A far cry from his emo roots these days, Ronnie Radke’s Falling in Reverse are mired in controversy, particularly from the frontman’s blatant bigotry on social media and a desire to shock and offend not seen since, well, his collaborator on his newest track. “God Is A Weapon” features Marilyn Manson, who has somehow seen a revival since his One Assassination Under God album late last year.
That said, Manson hasn’t been scary musically in a good couple of decades, and Ronnie the shit-stirrer does just that. So where this song attempts to be a deep reflection of relationships and the divine, it comes off as nothing new. No new ground is broken, imagery used to be suggestive (looking at you, girl deep-throating a handgun on the line “the deeper that you push, the deeper I will go”) comes off as passe. The guitar riff is discount Deftones, a Temu low-tuned alt-metal bootleg.
It may be that Radke is referring to his breakup with former AEW Women’s World Champion Saraya through these lyrics (“try to take this ring from me, watch me detonate”), but while love is a hell of a drug, Radke’s art based on his dalliances are saying nothing with everything.
It’s as if FIR are trying to one-up modern marvels like Sleep Token or their ilk, but this genre schizophrenia he’s been through as of late just feels like pumping out content for an audience. Hard to say who that audience is, though Manson’s name and subsequent endorsement of Radke and Co. will inevitably bring more fans to the notorious group.
But once you have their attention, you must keep it, and this song does not do that. We’re past the age of Manson cross-dressing at the MTV Music Awards and lecturing from the pulpit. When everything is trying to be shocking and dangerous, nothing is, and it feels like these two are grasping at straws.
