Rob Zombie


by Chris Fox
November 2009

Rob Zombie

Rob Zombie

After releasing another masterful horror flick, Halloween II, ROB ZOMBIE is hitting the road again with his band. This tour is in promotion of Zombie’s upcoming album in 2010, Hellbilly Deluxe II. “We bring the heaviness of metal with an underlying groove,” explains Zombie, as the new album is expected to go back to the older ROB ZOMBIE sound as heard in his debut solo release Hellbilly Deluxe, in 1998.

Zombie defines himself and his band as both a studio and live band. He explains, “I’ve been with these guys, touring for years now… we get along, and I’m excited to be working with them.” Previous albums have seen a rotation of musicians and Zombie doing the recording, but he is proud to call the newest album a full band project with the name ROB ZOMBIE. Beyond that, Zombie describes the band as “much more a live band than studio.” The epic scenes and amazing showmanship of Zombie and his band live are what clearly sets them apart. “You can’t replicate the sound any other way unless you are live,” Zombie continues, “you just can’t feel it any other way.” It becomes about the true metal experience, and live is the only proper way to understand it.

Zombie attributes much of his passion, success, and inspiration for music and movies back to his childhood. Growing up loving movies and being exposed to the likes of Alice Cooper and Kiss early on had a huge impact on the ROB ZOMBIE sound that we know and love. Zombie explains, “as a kid I saw how mundane life was and the people living it, I simply thought ‘no fuckin way,’ I’m not gonna get a normal job.” Zombie explains that he saw people living their lives in monotony and gray, and everybody had come to just accept such things. Stillness allowed the creative inner Zombie to blossom and helped develop his fascination with horror movies. Zombie continues, with an inspirational hint of wisdom in his voice, “most people spend all day at a job they hate… most people give up their dreams way too quickly… As soon as you decide it’s not possible some guy finds a way, and I have always tried to be that guy.” Even with his great success and fame Zombie seems to understand exactly where so many musicians, artists, and filmmakers are coming from, “nobody EVER starts on top, the good stuff only comes from those who dedicate themselves.” Zombie’s dedication shows in every piece of work that he puts out, “I won’t just put my name on anything, I have to be involved.” Zombie lives with a relentlessly full plate, and he wouldn’t want it any other way.

Movies and music are very similar creatively for Zombie, and his approach to each is very comparable. The psychological thrillers like Devil’s Rejects and Halloween are much more than standard horror flicks. Zombie effectively steps away from the strict conformity of horror movies; boobs and blood. Zombie continues that is all about balance, he says, “the problem with movies and music in general is the way they’re made to fit a mold… they fit right into this genre or that… as soon as you try to fit a genre, with anything creative, as soon as you put those boundaries on something, you are stuck.” With that being said, Zombie strives to include the typical horror movie or heavy metal genre elements without containing himself into the labeled box. He categorizes his movies as “very dark human dramas,” rather than horror.

ROB ZOMBIE will be finding themselves in Wisconsin on November 19, at the Rave Eagle’s Ballroom in Milwaukee. Come see the godfather of shock rock tear up the stage once again in promotion of Hellbilly Deluxe II.

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Rob Zombie
CD: Hellbilly Deluxe 2 Record Label: Universal Records
Purchase Hellbilly Deluxe 2 on Amazon