Rob Zombie is a man of many talents. The horror movies he creates, such as House of 1000 Corpses and his re-imagining of the Halloween franchise movies are excellent, and he really does have quite a deft touch in his direction of those movies. They are out and out slasher flicks, but he actually builds some tension and a little character development as well, unlike many other horror directors.
I interviewed him a little while back, and one of his quotes was “films reach more people than music.” A lot of the fans he talks to apparently don’t even know he makes music, even though his music career can be traced back to the mid 80s (and his first movie came out in 2003). He seems very committed to keeping his music career going as well however, having released solo albums regularly over the last 10-15 years.
Upon listening to his latest offering, Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor, one cannot help but think that, while he obviously still loves music, much of his attention is focused on the movie side of things. This is his fifth solo album since 1998 after White Zombie parted ways. He has made six full length feature films since 2003.
The new album is not bad by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it’s a lot of fun. It’s a raucous collection of catchy hard rock songs, with his trademark rasp howling over the top. The lyrical content is typically irreverent, and there is a bit of a party vibe present within the album’s grooves. It’s just that maybe it’s a party for Ghouls and Goths and generally people from the outskirts of society, rather than for the beautiful yuppie mainstream.
One cannot get the feeling that it’s a bit of a musical stopgap for him though, something to keep his music career going while he works on his next film project. One can only feel that if he put all of his obviously considerable creative energies into his music he could create an absolute masterpiece. But he goes where the money is, and who can blame him? The songs are very simple, and have an ever so slight ‘slapped together’ feel to them.
Of course, that kind of simplicity and spontaneity appeals to many people. If you are looking for complexity, nuance and progressivness in your music, maybe look elsewhere. If you simply like music that rocks hard, that you can drink and party hard too, but with some dark, gothic overtones and a bit of a quirky vibe, then this album is for you.
Zombie proves again what a massive talent he is on Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor. Maybe just a little more balance between the two arms of his career may be in order, for his music to truly shine.
6/10
Reviewer: Rod Whitfield