Marilyn Manson is living up to his reputation as a shock rocker by beheading what appears to be a Donald Trump lookalike in his new video.
The Personal Jesus star, real name Brian Warner, debuted a short clip from the promo of his new song Say10 late on Monday (07Nov16), on the eve of America's presidential election, when controversial Republican Trump will face off with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
In the video, directed by controversial photographer/filmmaker Tyler Shields, Manson tears out pages from a Bible as he sits on a throne. He then grips a knife, his hands stained with blood, as the montage ends with a shot of a decapitated man in a suit, wearing a red tie.
Over the end scene, Manson can be heard singing, "You say God/And I say Satan".
Many fans and music critics have been quick to suggest the headless body is similar to Trump, but Manson insists the footage is open to interpretation.
"It's about the desperate acts of people who believe something that is preached by an unbeliever," he told The Daily Beast. "Right now we're in such a state of confusion when it comes to religion, politics, sexuality, and how they all tie together, and it's being turned into a circus and a sideshow - and that's something that I've been described as a ringleader of.
"It seems like a time for me as an artist, and as an American artist, to make something that causes a new set of questions to arise that aren't simply statements."
The song is the title track from the rocker's forthcoming album.
Manson's visual statement comes weeks after he declared he will not be exercising his right to vote on Tuesday.
"I don't find either candidate to my liking, so I choose to stand out of this one," he told Rolling Stone magazine in September (16).
Defending his decision, the singer, who hails from the swing state of Ohio, explained, "I don't think that's a coward's stance. A lot of people might say that. I just don't really want to be a part of this piece of history. Last time (with President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012), I did want to be involved in some piece of history as a voter."
