Rob Zombie • Marilyn Manson • The Hu • Orgy • September 14, 2026 • Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
Reviewed and Photographed by Colton Kresser
“Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown”
My first exposure to Rob Zombie was many years ago; I was – and am still very much – into video games as a kid. In 2003, I was gifted a game called “NHL HITZ 2003”. I pulled the wrap off, put the disc into my Nintendo GameCube, and began to play what would become still one of my favorite games. The Major reason being the soundtrack. It was loaded with Powerman 5000, Incubus, Rob Zombie, and other noteworthy metal acts of the time. I quickly found that in the settings you could deselect any songs that you didn’t want on the playlist rotation; I turned off every single song besides “Feel So Numb” by Rob Zombie. It looped again and again during my NHL HITZ gaming sessions.
Since 2003, I have maintained an interest in Rob Zombie’s music and continue to be a great fan of his music and other works. In 2017 while I was living in Las Vegas, I spontaneously bought a GA pit ticket to see Zombie as well as Marilyn Manson on their “Twins of Disaster” US tour run. I went by myself and headbanged the night away with an arena full of freaks and metal heads. Since that night, I’ve added Marilyn Manson onto many of my playlists and said if I ever got the chance to see them again, I would go. Luckily for me I was able to see them together on the same night again but in my home of Salt Lake City, Utah at the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheater.
I was prepared for this show to be another scorcher since the last show I covered it was over 100 degrees and that was only a couple of weeks ago. To my great pleasure it was an awesome fall night, the temperature was just right and there was a cool breeze rolling through the amphitheater.
Orgy
I had never heard or listened to Orgy before, or so I thought. My girlfriend quickly educated me about how they have been around since the 90s and how they did a song titled “Slept So Long” that was featured in the 2002 movie Queen of the Damned that she had recently had us watch together – it’s terrible, but that’s what makes it kind of good? Dressed in all black and makeup, Orgy played a great eight-song setlist that included their viral cover of “Blue Monday,” that the crowd was really feeling and being moved by the classic that we all know.
Opening with their newest track title “Dangerous Lyfe” showing their departure from their old nu-metal style that I would describe as a mixture of Korn and Nine-Inch Nails, to their new sound that is a significant embrace of modern metal. It embraces harsh and extreme vocals as well as more modern guitar work and a breakdown that feels current with the music that is being released today. Orgy brought plenty of energy to their performance and seemed to be stoked on the new material they are writing with this current lineup of musicians. Wishing them all the success as they move forward.
The Hu
The Hu was the first show I ever covered for Utah Concert Review back in October of 2023. At the time, I had heard murmurings in the vein of “Have you heard of the Mongolian throat singing metal band?!”. Based on that information, I didn’t put any effort into looking them up, I’ll be honest. My first exposure to them was when the latest Star Wars game – I told you I was a gamer – titled “Jedi: Fallen Order” was releasing, and The Hu did a collaboration song with them called “Sugaan Essena”, a great song for an excellent video game.
Covering them for a second time was something I greatly looked forward to, and I’m thrilled to report they don’t disappoint. Not only are they incredible live on a technical basis, but they also have a presence that fills the entire amphitheater. It’s easy to see that each member is full of a deep passion for metal music, their instruments, their voices, the crowd, and their culture.
Something I noticed that has stuck with me since the show is that not one of their songs was in English. Not one. Yet the crowd had their fists raised in the air; everyone was headbanging, there was movement in the pit. At the expense of sounding hokey, music really is something that transcends all languages and cultures. The Hu can speak and bring their culture all the way from Mongolia to the United States and be understood. I found that to be very powerful. Even their cover of Metallica’s “Sad But True” is in Mongolian, and we all put our horns in the air and chanted along with The Hu. Not only a band full of passion and energy but a band full of gratitude. Any chance they could, they would take the time to say, “SALT LAKE, YOU ROCK!” or “YOU GUYS SOUND AMAZING! WE LOVE SALT LAKE!” said with a great amount of love and joy.
Opening their set with a new song from their latest album titled Hun, with “Horesmen,” which has already racked up over 1 million views on their music video that was only released a month ago. Followed up with “Grey Hun,” which has a killer solo in it played by Enkhsaikhan “Enkush” Batjargal on his Morin Khuur. At the end of their set they all stood in a line on the stage and took a bow as the crowd erupted with shouts and clapping, then turning around to stand together arm in arm and take a photo with the crowd in the back. In short, The Hu kicks ass. Go see them next time they are in Salt Lake City.
Marilyn Manson
With someone as divisive as Marilyn Manson is, he received a very warm welcome here in Salt Lake City. With a giant sheet covering the stage, the lights went down, smoke filled the stage, and the beginning of “Exit Wound” started to play. 17 thousand fans cheered and screamed as the sheet came down and revealed Marilyn Manson and his band. He descended some stage decoration that looked like stone stairs that led up to a statue of an angel of sorts wearing a long-hooded cloak, holding its hands out for an embrace.
The first thing I immediately noticed was how great his singing voice sounded, because if I’m being honest, when I saw him back in 2017, I remember thinking to myself, “I dig his music, but maybe he ought to hang up the gloves…”. Since then, he’s become sober and taken on better self-care practices, and it was noticeable. For those longtime MM fans, he was joined by familiar face and longtime collaborator Tim Skold on the bass guitar.
Between songs, MM said, “The first time I was ever banned from a city was right here in Salt Lake! I Fucking love you! We are not disposable!” Moving into one of his most popular tracks, “Disposable Teens”. It was funny to hear him say that because I remember when I was a kid hearing that he had been banned from ever performing in Salt Lake again.
Speaking of “back in the day”, they played quite a bit of his older music, with songs like “Angel With the Scabbed Wings”, “This is the New Shit,” and several others, including “The Nobodies,” which he introduced by saying, “I wrote this song a long time ago; it was the first time they tried to fuckin’ destroy men, but it wasn’t the last time they FAILED!” The crowd cheered, and as the song started, MM was lifted by a platform – much higher than I would ever go – and performed the song while being the highest being in the vicinity.
Before moving into the next track, MM asked, “Raise your hand if you’re tired of being fucked with! Get up and fight!” then moved into one of his latest releases called “Front Towards Enemy” that has a very catchy and heavy guitar riff, reminiscent of his work in the early 00’s. It got the pit moving and the whole crowd chanting “GET UP AND FIGHT”. I also appreciated that the stage setup was minimal: the statue, as I mentioned earlier, the upside-down cross symbol, and some lights with smoke were really all there was. It was refreshing to see a band with a minimal stage setup, no screens, no crazy effects, just them and their music. Capping off the night with two of my favorite MM songs, “mOBSCENE” and, of course, the song we all know, “The Beautiful People”.
Rob Zombie
I sometimes wonder what keeps people coming back to see artists repeatedly, especially bands like Rob Zombie, given that he’s been playing music since 1998 simply under his own name while still growing his fan base, and then he takes the stage, and suddenly my questions have answers. The stage setup is insane, with massive inflatable devils on either side of the stage, mic stands with Nosferatu on them, and the man himself in his classic cowboy hat and jacket & pants combo with the tassels hanging off on a 15-foot-high platform with “ZOMBIE” written on it.
Things couldn’t be crazier than they are, and then fire starts blasting from the middle of the stage while they all rip around and play the new tune “F.T.W.84”. The song is reminiscent of his first two albums, mostly from what I assume is because of the return of Mike Riggs on guitar since John5’s departure several years ago. Riggs was the main songwriter on Hellbilly Deluxe and The Sinister Urge, although I am a massive fan of John5 and all the work he’s done with Rob Zombie; their latest album, The Great Satan, with Riggs back on guitar, rounds the sound out to more of that classic Zombie.
Thankfully, they played quite a few tracks from Rob’s latest album, including “Tarantula” & “Heathen Days”. As the set continued, it wasn’t hard to notice Rob running from side to side, jumping and kicking his legs much higher than I could ever dream of with my tight hamstrings, and Rob seems to do it all effortlessly even at 61 years old. After a few songs, Rob took a second to address the crowd – hilariously, might I add – by saying, “What day is it? Oh, it’s a Monday? *pause* not a bad crowd for a Monday.” He wasn’t wrong; the amphitheater was stacked front to back with 17k people.
And of course, you can’t go see a Rob Zombie show without him slipping in a White Zombie song like “More Human Than Human,” to which the appropriate crowd response was to lose their shit while a massive 9ft tall spaceman runs around on stage behind the band. Rob then takes a moment to tell everyone that he wants to “Get serious.” And that he has “seen some really disturbing things in Salt Lake City since he arrived.” He continued, “You guys have a serious UFO problem.” To which the statement led them into “Well, Everybody’s F***ing in a U.F.O”.
As the giant onstage screens filled with videos of classic gray aliens with solid black eyes and massive wieners swinging around, I couldn’t help but think this was the most Rob Zombie thing I had ever seen in my life. As the set continued, they played “Living Dead Girl” for the ladies, of course, personal favorite “Scum of the Earth,” and “Never Gonna Stop,” to then ending the night with all-time favorites “Thunder Kiss ‘65,” to which I annoyed the ever-living hell out of my girlfriend the entire drive home by singing “nineteen sixty fiiiiiiiiiiiiive, yeah! WOW!” and then giving the fans what they wanted and taking them for a ride in the back of his “Dragula”.
Since 2003, Rob Zombie has never been disappointed and shows me exactly why artists like him love what they do and still give it all the energy they have; even at 61, are still out here filling up massive venues full of fans old and new. Next time Rob Zombie, Marilyn Mason, The HU, and Orgy swing by UFO-infested Salt Lake, I suggest you buy a ticket and get abducted.