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It’s the album sleeve for ‘The Great Satan’ that provides the biggest clue that Rob Zombie is not dicking around. Rewind the last 20 years or so, and consider the cover artwork for albums such as ‘Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor’ (2013), ‘The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser’ (2016), and ‘The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy’ (2021). All have colour. Almost day-glo-like colour in some instances. But not ‘The Great Satan’. For studio album number eight, Rob Zombie returns to the same monochrome that made 2006’s ‘Educated Horses’ album sleeve so striking. Sure, it doesn’t have the simplicity of ‘Educated Horses’, and could almost have been designed by famed American artist Gilbert Shelton after he necked an entire bottle of absinthe, but the lack of colour has to be symbolic.
(‘I’m a) Rock ‘N’ Roller’ would have been a great way to open the album. A reminder to anyone who only knows Rob Zombie through his movies, that Zombie, first and foremost, is a Rock ‘N’ Roller. Instead, ‘F.T.W. 84’ opens the album, and on second thought, yeah, this is the only way that Zombie could have opened the album. And chances are that with the atmospheric spoken-word intro of “May I have your attention please…” followed by some creepy overtones, some hella incredible drumming from Ginger Fish, and the rhythmic fist-pumping refrain of “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck”, this one will also open the new live show. And how about “The wondеr midgets from Blackpool scream, “The entire world’s exhaling”…” as a line? Full-on, utterly gonzo madness. The best kind.
‘The Great Satan’ is weighted heavily towards the front end, with all four singles released thus far featuring in the first eight tracks. But that doesn’t mean that the album suffers from pacing issues or a dip in quality when the latter stages of the album land.
‘Tarantula’ is just one of many standout moments in the early stages; the double bass drum work from Fish is insane and powers the band on. Zombie’s trademark snarling sneer is present and correct, as are the cinematic samples. Classic Rob Zombie. The aforementioned (‘I’m a) Rock ‘N’ Roller’ is sooooo good. One of those moments that makes you want to scream, “YESSSSSSS, Zombie is baaaaack” from a mountaintop. Namechecks for Jimmy Page, 007, Pussy Galore, Ziggy Stardust, and T.Rex, all while Zombie declares “Well, I was born down in a ditch/A rotten motherfucker and a son of a bitch”. Groovy as fuck. It is unstoppable. One of the highlights of the year to date.
‘Heathen Days’ and ‘Punks and Demons’ are industrial, on steroids; the eery ‘Sir Lord Acid Wolfman’ sounds like it was cooked up by Baron Samedi from the classic Bond movie ‘Live and Let Die’; ‘The Devilman’ is slower paced, and weightier, almost crawling on its belly, full of sharp riffage: damn, it is great fun. Ditto the Ginger Fish-fuelled glam stomp of ‘Revolution Motherfuckers’; all fuzz-filled, big hits, and in times gone by, there would have been a gnarly 12″ remix of this beauty.
Such a cool album. Not only the perfect soundtrack to a lost weekend (the trippy ‘Unclean Animals’ is gonna fuck so many up), but for those who refrain from libations or temptations of any kind, the hardcore-laced ‘The Black Scorpion’ is a great HIT workout. This is Rob Zombie, back with OG’s Riggs and Blasko for the first time in decades, and damn, he sounds reinvigorated.
Available now via Nuclear Blast Records. More information, HERE.
Review – Dave
