Rob Zombie Q&A

Rock Sound’s favourite ‘un-dead’ frontman is back with new album, Rob Zombie spills the beans in this brand new Q&A.

Rock Sound’s favourite ‘un-dead’ frontman is back with new album ‘Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls And The Systematic Dehumanization Of Cool’ and new label. We got the low-down…

Hellbilly Deluxe 2…’ is billed as a companion to your first solo album, ‘Hellbilly Deluxe –13 Tales Of Cadaverous Cavorting Inside The Spookshow International’; tell us about that…
“It’s part two but 10 years later. It isn’t like trying to go back in time and recreate the album, but it’s got the same vibe and they work really well together. It’s not retro sounding, it’s fresh and new.”

You’ve used some film samples on the album, are they from the fake trailer (Werewolf Women Of The SS) you made for Tarrantino’s Grindhouse films?
“My wife [Sherri Moon-Zombie] was in the trailer and I didn’t have access to the trailer at the time I was writing the songs so I called her up and she did some of the lines from the film over the phone and it sounded like it did in the film.”

You always tie-in your films to the albums – it’s a nice cross-over, tell us about that…
“I like things having a longer lifespan as sometimes things get forgotten. Werewolf Women Of The SS was something I was really excited about and we put a lot of work into it - only about 15 seconds was used in Grindhouse. We filmed so much great stuff and I hate when things just disappear so I thought I’d write a song and bring it back. Grindhouse hasn’t even come out on DVD so people don’t even have it. I can never let anything die; I have a feeling that it will re-appear someday as something else.”

The tracks on your albums are quite cinematic in general but the new album is like a series of mini movies!
“I’ve always thought that way; I see music more than I hear it. Everything from ‘Jesus Frankenstein’ to ‘Mars Needs Women’ and ‘Werewolf Women Of The SS’ are like these condensed mini movies that we can expand into bigger things one day or not. I like creating songs that have characters in them.”

You created yourself as a character!
“The business that I’m in allows you to be the person you are; when you have a job where you have to cut your hair or wear a suit, to me that’s when you’re playing a weird character. I remember having jobs and going to work pretending to be another person so I wouldn’t get fired. Now is the time when I’m not playing a character.”

‘Hellbilly Deluxe 2…’ was recorded as a band (completed by guitarist John 5, bassist Piggy D and drummer Tommy Clufetos), the last few albums were with rotating musicians – why go back to band format?
“I always wanted to be in a band, I never wanted to be a solo artist, that just came out of necessity. What’s great about it is that you are in a band with the other guys is the camaraderie; you get used to doing the things together not just you against the world. Most solo artists started off in a band, whether its Ozzy or Sting or whoever, they wanted to be in a band at some point. I still do, that’s why I have a core group of guys and it’s just so much better. A band can’t be a democracy, it needs a leader so creatively, it’s always me in charge but I want to have great people to work with at all times. There was one song that everyone collaborated on but the rest of the album was written by me and John 5.”

You’ve just signed to Roadrunner – how does it feel to leave Geffen?
“I was on Geffen for 18 years and this record would have been my last contractual album for them. When it came down to putting my record out on Geffen I didn’t think it was the right thing to do. Eighteen years ago, Geffen was the greatest hard rock label you could be part of – there was the resurgence of Aerosmith, Guns N’ Roses, Whitesnake and when grunge hit they had all that stuff. Over the last 18 years the label has really changed a lot, a lot of the people that I deal with have all gone and it’s more like a pop label now. We just felt that the record wasn’t going to get the care at that label so I asked them if I could get out of my contract – and they let me.”


The album ‘Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls And The Systematic Dehumanization Of Cool’ is out 02 February on Roadrunner. The film ‘Halloween II: Family Is Forever’ is out now on DVD.

More on Rob Zombie in Rock Sound issue 132, on sale first week of February.