Hellbilly Deluxe 2

Have a listen. This CD appears to have been rushed. Very sloppy and the lyrics are horrible. Too much Beach Boy beats! I miss the old Zombie!!

Let's face it, is anyone really disappointed that Rob Zombie didn't continue to explore the musical direction of "Educated Horses"?

Tongue-in-cheek ghoul-rock peppered with horror movie quotes is what he has always done best, all the way back to "La Sexorcisto..." with White Zombie, and this is a return in that direction.

What I really like about "Hellbilly 2" though, is listening to the great John 5 play within the Zombie template. He is one of the planet's most talented guitarists, and brings a diverse palate of sounds--metal riffs, country picking, slide guitar, surf licks, feedback squeals, and shredding solos--to Zombie's well-established formula.

I was going to write a lengthy review of this CD and compare it to his other work but, you know what? I changed my mind. I just deleted a whole paragraph of nonsense just to leave you with some simple thoughts:

It's Rob Zombie, he does his thing, and any real fan is glad that he does it.

With 11 tracks your bound to have a few lemons, but Hellbilly Deluxe 2 sounds great, kicks, and RZ rocks in all his quirky, eclectic and gritty glory. I love it.

This album is not anywhere up to par with Rob's past efforts. The hooks are lackluster, the vocals sound like they were recorded through a tin can, and the lyrics are ho-hum. There also seems to be a significant lack of the usual studio post-processing and layering that Rob's music is known for. I'm not a music critic, and I don't really speak the "language" of music, but I know that I liked all the previous solo work Rob's done and I know that I don't like this album. I'm majorly disappointed.

I really thought this collection was better than Hellbilly Deluxe 1. It exceeded its expectations. Sorry-but any further descriptions would enter into the realm of improper language and superlatives that are inappropriate for this venue.