Sunday 29 May 2016

Rob Zombie - "The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser" (Album Review)

By Victor Van Ommen

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 29/04/2016
Label: Zodiac Swan Records |
T-Boy Records | Universal


Rob Zombie hits a home run with each gnarly cut, keeping the fire hot throughout. Pastor Snow was right. Rock n’ roll has a great beat. And that evil feeling you feel when you sing it? It’s a good feeling to feel!


“The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). The Last of the Demons Defeated
2). Satanic Cyanide! The Killer Rocks On!
3). The Life and Times of a Teenage Rock God
4). Well, Everybody’s Fucking in a U.F.O.
5). A Hearse That Overturns With the Coffin Bursting Open
6). The Hideous Exhibitions of a Dedicated Gore Whore
7). Medication for the Melancholy
8). In the Age of the Consecrated Vampire We All Get High
9). Super-Doom-Hex-Gloom, Part 1
10). In the Bone Pile
11). Get Your Boots On! That’s the End of Rock and Roll
12). Wurdalak

The Review:

“If you talk to the average teenager of today and ask them what it is about rock n’ roll that they like, the first thing that they’ll say is the beat!” Pastor Jimmy Snow exclaims in the riotous “Get Your Boots On,” one of the songs off of Rob Zombie’s new album “Electric Warlock.” Snow continues, “I know how it feels, that evil feeling you feel when you sing it.” Zombie answers this excerpt by allowing “that evil feeling” to wash over him as he scats his way through the song’s rowdy chorus, calling his followers to get their boots on and find out just how good that evil feeling feels.

Just as “Get Your Boots On” delivers in spades, heavy rhythm and groove is “Electric Warlock”’s key to success.

The album is therefore teeming with a nostalgic 90’s kick. Zombie is inspired and excited, getting things done with a unique stomp and holler that keeps his songs sounding like they’re jumping out of the speakers at you. It’s an addictive sound, one that could go on for hours. The guitars are loud and crunchy, sure, but its Zombie’s pummel that demands attention. With his Wyndorfian-style chest beating, Zombie takes full command of center stage to boast about the dirty life of criminals, demons, and rock n’ roll on top of the sturdy foundation his backing band – John 5 on guitar, Piggy D on bass, and Ginger Fish on drums – has laid for him. As case in point is the lead-off single “Well, Everybody’s Fucking In a UFO,” a song that’s on fire from the start and is home to the strongest chorus you’ll hear all year.

Initial thoughts upon first listen to “Electric Warlock” may suggest a never ending party. But give this record a couple more spins, dive into the lyrics and look up the audio clips that are sprinkled throughout, and you’ll discover a bit of depth to the record, too. For example, “Satan’s Cyanide” ends with an excerpt from The Talmud, explaining that “we don’t see things as they are; we see things as we are.” This clip provides enough fat to chew on as Zombie takes us through each cut, whether he’s going on about being worshipped as a Rock God or telling the story of Jeffrey Dahmer, a necrophiliac serial killer, to the tune of an uplifting beat and a rad vocal delivery.

The songs are layered enough to hold interest but also simple enough to lose yourself with. Then there’s Zombie’s tell-tale delivery, one in which you can hear him grinning as he sings and his I-can-get-away-with-anything strut. Rob Zombie hits a home run with each gnarly cut, keeping the fire hot throughout. Pastor Snow was right. Rock n’ roll has a great beat. And that evil feeling you feel when you sing it? It’s a good feeling to feel!

“The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser” is available now


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