The full album title is Hellbilly Deluxe: 13 Tales Of Cadaverous Cavorting Inside The Spookshow International, but a lot of us just refer to the album as Hellbilly Deluxe. This album was my proper introduction to Rob Zombie because I know I had heard White Zombie before, but I never had paid attention till I had seen him at Ozzfest 99 when he was promoting this album. It was Rob Zombie’s first venture as a solo artist after he disbanded White Zombie and it featured much of the same sound as White Zombie, but it was more ferocious and in your face. It mixed sounds of rock, metal, and industrial into while combining the awesomeness of b-horror movie madness. On the record, Rob played with Riggs (Guitars), Blasko (Bass), and the album saw John Tempesta (Drums) come over from White Zombie and the album features additional work from Tommy Lee of Motley Crue, Danny Lohner, and Mark Matcho. The album was released on August 25, 1998 and the album peaked at number 5 on The Billboard Top 200 charts while going 3 times platinum since in the US and 2 times platinum in Canada. The album features a 24 page booklet which includes the cover and has artwork designed by Marvel Comics artists Gene Colan and Dan Brereton. The robot posing with Rob Zombie is a replica robot from the 1939 movie The Phantom Creeps and was designed by Wayne Toth (he would later work with Rob on House Of 1000 Corpses) specifically for Rob. The album also features samples from old horror films like Lady Frankenstein, The Last House On The Left, The City Of The Dead, Mark Of The Devil, Daughters Of Darkness, and The Satanic Rites Of Dracula.
1. Call Of The Zombie– A creepy little intro that I believe that Sherri Moon Zombie is the one saying it. The sound clip at the end of it is from the Vincent Price film Madhouse. 4/5
2. Superbeast– This song is absolutely intense as it chugs away with the industrial madness behind it as it smashes your eardrums. If you were driving in a Camaro, this song would make you want to drive more than a 100 MPH. Definitely one of my favorite tracks on the record and it was an amazing way that Rob used to open his concerts with back in the day. 5/5
3. Dragula– This is probably one of the most famous tracks on the record with it’s crazy club industrial metal sound about the car that The Munsters had in the show. 5/5
4. Living Dead Girl– A song whose music I can only describe as seductive and mesmerizing with the line in the beginning of the track from the film Lady Frankenstein. The music in the beginning of the song is from The Last House On The Left Trailer while the line What are you thinking about?/The same thing you are is from the film Daughters Of Darkness. 5/5
5. Perversion 99– Another intro track that leaves you in a trance as you wait for the next track because you can’t avoid it. 4/5
6. Demonoid Phenomenon– This track is an absolute sledgehammer as Riggs guitar sound melts your face combined with the industrial dance floor like metal. The lines “don’t lie to yourself, it gave you pleasure” and “enjoy the dead girl’s body” are from the Daughters Of Darkness film. 5/5
7. Spookshow Baby– This is an interesting song that is all industrial in nature before changing into a metal blitzkrieg for the choruses. 4/5
8. How To Make A Monster– Never one of my favorites on this record due to it’s low quality sound. I usually avoid this one. 1/5
9. Meet the Creeper– This is a step back in the right direction for the band as it’s another track on the record that is a freight train going out of control with the muted string/dropped d sound combined with more of the industrial beats. This is one of the tracks that features Tommy Lee on drums. 5/5
10. The Ballad Of Resurrection Joe And Rosa Whore– This is techno madness at it’s best mixed with metal. This is the other track on the record that features Tommy Lee on drums. 4/5
11. What Lurks On Channel X?– This song isn’t bad on the record, but I have always said that it sounded better live. This is a another great example of the industrial techno metal sound where the samples are at the forefront of the track. 3/5
12. Return Of The Phantom Stranger– I love the organs mixed in the beginning of the track along with the techno metal. Mt favorite part of the song is the chorus, I just live all the elements that are mixed in with the song. It reminds me of the White Zombie track Blood, Milk, And Sky and I love that song. 4/5
13. The Beginning Of The End can be considered the outro, but it’s a bunch of industrial machine factory like noise which can essentially symbolize what a disastrous end would sound like. 2/5
My Final Thoughts: I became obsessed with Rob Zombie after I saw what an amazing live show he had and I have to say out of all the lineups he has had, this one is still my favorite. Riggs and Blasko brought another dimension into Zombie’s band that was amazing live. I still believe that the guys he has now are amazing, but it’s been hard to top these first two solo records in Hellbilly Deluxe and The Sinister Urge which is my absolute favorite. The album gets four stars out of five for a final grade. This is the last Halloween related post for the album of the week category. It has been a fun ride this year. Here is to next year.
Moshpits And Movies 