Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie are no spring chickens. On their Denver stop for the “Twins of Evil: The Second Coming Tour,” the two elder statesmen of horror inspired heavy metal played into a complete, but not entirely sold outside Pepsi Center audience. Both have been at it quite a while, and every around 50-years-old or merely bashful — Zombie clocking in at 53 and Manson 49. The remarkable staying power of every act was evident at last night’s show, as the artists continued their shtick, largely unchanged, to remarkably satisfying result. While both artists have introduced new music in the last couple years, their collections were packed mostly with all classics. There’therefore a reason both bands have survived the industry provided that they have — they know how to play with their audience, giving them both the strikes rather than cooperating too much with what they know to be a fantastic thing.

Marilyn Manson in 2015 at The Fillmore. Photo from Camille Breslin.

Zombie hit on the stage dressed like a rodeo hero . Clad in bell-bottoms, a coat with wrought iron and a cowboy hat propped neatly atop his wild dreadlocks, the former White Zombie frontman addressed the audience with all the ferocity and articulation of a Baptist preacher. Despite having been born in Massachusetts, Zombie growled his stage banter with complete southern inflection. Some of it made sense, other pieces were a bit more cryptic. “Ever since Beatlemania, it’s the ladies that need the fuckin’ rock revolution,” he barked without much further explanation.

The imagery that followed the music was suitable for Zombie’so aesthetic, though there was surprisingly little gore considering the guy ’s penchant for the truly unappetizing. A montage of creatures from classic horror cinema — Wolfman, Frankenstein and The Creature from the Black Lagoon — has been united by pentagrams, flames, aliens and ’70s porn. A 12-foot-tall Satan meandered round the stage to get a few songs, as did a marginally shorter alien with Wolverine-like claws. In addition to his classics, Zombie played The Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop” and Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out for Summer” — a somewhat ironic choice considering that most Colorado schools restart session this week. Following the covers, Manson joined Zombie on stage due to the cover of The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter,” images of a young Charles Manson filling the screens .

Following the cover, Zombie returned to the stage atop a giant, four-horned demonic effigy to perform with his biggest hit, “Dragula. ” Even in 2018 the massive theatrics of both the song and the persona somehow managed not to become stale. While the music is definitely dated to a certain degree and the camp components are more glaring than ever, one would be hard pushed to ever call what the two groups do “dad-rock. ” With any luck, each of the involved performers are going to have the ability to keep their health and continue to disperse their sinister vision for years to come.