Singer Rob Zombie and his cohorts in White Zombie realize that the greatest and most intense horrors stem from simple and innocent sources. And that musical virtuosity plays little or no part in conveying the feelings of dread that the band specializes in. So rather than revel in extended solos, or write complex musical passages like most successful bands in the post-modern metal community, White Zombie achieve the desired effect (emotionally tweaking the listener) by concentrating on the little things: opening the heavy dirge of "Grease Paint And Monkey Brains" with an out of tune merry-go-round theme that slows down to a halt, or adding an eerie church organ to the full-on throttle of "Electric Head Pt. 1 (The Agony)." You know, real cool, B-grade horror movie-type stuff.
White Zombie have long existed in that particular, aesthetic corner of the pop culture universe. But on ASTRO-CREEP 2000, the band embraces programming, samples and other effects as never before, placing the "future" emphasis of the title directly into the music. The more technologically advanced noises also make White Zombie sound faster, leaner, meaner--a laser-gun of angst-ridden heaviness, instead of the usual cannon. Just listen to the background voice loop on "Electric Head Pt. 2 (The Ecstasy)," driving the band with the techno mantra of "Go! Go! Go!" It's a moment indicative of much of ASTRO-CREEP 2000--taking the band's established themes and tempos, and placing them on the electronic super-highway to hell.
White Zombie: Rob Zombie (vocals); J. (guitar); Sean Yseult (bass); John Tempesta (drums). Additional personnel: Charlie Clouser (programming, keyboards).
All music written by White Zombie. All lyrics written by Rob Zombie.
Recorded at NRG. "More Human Than Human" was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.
- Format: Vinyl
- Genre: Rock
Track Listing:
A1 Electric Head Pt. 1 (The Agony)
A2 Super-Charger Heaven
A3 Real Solution #9
A4 Creature Of The Wheel
A5 Electric Head Pt. 2 (The Ecstasy)
A6 Grease Paint And Monkey Brains
B1 I, Zombie
B2 More Human Than Human
B3 El Phantasmo And The Chicken-Run Blast-O-Rama
B4 Blur The Technicolor
B5 Blood, Milk And Sky
