I have to admit that I was really surprised that Rob Zombie had decided to return to old-school form for Hellbilly Deluxe 2. I, for one, that Educated Horses was easily his best work, despite poor promotion (to say the least). He and guitarist John 5 have a great songwriting relationship and going back to the Horror Rock sound of old seemed a little too obvious of a thing to do. That said, this isn’t nearly the musical return that fans were expecting. The real return here is to the image (and, in large part, the lyrics) Mr. Zombie is best known for.
Helbilly Deluxe 2 starts off pretty slow. “Jesus Frankenstein” and “Sick Bubblegum” left me feeling like Zombie & co. were just trying way too hard to go backwards. “What?” picks up the pace a bit but, still, it’s the interesting samples that keep your attention. After being sorely disappointed for nearly the first third of the record, everything turns around with “Mars Needs Women.” While it’s not quite as good as anything on the original namesake, there is something about it that sucks you in a way only Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper could pull off. It’s all uphill after “Mars Needs Women,” hitting the high mark with excellent rockers like “Werewolf, Baby” (my personal highlight), the Black Sabbath Vs. Uriah Heep “Virgin Witch,” and the haunting “Cease to Exist.” “Werewolf Women of the SS” (a song explaining the movie of the same name- which exists only as a trailer for the Grindhouse movies) isn’t quite as good as the other songs on this part of the album but the Surf Rock feel to John 5’s solo and the song breaks elevate it quite a bit.
For me, Zombie’s work has always been extremely predictable. This makes two big surprises musically in a row, so you gotta love that. This album is not at all what the title leads you to believe it is, but it’s also not a continuation of what they did on Educated Horses. I could take or leave the first few songs but I can’t seem to get the remainder of the album out of my already crowded brain.
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
