Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson rock Royal Farms Arena
Call it a match made in heaven, or in the case of Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, a match made in hell.
The two shock-rockers have joined forces this summer for the “Twins of Evil: Hell Never Dies” tour, the duo’s third together, following last year’s “The Twins of Evil: The Second Coming Tour,” which was six years after they first hit the road together.
Manson and Zombie turned Royal Farms Arena into a demonic cauldron of musical anarchy, serenading a crowd throughout a performance that was as much of time warp to the gothic-trendy 1990s as it was a modern-day spectacle.
“Baltimore has always been a cuckoo because Baltimore knows how to party,” Zombie said after telling the crowd how much he loved playing in the city, dating to his days performing at Hammerjacks.
Perhaps it was his superfluous makeup, but Manson, 50, looked like he hasn’t age a day since emerging as perhaps music’s most controversial singer when he scared mainstream society with his album “Antichrist Superstar.”
Zombie, who looks great at 54, took the shock value even further on Tuesday. His performance featured giant cyborg, alien and Satan mascots wandering the stage, screens filled with images of pentagrams, monsters, topless women, doctors performing barbaric surgeries, zombies, horror-movie icons, scenes from the film “House of 1000 Corpses” that he directed.
And then there the footage of spree killer Charles Manson dancing.
Manson took the stage first and played the majority of his hits from his most recent albums, “Antichrist Superstar,” “Mechanical Animals” and “Heaven Upside Down.” His 13-song set included “Irresponsible Hate Anthem,” “Angel With the Scabbed Wings,” “This Is the New Shit,” “The Love Song” and of course, the absolutely mesmerizing “The Dope Show.”
He also played the chilling, “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” first made popular by the Eurythmics in 1983, before closing with “Antichrist Superstar” and a “Beautiful People.”
The two complemented perfectly. Zombie smacked the crowd at the outset with “American Witch.” He also drew from all of his albums, including his most recent, 2016’s “The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration,” as well as “House of 1000 Corpses” “Astro-Creep 2000” and “Hellbilly Deluxe.”
He was in constant motion, with his trademark dreadlocks swirling. He flew through his set list, hitting the crowd with cuts including “Living Dead Girl,” “More Human Than Human, “House of 1000 Corpses,” “Pussy Liquor” and “Thunder Kiss ’65.”
“The first candidate in a debate who says they want to talk about alien abductions is the one I will vote for,” he said before flowing into “Well, Everybody’s Fucking in a U.F.O.”
Zombie paid homage to The Beatles by covering “Helter Skelter,” which was complemented by footage of Manson dancing, before he closed the show with a “Dragula.”
The show kicked off 22-show tour that will stop in cities across the U.S. and Canada.
Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson’s “Twins of Evil: Hell Never Dies” Tour
July 10: Allentown, PA @ PPL Center
July 12: Huntington, WV @ Big Sandy Superstore Arena
July 13: Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
July 14: Evansville, IN @ Ford Center
July 16: Rockford, IL @ BMO Harris Bank Center
July 17: Bonner Springs, KS @ Providence Medical Center Amphitheater
July 21: Council Bluffs, IA @ WestFair Amphitheatre
July 23: Sioux Falls, SD @ Denny Sanford Premier Center
July 24: Bismarck, ND @ Bismarck Event Center
July 25: Billings, MT @ Rimrock Auto Arena
Aug. 4: Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
Aug. 6: Saskatoon, SK @ SaskTel Center
Aug .7: Winnipeg, MB @ Bell MTS Place
Aug. 9: Fargo, ND @ Fargodome
Aug. 10: Cedar Rapids, IA @ US Cellular Center
Aug. 11: Fort Wayne, IN @ Allen County Coliseum
Aug. 13: Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena
Aug. 14: London, ON @ Budweiser Gardens
Aug. 16: Ottawa, ON @ Richcraft Live at Canadian Tire Centre
Aug. 17: Quebec, QC @ Videotron Centre
Aug. 18: Gilford, NH @ Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
Jon Gallo is an award-winning journalist and editor with 19 years of experience, including stints as a staff writer at The Washington Post and sports editor at The Baltimore Examiner. He also believes the government should declare federal holidays in honor of the following: the Round of 64 of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament; the Friday of the Sweet 16; the Monday after the Super Bowl; and of course, the day after the release of the latest Madden NFL video game.