Melanie Martinez Went to Hell So She Could Drag Society Back With Her

I’m not going to lie — I spent over an hour handwriting this article while taking a bath, only to find it had completely disappeared on Substack later that day. The only thing left was the title. I had a tiny urge to ask Claude for help but I don’t want to rely on AI, especially when it comes to my art, so here it is: my honest thoughts on Melanie Martinez’s new album HADES.

I don’t review many albums, but hers are the exception. Every album she has made has truly changed my life, my vibration, and how I see the world. She has this power to transport you into her own magical realm and help you process emotions — including ones you didn’t even know you were carrying. Every release heals something while also shedding light on the darker corners of the world.

The title HADES references the mythological god of the underworld and ruler of the dead — but Hades also represents the riches of the earth. On this album, Martinez channels that energy to explore greed, darkness, and the hidden forces shaping our world, all in her signature poetic tone.

I’ve listened to the full album about six times now and it’s really growing on me. I won’t call it my favorite yet, but I already know I like it more than Portals. It hits harder — more punk energy, a wider range of sounds, and stories that thread into each other so seamlessly it feels like one continuous world. A movie feels inevitable, and I’m here for it. She explores themes she’s never touched before, and it feels more relevant to right now than anything she’s released.

I'm going to break down every single track on this album because honestly every one deserves to be talked about. Fair warning — the only one I didn't fully connect with was THE LAST TWO PEOPLE ON EARTH, but we'll get into that. Let's go.

Her first two pre-released singles were POSSESSION and DISNEY PRINCESS, and after listening to the full album I can see exactly why she chose those two. They have a strong, addictive hook that makes you want to put them on repeat. DISNEY PRINCESS is already one of my most played on the album and I don’t see that changing. Now let’s go into a breakdown of all 18 tracks.

GARBAGE: The perfect opening track. It sets the tone immediately — all the noise surrounding us right now, the news cycle, social media, the constant flood of negativity. It's all garbage and she doesn't dress it up. What I love is how seamlessly it flows into IS THIS A CULT?, almost like a natural progression — someone drowning in all of that chaos finally looking for somewhere to belong. The song also ends with real gunshot sounds, which is haunting precisely because it's not dramatic or exaggerated. It's just the news.

IS THIS A CULT?: This one is so relevant right now. With people feeling lonelier than ever, everyone is searching for community — and that desperation makes it easy for cults to pull people in, whether that’s political parties, religious groups, or underground societies. Martinez captures how quietly brainwashing can happen, and how people can lose themselves to it without even realizing it.

POSSESSION: This fits perfectly after IS THIS A CULT? — I picture someone already brainwashed, now fully possessed, being used however the cult sees fit. She paints this vivid picture of being completely trapped, maybe without even knowing it, which makes it even more unsettling.

WHITE BOY WITH A GUN: This one calls out men who perform feminism while actually being controlling, racist, and complicit in an unfair system. It speaks directly to a certain type of man who presents as one of the good ones while supporting everything but.

DISNEY PRINCESS: This one explores the dark side of fame — the idea of someone selling their soul for success, gaining everything money can buy while losing their innocence in the process. What makes it so clever is that despite those dark themes it’s probably her most upbeat song on the album. If you weren’t paying attention to the words you’d think it was purely feel-good. But dig in and it becomes a cautionary tale about the cost of fame, especially for women.

GRUDGES: The title says it all. She traces the journey of someone who has been treated poorly until they finally hit their breaking point — and instead of urging forgiveness, she lets people sit in their rage. There's something powerful about that because anger, when it's justified, is what drives change. And there is a lot to be angry about right now. The song moves from a place of being a victim to reclaiming strength, which is something a lot of women are actively choosing to do today.

MONOPOLY MAN: This one hit me hard. She confronts the people in power who hoard wealth while people starve and the planet deteriorates around them. There’s this image of someone who already has everything still climbing higher, still doing damage, completely indifferent to the destruction they leave behind. As a regular person it’s painful to sit with because you feel so stuck — but it also makes you want to use your voice, and I think a lot of people will feel exactly that way listening to it.

AVOIDANT: With attachment styles being such a popular conversation right now — avoidant, anxious, secure — this song goes straight to the heart of the avoidant experience. She captures the internal emotional pull and the imbalance it creates, not just for the people on the receiving end but for the avoidant person themselves. I felt this one personally, not just in romantic relationships but in friendships too.

MONOLITH: When I first saw this title I assumed it would be about technology expanding faster than we can keep up with — but I was completely wrong. This one is about being scrutinized so relentlessly that you eventually become a flattened version of yourself, like a cardboard cutout or a meme. She uses this image of something vibrant being picked apart until there’s nothing left, and honestly it made me cry the first time I heard it. That kind of moment is rare and healing — the feeling of not being alone in something you couldn’t quite put into words.

WEIGHT WATCHERS: This song is about growing up in front of an audience while the whole world scrutinizes your appearance. She captures that pressure to look a certain way — the weight fluctuations, the decisions you make about your own body just to meet an impossible standard. I think most women can relate because we’re all under a magnifying glass when it comes to our looks. But the underlying message is to own who you are and whatever you choose to do with your life.

THE PLAGUE: She uses plague not just as a reference to literal widespread disease but as a metaphor for what's spreading just as fast — loneliness, negativity, and emotional desensitization in the wake of constant catastrophe. It's one of those songs that feels uncomfortably timely.

BATSHIT INTELLIGENCE: Another direct hit at money-hungry people who couldn’t care less about anyone below them while the world falls apart around them. What I love about this one is that it feels like a warning — a call to wake up and challenge the corrupt system we’re all living in. She ends the song with an actual news clip about authorities removing and arresting homeless people and confiscating their belongings. It genuinely gives you chills. But it also makes you want to do something, which is exactly the point.

GUTTER: This one is about the people society discards — thrown away and forgotten. Listening to it I couldn't help but picture ICE raids, families being removed from their homes, people being arrested simply for existing without shelter. It connects directly to that news clip at the end of BATSHIT INTELLIGENCE, almost like the two songs are in conversation with each other. Together they force you to sit with some uncomfortable questions about how we define humanity and how we treat each other.

UNCANNY VALLEY: The rhythm on this one is strange at first — almost unsettling — but then it becomes completely addictive, which feels intentional given what she's singing about. The song captures that exhausting cycle women face of constantly trying to meet beauty standards that keep shifting just out of reach. No matter what you do, it's never quite enough.

THE VATICAN: My favorite song on the entire album. This one is completely unhinged in the best way — the writing is darkly funny, sharp, and unapologetic. She tears apart the corruption hiding behind religion and how it’s been used to manipulate, control, and conceal secrets for centuries. If you have a dark sense of humor and aren’t precious about religious institutions, you will absolutely love this song.

HELL'S FRONT PORCH: This one confronts the destruction of the planet head on — global warming happening in real time while the people with the power to do something about it are too busy chasing more money to care. It's about the willful ignorance of those who could act but choose not to, while the one thing that actually matters — the only home any of us have — continues to burn.

CHATROOM: This one takes on the haters and the faceless strangers who flood her messages with threats and cruelty. She actually includes a clip of herself talking to a friend about receiving a death threat, laughing at the absurdity of not knowing whether it came from an AI bot, a middle aged man, or a ten year old on their mom’s iPad. But what I love most is how she reclaims her power — pointing out that the hatred says nothing about her and everything about the person sending it. The production is stunning too, a beautiful harmonic a cappella sound almost like you’re sitting in a church. You can genuinely feel her strength coming through.

THE LAST TWO PEOPLE ON EARTH: This is probably my least favorite on the album, but it carries a quiet message — that despite everything happening in the world, love for each other is what we have left. It feels like a finale, a moment of stillness after everything that came before it, as if at the end of it all the only thing that truly matters is how we treat one another.

HADES has been on repeat since I first heard it, and I mean that in the most consuming way possible. There's something about Martinez's music that doesn't just entertain — it brings you back to life. Her ability to build entire worlds out of real problems happening around us makes you feel less alone in them, and maybe even angry enough to do something about it. If you haven't listened yet, start there. Stay for the poetry, the chaos, and the uncomfortable feeling that she's describing exactly where we are right now.