How desperate is Nuclear Blast? Are they bleeding money? Are they destitute and absolutely had to sign one of the most reprehensible artists in music in order to save a sinking ship?

Yet here we are, just a few years after signing Tim Lambesis (and As I Lay Dying) after he got out of prison for serving a paltry three years for a murder-for-hire scheme intended to kill his then wife. He was sentenced to six years after pleading guilty on a solicitation of murder charge. Sure, one can point that he did his time, and he has expressed remorse for what he did. But it was two years after his release, basically handing him and his band a deal and not making Lambesis prove anything. He walked back into his career on one of metal’s biggest labels. There was no prove-it period. Here’s your job back. Cool. I do believe in second chances; trying to murder your wife should require a lot more work and time before that second chance is offered.

Now, the label announced the signing of Marilyn Manson (born Brian Warner) whose heyday is so far in the rearview mirror it’s almost comical. But labels sign legacy artists all the time. Most don’t have the sexual assault/harassment accusation storm that Manson has, and it’s such a bad look to be doing business with this guy. Except Nuclear Blast doesn’t seem to mind.

I don’t care to recount all of the accusations because there are so goddamn many that it’s hard to keep a handle on it all. The Vulture did a pretty good job summarizing all of this, which you can read here. It’s long and it’s ugly and if he wasn’t a famous person, there’s a good chance he’d be rotting in jail. Instead, he’s releasing music through Nuclear Blast Records. A total of 16 people have made a wide range of claims against Manson, with five people claiming sexual assault. Five people. One should be disqualifying. He’s on five. Loma Vista dropped him in 2021 once abuse allegations were made by former fiancée Evan Rachel Wood, and Manson obviously has denied all charges. In every case. Try not to be surprised. Some of the cases have been dismissed (statute of limitations in some cases, one because the complainant didn’t hire new legal representation, and one person did recant her story altogether). Manson settled cases with one Jane Doe on a rape case and with actress Esme Bianco, who detailed a hellish and controlling relationship.

Manson has a history you can’t hand waive away. It’s not one or two people making claims. It’s clear this is not a stable person, not a good person, and there’s no purpose of doing business with someone who very easily could have more skeletons ready to climb from his closet. But we live in a capitalistic society, money is all that matters, and sadly, there are going to be people who will lap this shit up. Fuck doing the right thing. There are dollars to be made. Probably not as many as Manson would have made a few decades ago, but I’m sure they think they benefit from name recognition alone.

Oh, and Nuclear Blast had to know the shit storm was coming as they’ve disabled the comments section on all of the Manson announcements so far. Almost like they know this is a bad call. And they’re too cowardly to let their audience have their say.

I doubt this will hurt Nuclear Blast, and I’m sure they don’t give a fuck what someone like me and this site has to say. He’ll keep playing shows to people who also don’t give a fuck what he did and will probably mumble some mummified line about cancel culture (which I think we can lay to rest as something that even exists) or woke culture or whatever allows them not to feel guilty about supporting an alleged serial abuser.

Hopefully nothing else is out there that will make this signing even worse of an idea. I say that not because it’ll be beneficial to Nuclear Blast but because if nothing else comes out it means there aren’t other voiceless victims out there. This is a gross business move. It makes me not want to cover their artists though, if I’m being honest, they don’t have many bands these days that I care about, and stories I write about their roster don’t perform terribly well as it is. Lose/lose, I guess. This site is a microscopic being in an ocean, I realize, so I’m sure they’re sweating this out. I just can’t sit back and not say anything after they’ve done this yet again.

Quit platforming accused sexual abusers, especially when they have a laundry list of accusers. Stop giving them power and money. Let Manson suffer like his alleged victims have.