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Rob Zombie: Hellbilly Deluxe 2 Hard Rock, Groove Metal, Industrial Roadrunner Records February 2nd, 2010
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Review
The more appropriate titles for the latest Rob Zombie effort could be Shattered Dreams 2 or Southern Style Beach Party Psycho Circus, as it's current title is very unfitting. Considering the "2" tacked on at the end, many fans were under the impression this release would find the band going back to their debut album of the same name, but this is very untrue. Hellbilly Deluxe 2 is the farther thing from the original, and will leave many listeners on the fence as to what to think about it, all with good reason, as this release branches into new but not unfamiliar territory, as well as into the sound of their second full length effort The Sinister Urge. What went through the head of vocalist Rob Zombie when naming this album as a continuation to the three time platinum release Hellbilly Deluxe is a good question, when the formula for such a highly regarded and successful release is not here. Much of the material here would best be considered mainstream, but the atmosphere of the album is what kills it since it runs the gambit on here. "Jesus Frankenstein" and the failed rehash of it called "Mars Needs Women" are very White Zombie-oriented songs sans the Groove Metal aspect, while the track "What?" sounds like they're for the soundtrack to some early seventies science fiction monster flick that takes place at a beach on a shoe string budget. Then you got "Werewolf, Baby!" which sounds like it would work in a science fiction film with a western feel, as well as a psycho circus attitude with "Death and Destiny Inside the Dream Factory", but the most obsurd jump comes from the track "Cease to Exist" which is a flat out Doom Metal track that the early Black Sabbath line-up would praise. There's no one solid feel behind the album and it leaves for a very confused response to the album due to no actual flow to the music. The best way to sum this up would be as if this were a best of release composed of tracks from various records that were never released. Aside the lack of flow between the songs, some of the tracks just seem to drag out, whether by the start or end, such as "Mars Needs Women" and "Cease to Exist". "The Man Who Laughs" could very well fall into this category too, but it's only drawn out by a drum solo that, as it goes on, drops in volume, and gets very repetative before kicking back into the closing of the track. But, in the end there still are some good tracks on here worth checking out, and those are the tracks that kind of share a similar atmosphere. "What?", "Sick Bubble-Gum" and "Werewolf Women of the SS" are entertaining, though the second will probably fade out quicker, and "Jesus Frankenstein" is just one of those kinds of songs that will stay lodged in your head and have you screaming the chorus at random people who don't get it for fun. "Werewolf, Baby" could also be lumped in with the beach party feel in some twisted slant if you think about it, and is a very enjoyable song as well. All of these seem to fit one sort of fun atmosphere and the easiest to enjoy. Aside that you have the more serious "Jesus Frankenstein" and "Virgin Witch", "Death and Destiny Inside the Dream Factory" makes for a rather fun romp, and the psychadelic "Burn" will have you headbanging through it's simplstic design. If you sit down and manipulate the track order to a better flowing pattern and remove "Mars Needs Women" and "Cease to Exist" all togther, then you have yourself a pretty good release as many of these tracks are very enjoyable. Unfortunately, that is not what you are paying for. Hellbilly Deluxe 2 does not deserve to wear that title, first of all. Aside that, the constant changing of atmosphere on the album is enough to make even the most able-minded and dedicated Rob Zombie fan sea sick, and even the most entertaining of tracks on here are forgettable. Unless, that is, you heard the song while a hot stripper unclothed to it in a private booth, since it seems the female gender can find any song in the Rob Zombie library, and about three fourths of the White Zombie library, seductive enough to strip by.
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