Rob Zombie ‘The Great Satan’
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Roll up roll up, for you’re about to enter another instalment of the weird, twisted, the macabre and the wonderful mind of Rob Zombie. This particular nasty little volume is titled The Great Satan.
Four years after The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy, the witch slayer himself is back with a, somewhat, new line up as Riggs and Blasko return to the dark carnival.
Yes, it means no more John 5 widdles but it does mean a resurrection for stomping riffs, grooves and horror sonics.
Opening track is not an introduction piece, it’s a self proclaimed ‘welcome to the greatest adventure of your lives’ as FTW 84 unloads in insane sounds, rolling drums and lyrics from Zombie that actually make sense for once. He screams ‘fuck the world, fuck it all, this is 1984’ and you instantly think, yeah, America really is that right now.
Before you think Zombie has gone all political on us, the B-horror movie soundtrack springs into action with Tarantula as Zombie settles back to more industrial beat.
Three songs have already been dropped, the demon speeding Heathen Days, Punks & Demons and the rip roaring I’m A Rock N Roller where Zombie gets to causally sing ‘007 eating Pussy Galore’ and make perfect sense.
There is a feel that Zombie has dipped into his dark crevices of his mind to find bits of gold undiscovered previously, whether it’s the industrial stomper Black Rat Coffin which harks to Zombies early days in White Zombie or The Devil Man, a massive soundscape of a track whose chorus could’ve been ripped from Hellbilly Deluxe.
Talking of an instant stomping classic, Revolution Motherfuckers swings and pumps into an arena classic already. The imagination running wild with fireworks, confetti and a chorus of song.
The last act erupts with a 60’s Munster style keyboard on The Black Scorpion which is nothing short of a punk classic wrapped up in gothic horror and humour. Then we are treated to the doom sludge Unclean Animals, with Zombie vocals transforming through a kaleidoscope of colours that disorients.
Finally, Zombie’s technicolor nightmare is over. The sci-fi credits roll and you’re left wondering what you’ve just heard. Which is exactly what a Rob Zombie album should always sound like. Fun, energetic, fantasy and I’ve still no idea what his lyrics mean.
Album Review By Iain McCallum
The Great Satan, is out February 27 from Nuclear Blast Records
Pre-Order HERE
