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Rob Zombie's new album hits a high note, 'meant to be fun'
Devin Courtright
The Advocate
As a fellow head-banger and guitar player, I will always consider Rob Zombie one of my favorite musicians of all time. When he came out with his first solo album, “Hellbilly Deluxe,” it became one of the most iconic albums to come out in the alternative metal sound of the late ’90s. It had a dark, theatrical atmosphere, with a splash of vaudeville horror/humor and erotica, powered by heavy driven industrial/groove metal. That’s why when I heard Zombie was coming out with a sequel to that original work of art, I was thrilled and couldn’t wait to listen to it.
“Hellbilly Deluxe 2,” even though is slightly overshadowed by its predecessor, is a breath of fresh air for Zombie’s fourth studio album effort. It’s basically the sound of his last album, “Educated Horses” but with more attitude, personality, and creativity – and, let’s not forget, some of the qualities that made the first “Hellbilly Deluxe” such a great album. “Hellbilly Deluxe 2” doesn’t necessarily pick up from where the previous one left off, but rather takes it and goes into a world of its own – which is a good thing and it should be that way but as a fan, you just can’t help but miss the good ole days. And I don’t mean to dwell in the past but I will say this: it’s a good return to Zombie’s more vaudeville horror/humor themed roots.
As far as the visuals of the album, right from the get-go, the album cover symbolizes that the current Rob Zombie (from “Educated Horses”) died and came back from the dead with a vengeance, so to speak, and was stitched up and reborn into his old Zombie self. I thought he could have tried a little harder for a more creative, edgier-looking cover but the photo does at least let his fans know, myself included, that he’s back and ready to play some gnarly, heavy groovin’ metal. The rest of the album artwork brings you back more toward the “Hellbilly Deluxe” era, showing more interesting and creatively thought-out illustrations. The only thing that kind of kills it is that at times some of the artwork looks a little too cartoonish, as if he’s appealing to a younger teenage crowd. As for the photography, it’s not bad; Zombie’s wife Shari Moon looks sexy as always. Even Zombie and the band look better than the previous album because it looks like they’re actually having fun, which is a good thing. The only thing that brings it down, though, is the overall lightness of it. For my taste it can be a tad darker, especially with it having the “Hellbilly Deluxe” tag on it.
The music and lyrics are well written by Zombie and guitarist John 5. The lineup is the same, with the exception of new bass player Piggy D. The first track, “Jesus Frankenstein,” opens as an eerie atmospheric intro, followed by a dark, gothic melody quite similar (or possibly identical) to Black Sabbath’s self-titled song “Black Sabbath.” What’s cool about this song is that its tempo slowly gets faster and faster and has more riff changes than the average Zombie song.
Besides the creativity, the lyrics are also interesting as well, with the chorus saying, “All hail, Jesus Frankenstein!” Other songs that stand out for their creativity are “Mars Needs Women” (acoustic blues guitar intro and fun sci-fi lyrics), “Virgin Witch” (gothic influences), “Werewolf Women of the SS” (surf-rock meets vaudeville horror), and the last track, “The Man Who Laughs” (lyrics reference the Joker, from Batman, and an awesome but rare drum solo).
The songs “Sick Bubble-Gum” and his first single “What!” stand out but more for their catchy guitar riffs/ lyrical hooks (I had the main riff to “What!” stuck in my head for hours) and radio-friendly repetitiveness. Don’t get me wrong, they’re cool songs, They just have more style than substance. The rest of the songs are good to listen to, or even for some people to dance to, but they don’t stand out as anything special or anything you would want to listen to multiple times.
Overall, the sequel to “Hellbilly Deluxe” may not be as dark and sinister as the first one, but it sure surpasses “Educated Horses.” It’s packed with creativity, interesting song titles and lyrics, and the musical composition is pretty good with the new lineup. What’s important to remember is that Rob Zombie is not the same “Zombie” as he was 10 years ago.
He’s grown and changed obviously as a human being and plus he’s more focused in making awesome horror movies.
Rob Zombie is at least moving in the right direction and, all in all, this is a fun album to listen to. It was meant to be fun
. . . so have fun.
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