Rob Zombie

“Educated Horses” (Geffen)

Sounds like: Marilyn Manson,Alice Cooper

REVIEW: 3.5 / 5

In short: It seems Zombie’s music is now motivated by a much-needed shot of mood and context that his previous stuff was lacking – a pretty dark and interesting shot, to be sure.

Just like Trent Reznor, Marilyn Manson and Jonathan Davis before him, Rob Zombie proves that no matter how scary you may appear, eventually your love for ’80s new wave shines through.

At least that was my original conception of the album after hearing the single “Foxy Foxy” on the radio more than a few times. The song sounds just as much like something from Depeche Mode’s latest album as the work of Manson or any of his industrial-metal contemporaries.

Don’t think for a minute that Zombie has gone soft, however, because he hasn’t. Tracks like “Seventeen Years Locust” and “American Witch” – which features his trademark “yeeeah” – rock just as hard as anything else that he’s ever done with White Zombie or his own previous albums like “Hellbilly Deluxe.” Most of the music on the album is sample-based, even the guitars, which gives the album a sort of a new wave, “evil dance club” vibe.

The album still has the obligatory “porno samples” and obscure, disturbing horror film samples (“American Witch” and “Ride”).

His vocals are still as ferocious as any he’s ever laid to record, and feature his signature gritty, rapid-fire vocal style that you’ve heard on every song he’s ever done (think “More Human Than Human”).

It seems that Zombie’s music is now motivated by a much-needed shot of mood and context that his previous music was lacking – a pretty dark and interesting shot, to be sure.

– Casey Jones