"Dig through the ditches
And burn through the witches
And slam in the back of my Dragula"
— Rob Zombie, "Dragula"
Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings in January 12, 1965) is a Grammy-nominated American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer.
He first attracted attention as the frontman of the band White Zombie, whose members included:
- Rob - guitar, vocals
- Sean Yseult - bass
- Ena Kostabi - guitar (1985-1986)
- Tim Jeffs - guitar (1986)
- Tom Guay - guitar (1986-1988)
- John Ricci - guitar (1988-1989)
- Jay Noel Yuenger - guitar (1989-1998), always credited as "J."
- Peter Landau - drums (1985-1986)
- Ivan de Prume - drums (1986-1992)
- Phil Buerstatte - drums (1992-1994)
- John Tempesta - drums (1994-1998)
White Zombie (its name taken from a 1932
Bela Lugosi zombie flick White Zombie) was initially a
Noise Rock band signed to an independent label. In this incarnation, they released two EPs and two albums,
Soul-Crusher and
Make Them Die Slowly. The latter album showed them moving away somewhat from their noise rock sound in favour of
Heavy Metal.
Eventually, once
The Nineties rolled around, the band signed with
Geffen Records, recruited a new guitarist named Jay Noel Yuenger and re-fashioned themselves as a
Industrial-influenced Groove Metal band that used lots of
samples from old B-movies and trashy, surreal horror-movie aesthetics. This incarnation put out two well-received albums,
La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1 and
Astro Creep: 2000.
White Zombie disbanded in 1998, and Rob became a borderline solo artist. He still had a full band, though. Its members are:
- John 5 - guitars (formerly of Marilyn Manson)
- Piggy D - bass
- Ginger Fish - drums (also formerly of Marilyn Manson)
- Tommy Clufetos - drums (2005-2010)
- John Tempesta - drums (1994-2003)
- Blasko - bass (1997-2006)
- Riggs - guitar (1997-2003)
He produced his most successful album,
Hellbilly Deluxe, in 1998. He followed it up in 2001 with
The Sinister Urge. Since then, Rob has divided his attention between a solo career and directing the sort of trashy, B-movie horror films that he loves so much. He recently attracted a lot of negative attention for his remake of
Halloween and
its sequel. Riggs and Tempesta, tired of waiting around while Rob worked on films, left the band and started Scum of the Earth, a band whose sound is most similar to
Hellbilly Deluxe era Rob Zombie.
White Zombie discography:
- Soul-Crusher (1987)
- Make Them Die Slowly (1989)
- La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1 (1992)
- Astro Creep: 2000 (1995)
Solo discography:
- Hellbilly Deluxe: 13 Tales Of Cadaverous Cavorting Inside The Spookshow International (1998)
- The Sinister Urge (2001)
- Educated Horses (2006)
- Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool (2010)
Remix compilations:
- American Made Music To Strip By (1999)
- Mondo Sex Head (2012)
Films directed:
Tropes that apply to Rob Zombie:
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Has sampled dialogue from Faster Pussycat Kill Kill, Night of the Living Dead and...the Adam West version of Batman.
- As Himself: Rob Zombie was a playable character in Twisted Metal 4 (a game for which he did most of the music).
- Ascended Fanboy: Oh is he ever, of music, movies, comic books, everything.
- Ballad of X: "The Ballad Of Resurrection Joe And Rosa Whore". Try and guess if it's actually a ballad.
- Becoming the Mask: Had his name legally changed to Rob Zombie
- Chronological Album Title: Hellbilly Deluxe 2
- Circus of Fear: "Grease Paint and Monkey Brains"
- Cluster F-Bomb: Throughout his music.
- Continuity Nod: "My Durango 95," first mentioned in "Soul-Crusher" on La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1," later resurfaced in "Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy)", on Rob's second solo album The Sinister Urge.''
- Cool Car: "Dragula"
- Cover Version: KC and the Sunshine Band's "I'm Your Boogieman"
- Creepy Child: One recites the lyrics to "Call of the Zombie"
- Even Evil Has Standards: On Cannibal Holocaust in response to the real animals killed making the film; "As far as showing gore and showing rape or whatever I don't have a problem with that but when real things get involved – I mean, I'll show all sorts of violence but I'd never hack up a turtle on screen. That crosses the line."
- Excited Show Title!: "Thrust!"
- Filk Song:
"Goldfoot's machine creates another fiend
So beautiful it'll make you kill"
- "Dragula" is named for one of the two cars created by Grandpa Munster in the episode "Hot Rod Herman."
- Gender Blender Name: Sean Yseult. Deliberate on her part as she wanted to be known for her bass playing rather than her (quite good) looks.
- Greatest Hits Album: Past, Present and Future, combining both White Zombie and his own work.
- Guttural Growler: On most of his songs. He's actually rather soft-spoken otherwise.
- I, Noun: "I, Zombie"
- Ominous Pipe Organ: On "Return of the Phantom Stranger".
- Recycled Soundtrack: Sampled dialogue from his Grindhouse trailer for Werewolf Women of the SS for a song of the same title.
- Revenant Zombie: "I, Zombie" would seem to be this:
"I Zombie cancer raging
I Zombie fascinating
I Zombie crucify i Zombie do not die
X Astro : 2000 X
I Zombie kill machine I Zombie never seen
I Zombie never you I Zombie coming through
X Astro : 2000 X
I Zombie duplicating I Zombie eliminating
I Zombie fucking you I Zombie never through
X Astro : 2000 X"
- Single Stanza Song: "Call of the Zombie," "I, Zombie"
- Stage Names: Rob Zombie, Sean Yseult, J., and almost everyone in the Rob Zombie solo act band.
- Trope 2000: Astro Creep 2000
- Word Salad Lyrics: All the time. From "Thunder Kiss '65":
"Well sweet little sista's high in hell cheat'n on a halo
grind in a odyssey holocaust heart kick on tomorrow
breakdown - agony said "ectasy" in overdrive
she come a riding on the world"
- Word Salad Title:
- La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1
- Astro Creep 2000: Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head
- "El Phantasmo and ther Chicken Run Blast-O-Rama"
- You Gotta Have Green Hair: Sean Yseult
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