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If a creative revolutionary ever existed to penetrate, shock and entertain the
masses through all means of media, that person is Rob Zombie. From film, to
music, to illustration, to concept, it is rare that you find one person so
immersed in every element of artistic expression — from sonic to visual
— and so shamelessly proving himself the master of all.
In addition to writing and directing two of his own films over the
past three years, Zombie just finished writing and recording a new record with long-time producer
Scott Humphrey. The official release date for the album, titled “Educated Horses,” is March 28, 2006.
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From White Zombie to Rob Zombie
After starting an
aggro, hardcore rock band called White Zombie in 1985, Zombie used his artistic
talents — including illustrating comic books, album art and other band
merchandise — to propel the band straight to the top. Within just five
years, Geffen signed White Zombie and the band’s “Astro-Creep:
2000” record quickly charted in the top 10 and went triple platinum.
At the same time, Zombie started making a name for himself directing music videos
for the band. In 1995, he received the MTV Video Music Award for Best Hard Rock
Video for his self-directed clip for “More Human Than Human.”
Rob Zombie Goes Solo
Yet, after over ten years in the same band, Zombie became aware that it was time
for him to break out on his own and seriously take the rock, metal and film
worlds by storm. So he decided to test out the waters with a solo debut under his
own assumed name, “Rob Zombie,” in 1998.
The undead metal god was
suddenly unleashed from his cage as his new act quickly outsold the latest White
Zombie release, “Supersexy Swingin’ Sounds.”
Soon after he’d skewered his icon-ready solo image through the collective
conscience of society, Zombie severed himself from his previous collaborative
endeavors with White Zombie to focus on his new act.
Zombie’s World Takeover
To create an undeniable rock and metal
sonic feast for the soon-to-be cult masses he aimed to attract, Zombie cleverly
paired up with producing icon Scott Humphrey. With Zombie, Humphrey co-wrote,
engineered, produced and ultimately defined the aggressive, power-rectified,
metal-meets-rocktronic sound that would take Rob Zombie to the top.
As a result, the pairing produced the record, “Hellbilly Deluxe: 13 Tales of
Cadaverous Cavorting Inside the Spookshow International,” which entered the
Billboard Charts at #5 and sold over 3 million copies, going triple platinum.
Although Humphrey is known for his producing, engineering and mixing work with
Mötley Crüe, Methods of Mayhem, Monster Magnet, Metallica and Tommy
Lee, he’s also co-written, produced and mixed “Hellbilly Deluxe”
and all subsequent Rob Zombie releases. A technical visionary as well, Humphrey
is credited by Digidesign’s chief sonic software architect Mark Jeffery as
being the one who conceptualized and motivated him to write Beat Detective, Batch
Crossfades and Sound Replacer into Pro Tools in the mid-1990’s.
Next page: Zombie’s World Takeover
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Rob Zombie
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Interviews