Rob Zombie – Educated Horses

Artist: Rob Zombie

Title: Educated Horses

Label: Geffen

Rating: 6/10

FILE UNDER: A softer side of Rob Zombie?

CORPORATE LINE: An auteur filmmaker and music artist with shrewd insight and creative vision, Rob Zombie challenges audiences as he stretches the boundaries of film, music and publishing.

After assaulting audiences worldwide with the violent high-octane road classic The Devil’s Rejects, Zombie’s brutal follow-up to his critically acclaimed directorial debut, House of 1000 Corpses, Zombie now returns to his first love, music. Hitting stores this March is the album Educated Horses, Zombie’s first album of all new material in almost five years. Zombie explains, “After working almost non-stop for two years on The Devil’s Rejects, I needed a break. So I gathered together the finest band I’ve ever worked with and headed back into the studio.”

THE GOOD:
“American Witch” – The rare song that sounds like a true Rob Zombie song. Who else could sing the following lyrics and get away with it: “The mark of the world and the sign of the calf/ Angels bleed down above the raft.”
“Let It All Bleed Out” – This is classic track that fans of White Zombie will enjoy with the heavy guitars and guttural vocals.
“The Devil’s Rejects” – A Zombie classic: “Hell doesn’t want them/ Hell doesn’t need them/ Hell doesn’t love them.”

THE AVERAGE:
“Foxy Foxy” – It has an interesting hook that’s a little watered down for Rob Zombie. It’s hard to decide if that’s a good or a bad thing considering the song could be a single.
“17 Year Locust” – This sounds like a bad-hair metal band song that tried to be cool and ended up being painful. The difference between Rob Zombie and those ‘80s metal band is credibility.
“The Scorpion Sleeps” – Again, this is a little more pop rock. An oxymoron? Even though we used the word pop its not all bad. How anyone can make a song with the title “The Scorpion Sleeps” sound cool is proof enough the man is talented.

THE BAD:
“Death of it All” – Too slow, too monotonous. Is this really Rob Zombie?

FRANKLY: Rob Zombie isn’t writing ballads—so it’s not soft in that way. It’s a lot more mainstream and accessible which will cause a lot of consternation for fans. And for those Zombie fans that never got Rob Zombie before might find this opportunity to jump on board.

+ Rae Gun