Artist Direct reviews Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor: “Not only … Zombie’s best work, it’s one of the year’s best records”

A fantastic review from Artist Direct about the forthcoming Rob Zombie album Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor.  This five star review calls the album “Zombie’s best work” to date.  The album is out on April 23 and you can pre-order it now from Amazon (click) and iTunes (click).  To read this review 

Rob Zombie “Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor” Album Review — 5 out of 5 stars
—Rick Florino
04.03.13

It’s hard to forget the first time you experienced either Rob Zombie’s music or his films.

For many of us, it started with a White Zombie music video. In my case, it was “More Human Than Human” from Astro-Creep: 2000. At 10-years-old, the video scared the living shit out of me, but I still couldn’t look away. The grainy home movie footage spliced with a performance and other eerie visuals—most notably that guy with the gas mask and “The End Is Near” sign or the creepy man that looked like he escaped from the House of Usher.

Rob could always stir a concoction of pop culture’s seediest and most sinful treats into art. That’s exactly what he does with his brand new solo album, Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor, out April 23. You’ll get the same feeling a la “More Human Than Human” and “Thunder Kiss ’65” on tracks like “Lucifer Rising” too.

“Lucifer Rising” rolls from a battering John 5 riff into a bombastic refrain that burns brightly. His voice hits with distinct devilishness as the guitarist’s soloing provides the face-melting fireworks. Piggy D. and Ginger Fish make for one of his tightest rhythm sections ever as Rob screams, “We are nothing”. Mid-song, he adds a countrified bridge mentioning “1969” that’s utterly fun and fiery.

The opener “Teenage Nosferatu Pussy” was made for arenas, and the cadence is satanically catchy. “Ging Gang Gong De Do Gong De Laga Raga” kicks off with more whacky southern flavor before exploding into a steamrolling hook and eerie bridge. The line about “the girl with the skull on her ass” is downright perfect too. “The Girl Who Loved The Monsters” might be one of his creepiest songs ever complete with the screaming samples littered throughout the beginning. Everything culminates on the graveyard punk coup of “Trade in Your Guns for a Coffin”, which drops one more guitar and vocal atom bomb so heavy it’d incinerate the competition for miles.

This isn’t the last time we’ll experience Rob Zombie, but it’s certainly his finest solo album to date. This builds on the legacy he started with Hellbilly Deluxe and evolves it into the 21st century with an evil all its own. Not only is Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor Zombie’s best work, it’s one of the year’s best records.