Zombie is Back!

Rob Zombie has finally released the his sequel, Hellbelly Deluxe 2. When I heard he had decided to push the release back from November to February I feared the worst. I hope the decision works in Zombie's favor because the new album is good. Educated Horses was a forgettable release from this multi-talented artist.

All the tracks on this album deliver the Zombie sound; carnival-horrorscape-boogie with fist pumping choruses. Zombie has learned from his mistakes on Educated Horses crafted a cohesive album. The album opener could easily be a concert opener, with its long eerie introduction before Zombie belts out "All Hail!!!" Sick Bubblegum the next track is a concert sing-a-long in the tradition of Dragula and Feel So Numb. After that the newest sounding song on the disc, What? blasts off.

What? is an extension of a sound Zombie played around with on the Houses of 1000 Corpses track, Two-Lane Blacktop. It is a fast-paced, punk styled track with distorted auctioneer vocal track effects. Mars Needs Women gives the album a change of pace, with its acoustic intro and slow drum beats. Werewolf Baby follows with slide guitar riffage and standard Zombie verse chorus verse structure, but John 5 the new guitar player has definitely helped Zombie return to form.

Virgin Witch plays up on the ghoulish appeal of Zombie and you can quickly visualize grandiose images of Zombie standing high above everyone touting virgin witch verbiage at a crowd. This song is mostly instrumental which is also a change for Zombie. On Rob's past three releases the instrumental tracks are generally just segues between songs and are layered with horror movie clips and industrial sound effects. This album doesn't have those tracks. There is more musicianship contained in each song. Probably a positive bonus of having John 5 sharing writing duties on of the songs.

The next couple of tracks switch styles and pace well never boring the listener. Death and Destiny inside the Dream Factory is only track that resembles the segue tracks commonly featured on Zombie albums. Werewolf Women of the SS is a fun uptempo track featuring surf guitat inspired riffs and once again showcases the musicianship and variety that John 5 has brought to Zombie's sound. The final track clocks in at a lengthy 9+ minutes. Zombie successfully reincorprates the symponthic sound that was heavily present in The Sinister Urge and the track features a lengthy drum solo.