Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor is Zombie wholly back to his most ludicrous best, bearing the most colossal set of arena-worthy anthems he’d penned so far in the 21st Century. Opening your album with a song called “Teenage Nosferatu Pussy” doesn’t, either. Who else but Rob Zombie could call an album that and have fans think, Yep, that seems about right? The fact that he followed it up with an even more absurdly titled album, The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser, says it all, but with its Technicolor artwork and that moniker, Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor doesn’t exactly scream “subtle.” (Seriously, can you imagine Rob Zombie’s garage?) With Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor, however, it was time to make things planet-sized again.įor a start – you didn’t misread it – this record really is called Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor. It was an album that saw Rob Zombie adopting a more collaborative approach to writing with his band an album that, while being unmistakably Rob Zombie, often felt – quite charmingly – like a bunch of guys cranking out tunes in Zombie’s garage, surrounded by all the weird things that undoubtedly hang on those walls. In this day and age, I can think of far more diabolical things.Though a sequel, Hellbilly Deluxe 2 wasn’t a replica of former triumphs given a glossy new paint job.
While recreating the infectious, fire-and-brimstone vibe of his genre-defining, solo debut may be next to impossible, Rob Zombie has put forth an effortlessly fun album to digest-one that thrives on the depraved escapism of monsters, movies and mini-skirts. (Check out the Music Machine's 1966 burner, "Trouble" for the genuine article.) About three-quarters of the way "Burn" and "Death And Destiny Inside The Dream Factory" tend to get a tad tedious in the quasi-industrial haze, but Zombie pulls a surly little demon-rabbit out of his tattered hat in the marvelously mad "Werewolf Women of the SS," another throwback to his '60s punk influences. "What?" is one of the strongest numbers in the set with a raw, wiry '60s garage feel, complete with swirling organ riffs and drag-strip flair. "Sick Bubblegum" is a chugging mover that's similar in feel to the original Hellbilly's "Living Dead Girl," sans the ghoulish charm. "Jesus Frankenstein" opens the proceedings as a stomping, sinister-glam prelude that struts along to vintage Van Halen riffery and a call-to-arms chorus.
And while it's true that there's still a disaffected, tongue-in-cheek aspect to be had, he's struck gold with a consistent band lineup that includes his musical soul mate of sorts, ex-Manson guitarist John 5, whose swaggering chops bring a colorful musicality to the mix. It's easy to look at Zombie's musical career as pastiche, an aural vehicle for his vast knowledge of pop culture.
But beyond the ghastly headshot, it's by far his best work since the original, released over a decade ago. Despite his success making major motion pictures, Rob Zombie has not joined Hollywood's glitterati-the cover of his new disc Hellbilly Deluxe 2 is ample proof of that.