Controversial goth rocker Marilyn Manson has publicly struggled with addiction in recent years. Now, his tourmate, Zoltan Bathory, is praising him for his sobriety journey. Bathory is the founder and a guitarist in the metal band Five Finger Death Punch.
Manson and Bathory will be joining Russian deathcore band Slaughter to Prevail on their 2024 tour.The tour will take the bands across the United States and through Europe, starting on April 26 at Los Angeles' The Palladium. The Slaughter to Prevail Tour ends in Worcester, Massachusetts on September 22.
This will be Manson's first time out on the road since 2019. However, he did join Kanye West at the rapper's controversial Donda listening party, alongside DaBaby, who had been under fire after making homophobic comments at a prior music festival.
Bathory appeared on the Jesea Lee Show on Sirius XM, where he talked about Manson's sobriety. He beamed with pride about his tourmate.
"A lot of people want to see him," he said before reminding listeners that "at one point, [Manson] was one of the most iconic artists on planet Earth."
Manson was the music industry's de facto "shock rock" star for years, with multiple albums of his reaching the coveted top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. Three of his albums are certified platinum by the RIAA.
Bathory continued, saying that Manson is "back onstage, back in the saddle, so that's gonna be amazing."
The Mechanical Animals singer is reportedly "sober, staying clean, and doing the work."
"We obviously support that. It's going to be an amazing tour," stated Bathory.
Addiction hits close to home for the Five Finger Death Punch artist as the band's front man, Ivan Moody, also publicly struggled with addiction. Moody echoed Bathory's enthusiasm for Manson's sobriety saying that "we're always going to support that, obviously."
In the past few years, Manson has faced a slew of allegations from multiple women, including sexual, physical and psychological abuse. Evan Rachel Wood, who dated Manson from 2006 to 2010, came forward in 2018 to speak about an abusive ex-partner, but did not specifically name Manson.
Ever since Wood came forward forward, several other women have alleged that Manson harassed or abused them. Wood also helped to pass the Phoenix Act, which was signed into law in 2019. She testified before Congress and described the horrors of experiencing a violently abusive relationship.
Wood did not publicly name Manson as her abuser until 2021, when she took to Instagram and detailed her experience with him.
"The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson. He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years," she wrote.
In 2021, Manson was dubbed a "serial predator" by actress Esme Blanco, who also accused him of sexual assault.
Manson sued Wood in 2022 for defamation, but a judge dismissed the majority of the suit in May 2023.
Tickets for the Slaughter to Prevail Tour are available here.
