metal. The ultimate party-at-the-end-of-the-world soundtrack — philosophical dread swapped for neon-lit decadence.
7. We Are Chaos (2020)
A late-career masterpiece produced by country-rocker Shooter Jennings.
This showed a melodic, Bowie-esque side of Manson that hadn’t surfaced in decades. The title track and “Don’t Chase the Dead” are masterclasses in songwriting, choosing atmosphere over brute force.
Lush, psychedelic and deeply emotional — the perfect pandemic record, introspective and beautifully tragic. Proof he could still surprise thirty years in without raising his voice.
6. One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2 (2026)
The newest entry, and the hardest to place on a list with a longevity criterion.
Released August 14, 2026 via Nuclear Blast, Chapter 2 is the thirteenth Marilyn Manson album and the fourth produced by Tyler Bates, who again shares writing credit throughout.
It picks up exactly where Chapter 1 left off and then goes darker. Opener “Unalive” sets the tone with a gothic rock intro and a raw, theatrical baritone often dropping to a whisper — heavy, foggy instrumentals underneath. “Don’t Answer the Door” and “Lucifer’s Teardrop” push toward industrial metal and a dancier darkwave feel, while “Front Toward Enemy” is the outright aggressive one, all cold industrial texture and brutal riffing.
“The Arsonist” contains some of the album’s strongest writing. “None of the Suns” builds a slow, creeping sense of menace against surprisingly catchy melodies. Closer “Extaniomorph” opens on unsettling samples and comes closest to a ballad.
A detail nobody else is mentioning: “Front Toward Enemy” isn’t new. It originally appeared as the B-side to “Raise the Red Flag” back in 2024, during the Chapter 1 campaign — which tells you these two records were always conceived as one body of work.
Right now it’s the best-reviewed thing he’s done this century. Ask us again in 2029.
5. One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1 (2024)
The shocking return to form.
After several years in the wilderness, Manson came back with a sound blending the bluesy grit of The Pale Emperor and the industrial aggression of his youth. “As Sick As The Secrets Within” and “Raise The Red Flag” are among the best songs he’s written in twenty years.
It feels like a man with nothing left to lose, and that danger is what makes it vital. A survivor reclaiming his narrative with a snarl and a heavy riff — and, we now know, the first half of a larger statement.
4. The Pale Emperor (2015)
The blues-metal era. Working with film composer Tyler Bates for the first time, Manson ditched the industrial samples for a Mephistopheles-of-Los-Angeles swagger. It was a total reinvention and it saved his career. “Deep Six” and the title track introduced a suave, swaggering version of Manson that finally felt age-appropriate. Sexy, dark, groove-heavy, and still his most critically acclaimed modern work. Gentleman-villain Manson. It suits him perfectly.
3. Mechanical Animals (1998)
The space-rock pivot.
After the darkness of Antichrist, Manson became Omega — a glam-rock alien. A brilliant move that thoroughly confused the Satanic Panic crowd.
“The Dope Show” and “Coma White” are absolute classics, and the production is flawless: lush, expensive, cold. A record about feeling nothing in a world that wants everything, and one of the best glam-rock albums ever made.
Proof he was a genuine artist, capable of changing skin to survive.
2. Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) (2000)
His response to Columbine and the media’s attempt to crucify him.
Manson’s most ambitious work — a nineteen-track conceptual epic folding everything he’d ever done into one cohesive statement. “The Fight Song,” “The Nobodies” and “Target Audience” are biting critiques of American gun culture and celebrity worship.
Dense, angry, musically complex, and his greatest lyrical achievement. An autopsy of a broken society, performed by the man they blamed for breaking it.
1. Antichrist Superstar (1996)
There was never any other choice.
This isn’t an album, it’s a cultural shift. Produced by Trent Reznor in New Orleans during a period of sleep deprivation and chemical madness, Antichrist Superstar is the sound of a world ending. “The Beautiful People” is the definitive industrial metal anthem.
From “Irresponsible Hate Anthem” to “Man That You Fear,” it’s a perfect, terrifying, brilliant piece of art. The record that made him a god to millions and a devil to everyone else.
Undisputed king of the discography, thirty years on.
14. Eat Me, Drink Me (2007) 13. Born Villain (2012) 12. The High End of Low (2009) 11. Heaven Upside Down (2017) 10. Smells Like Children (1995) — EP 9. Portrait of an American Family (1994) 8. The Golden Age of Grotesque (2003) 7. We Are Chaos (2020) 6. One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2 (2026) 5. One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1 (2024) 4. The Pale Emperor (2015) 3. Mechanical Animals (1998) 2. Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) (2000) 1. Antichrist Superstar (1996)
The discography in release order
Portrait of an American Family — 1994 Smells Like Children — 1995 (EP) Antichrist Superstar — 1996 Mechanical Animals — 1998 Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) — 2000 The Golden Age of Grotesque — 2003 Eat Me, Drink Me — 2007 The High End of Low — 2009 Born Villain — 2012 The Pale Emperor — 2015 Heaven Upside Down — 2017 We Are Chaos — 2020 One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1 — 2024 One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2 — 2026
Where this ranking will start arguments
The Triptych occupying the top three is the least controversial thing here — the arguments are about the order within it, and Mechanical Animals has a genuine case for the top spot on production alone.
The real fight is over Chapter 2. Reviewers are rating it above Chapter 1 and, in one case, above everything since 2000. We’ve placed it below Chapter 1 for one reason only: it’s two weeks old, and this list measures durability alongside quality. That’s a defensible position and it’s also a temporary one.
Portrait at nine will annoy purists who consider it foundational. It is foundational. Foundational and best aren’t the same thing.
Manson is currently the subject of ongoing civil litigation, having faced allegations from more than a dozen women since 2021, all of which he denies. He has never been criminally charged; the Los Angeles District Attorney declined to file charges in January 2025. A jury trial in a separate civil case is scheduled for November 2027. The fuller picture is here, and Sharon Osbourne publicly defended him this week.
This page ranks the records. What you do with the rest is your business.
TL;DR
Thirteen studio albums plus one EP, from 1994’s Portrait of an American Family to August 2026’s One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2.
Best: Antichrist Superstar (1996) — produced by Trent Reznor, and less an album than a cultural shift.
Worst: Eat Me, Drink Me (2007) — the divorce record, personal to the point of losing the scale that defines his best work.
The Triptych: Antichrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals and Holy Wood occupy the top three, and always will.
The newest: Chapter 2 lands at six. Critics have rated it above Chapter 1 and one called it his strongest since Holy Wood — but it’s two weeks old, and this list weighs longevity.
The detail worth knowing: “Front Toward Enemy” on Chapter 2 first appeared as a 2024 B-side, confirming both chapters were always one body of work.
FAQ
What is the best Marilyn Manson album?
Antichrist Superstar, released in 1996. Produced by Trent Reznor in New Orleans, it produced “The Beautiful People” and functions as a complete, terrifying artistic statement from “Irresponsible Hate Anthem” through to “Man That You Fear.” It’s the record that made Manson a generational figure, and thirty years later nothing in the catalogue has displaced it.
How many albums does Marilyn Manson have?
Thirteen studio albums: Portrait of an American Family (1994), Antichrist Superstar (1996), Mechanical Animals (1998), Holy Wood (2000), The Golden Age of Grotesque (2003), Eat Me Drink Me (2007), The High End of Low (2009), Born Villain (2012), The Pale Emperor (2015), Heaven Upside Down (2017), We Are Chaos (2020), One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1 (2024) and One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2 (2026). The 1995 release Smells Like Children is an EP rather than a studio album.
What is Marilyn Manson’s newest album?
One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2, released August 14, 2026 via Nuclear Blast. It’s his thirteenth studio album and the fourth produced by Tyler Bates, who also shares writing credit. Darker and more gothic-rock leaning than Chapter 1, it has drawn some of the strongest reviews of his career, with one publication calling it his best album since Holy Wood.
What is the “Triptych”?
The fan-named trilogy of Antichrist Superstar (1996), Mechanical Animals (1998) and Holy Wood (2000). The three are intended to be listened to in reverse release order — Holy Wood first — to tell a cohesive narrative.
Is Marilyn Manson touring in 2026?
Yes. He is co-headlining the Freaks On Parade tour with Rob Zombie, running 21 North American amphitheatre dates from August 20 to September 20, 2026, with The Hu and Orgy supporting. Two Antichrist Superstar 30th anniversary shows at The Wiltern in Los Angeles follow on October 31 and November 1.
Thirteen albums, thirty years, and a brand new one critics are already ranking near the top. Does Chapter 2 deserve to be higher? Settle it in the comments. And keep it locked on the Loaded Radio stream — follow Loaded Radio for daily rock and metal news.
