Rob Zombie
Hellbilly Deluxe 2
Roadrunner Records
02 Feb 2010
What they’re saying
While he might’ve been suffering label-issues behind the scenes, Rob Zombie seems to have had no problem recording his fourth solo album:
“This was one of the least stressful records I’ve ever made. The songs fell together in record time. For some reason the best songs always come easy.”
He’s also been hinting that this might be the last album he releases in a physical format:
“Well, pretty soon the CD will be dead. All you will have left is digital downloads. So before we say goodbye to the almighty CD, I thought I would give it a big send-off. I love being able to get great artists involved on my CD artwork and this time is the best yet. Since this may be the last true CD I make, I thought I would gather three of the top artists around to contribute some killer new Zombie art for the booklet.”
Speaking of the artwork, here’s what the cover is going to look like. For all his talk, it’s not that special, is it?
Thrash Hits verdict
From the handful of tracks from Hellbilly Deluxe 2 that have already leaked out, it’s clear this record is a sequel of Zombie’s debut solo record in more than just name. Gone are the more-organic sounds of 2006’s Educated Horses, as the man known to his mother as Robert Cummings has returned to the petrol-sniffing sideshow freak music that he made his name with in the first place. The sinister chug and weirdo vocal scat of ‘Burn’ make it sound almost like Astrocreep-era Zombie, and the grindhouse-sample intros and creepshow Hammond organ licks of ‘What?’ are already sending shivers down our spine.
It’ll be interesting to see how Roadrunner Records handles the release of the album – last year Zombie jumped ship to them from his label of over 18 years, Geffen Records, allegedly due to Geffen’s reluctance to market the album as heavily as he wanted. However, in this case it’s worth bearing in mind all the recent bitching by MegaDave over how Roadrunner handled Endgame. Mustaine was in a similar position to Zombie – a former Major Label metal star tempted by the size of Roadrunner’s chequebook – whom now it seems is regretting the deal. Okay, so, MegaDave is prone to throwing his toys out of his pram, but we want Rob Zombie to keep making music – if this album goes tit’s up, it might be the last record he ever makes. And then he’ll be back making those piss-poor horror films. Who the fuck wants that?
Rob Zombie – Hellbilly Deluxe 2 tracklisting
Jesus Frankenstein
Sick Bubble-Gum
What?
Mars Needs Women
Werewolf, Baby
Virgin Witch
Death and Destiny Inside the Dream Factory
Burn
Cease to Exist
Werewolf Women of the SS
The Man Who Laughs