REVIEWS:
A popular industrial metal band whose frontman and principal songwriter Rob Zombie had an obsession with horror movie imagery, especially apparent in the lyrics and samples throughout the band's songs. Their earliest work I believe is out of print, and I've hardly ever heard anyone mention those albums, but their breakthrough came in 1992 with the blistering "Thunder Kiss '65" on La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume 1. Their sound became more focused and commercial but at the same time more creative and convincing with Astro-Creep: 2000 songs of love, destruction and other synthetic delusions of the Electric Head (which I'll just refer to as Astro-Creep: 2000 for sanity purposes. After a remix album, the band broke up, with frontman Rob going on a solo career, and his first effort Hellbilly Deluxe was almost undistinguishable from an actual White Zombie album.
--Nick Karn
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
White Zombie's breakthrough album is a pretty good introduction to their sound, as it's a fascinating listen through the trashy, horror movie laden mind of Rob Zombie. Solid riffs and cool guitar effects here and there are supplied by J. Yuenger, most notably on "Thunder Kiss '65", which is probably the signature song of the band's career featuring the typical lyrical imagery, with a recognizable chugging riff, a damn catchy chorus and cool vocal delivery. The other major highlight, "Black Sunshine", is one of the ultimate car songs, apparent immediately in the phenomenal intro buildup.
"Thrust!", which matches its' title and has the most intriguing samples in its' middle section, also stands out, as does the intro build for the opening "Welcome To Planet Motherfucker / Psycholic Slag" and the crunch of the rest of the song. Although the rest of the album isn't bad, it kind of falls back on formula - the riffs, vocal deliveries and lyrics begin sounding very similar to each other ("Cosmic Monsters, Inc.", the closing "Warp Asylum", and the otherwise provocatively titled "Spiderbaby (Yeah Yeah Yeah)" are particularly guilty of this. A good album, but a little unfulfilling - get the next one.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
Astro-Creep: 2000 is basically an improved version of the band's signature sound showcased on La Sexorcisto, and it's a more consistent record that doesn't suffer as much from the same flaws the last one did. The songs at their best are generally catchier, more hard hitting and imposing numbers that actually don't sound like novelty tunes, although you'd have to be stupid to take this band seriously. The major highlights are the singles, which include the kickass arena intensity of "Super Charger Heaven", the carnivalesque "Electric Head Part 2: The Ecstasy" and the biggest smash "More Human Than Human", all of which have easily singable hooks, strong playing, and the distinctive White Zombie atmosphere.
The other very strong tracks include "Real Solution #9", which works an awesome groove that's hard to resist, and "El Phantasmo And The Chicken Run Blast-O-Rama" not only has the best song title on the record, but also works an industrial, danceable edge with a good sense of melody. There are a couple songs on here that aren't that great, such as the stale opener "Electric Head Pt. 1: The Agony", the uninteresting "I, Zombie" and the boring closing dirge "Blood, Milk And Sky". Still, it's a very good album on account of its' unique combination of metal energy, cartoonish humor that's at the same time dark and convincing, and catchy tunes. Very recommended.
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