Past, Present, & Future, a collection of greatest hits from the king of modern day horror himself, Rob Zombie, contains a CD/ DVD package jam packed with hits from the man of horror during both his time as the front man of the band White Zombie and his solo work. Rob Zombie (born Robert Cummings on January 12, 1966 in Haverhill, Massachusetts) has established himself as one of the most profound shock rockers that claims his place with Alice Cooper, King Diamond, and Marilyn Manson. Mixing industrial music with American heavy metal and his own style of gruff vocals, Rob Zombie has managed to create a distinctive sound that feels like it came right out of the horror movies.
After his absence from the music world due to his focus on filming, Rob Zombie has been inspired to further his music career after touring in the 2005 Ozzfest. Rob Zombie’s music as a whole is not very atmospheric, and his albums are more based on separate songs then a whole album flowing as one. However, with a new album due for sometime next year (in 2006), Rob Zombie claims the album will be less industrial, and more focused on the metal aspect which was what his previous albums (including those with White Zombie) lacked.
The CD: White Zombie
The first track hit on this compilation album is
Thunder Kiss ‘65, which was the first hit by White Zombie, Rob Zombie’s former band. The track starts with heavy, Metallica-like riffs which are consistent throughout the song. Due to White Zombie’s poor production, Rob Zombie’s vocals are rather hard to hear, as they tend to be throughout the next five tracks.
Black Sunshine is another Metallica-like track with fast riffs and catchy vocals. The song also features Iggy Pop who does backing vocals for Rob Zombie. The song itself is rather inconsistent though, and falls apart before it is over.
Feed The Gods follows with a steady drumline and crushing heavy riffs. Rob Zombie’s vocals are also a bit more growl-like then his usual raspy singing. One of the better songs by White Zombie, the song is dragged down only by the poor production.
Probably the most popular song by White Zombie,
More Human Than Human begins with a slow start, but picks up into probably one of the best riffs that Rob Zombie has ever contributed to. By far the best song by White Zombie, the song is only pulled down by bad production and lack of good lyrics.
Super Charger Heaven also has a slow beginning that sounds like the tuning of a radio, but ends up being avery fast paced track, but definitely not the best in the tracks by White Zombie. Finally, the White Zombie part of the compilation ends with probably one of the most industrial sounding songs by White Zombie,
I’m Your Boogie Man. The song is extremely weak, and doesn’t fit even with the industrial sound of Rob Zombie’s solo work.
The CD: Rob Zombie
The first track in the compilation from Rob Zombie’s solo career,
Hands Of Death (Burn Baby Burn) also features Rob Zombie’s idol and fellow shock rocker Alice Cooper. The song. believe it or not, is not very good, and especially weak when compared to other tracks on the compilation. The track does contain some good riffs, but Alice Cooper’s voice is rather low in the mix of the song.
The Great American Nightmare is the first really good track on the album, with really accurate Metallica-like riffs and featuring Howard Stern on backing vocals, the song starts a long line of good tracks in this compilation.
One of the greatest songs Rob Zombie has ever produced,
Dragula follows with it’s haunting intro and blasts into a catchy chorus that’s got everyone singing about Rob Zombie’s ‘tripped-out’ new car. The remix found on
The Matrix soundtrack, however, was a lot better then the original. Another popular track by the man of horror,
Living Dead Girl, tells a story of a man whom has brought a girl back to life and uses her for his own profit (see the music video for a more accurate portrayal of the song). The track is very slow paced, but has a catchy chorus, and deserves the spot it has claimed among Rob Zombie’s greatest hits. Another one of Zombie’s biggest highlights,
Superbeast, follows with it’s twisted intro before blasting into one of Rob Zombie’s heaviest songs. Rob Zombie also uses a more sharper vocal style in the bridges of the song that he rarely uses in any of his songs.
My personal favorite,
Feel So Numb, begins with someone speaking something in Spanish, followed later by Rob Zombie screaming “I feel so good, I feel so numb, yeah!”. The song then bursts into a mix of Metallica heavy riffs and a night club based tone that makes the song another one of the Zombie’s best.
Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy) begins with a very off-color tone of music and a woman singing “Red red kroovy” in the back ground. The song is by far one of Rob Zombie’s most up beat songs, especially on this album.
Demon Speeding is the start of the slow decline from climax of the album. The song above all is average, with heavy riffs and an intro similar to that of
Feel So Numb, but lacks the catchiness that the other tracks had.
Brickhouse 2003 is an interesting song that tacks the listener out of the world that Rob Zombie tends to create. The song begins with an upbeat drum roll and a woman reaching her point of utmost pleasure. The song then bursts into a lounge music-like song, with trumpets and a saxophone, and sounds like something you’d hear in a Muppet’s movie, only wit a strong sex theme with it. The song also features singer Lionel Richie and female rapper Trina, who help Rob Zombie create the ultimate sex inspired groove song. Another interesting song following
Brickhouse 2003 is
Pu**y Liquor, which is another sexual orientated song. The music is slow and heavy, and even has a country sound to it. The song is rather amusing, but gets boring after about 3 minutes.
Blitzkrieg Bop is another good, fast song, with riffs that flow well throughout the song and Rob Zombie’s excellent vocal work. The song, however, can easily get lost in the shuffle of great songs on this compilation. A song based on one of Rob’s favorite movies, and also a previously unreleased track,
Two-Lane Blacktop is one of those highway road songs gone extreme, with quick and steady riffs and a smooth yet steady drum line. The song holds together well, and is a lot like
Blitzkrieg Bop, only more catchier. Finally,
Girl On Fire (another previously unreleased track) ends the compilation album. Although it is neither as good nor as atmospheric as the remix found on the
Resident Evil: Apocalypse soundtrack, the song holds together well. Musically though, the song is more of a disaster and is only saved by Rob Zombie’s excellent Metallica-like vocals.
The DVD: Music Videos
The music videos on the DVD part of this album is alone worth it’s money for any fan of Rob Zombie’s work. The DVD contains seven music videos and three unreleased videos. There are two videos from the days when Rob Zombie was the front man of White Zombie,
Thunder Kiss ‘65 and
More Human Than Human, and five videos of Rob Zombie’s solo hits,
Dragula,
Living Dead Girl,
Superbeast,
Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy), and
Feel So Numb. The last three videos are previously unreleased,
Demonoid Phenomenon,
Return Of The Phantom Stranger, and
Spookshow Baby.
Both of the White Zombie videos show the band playing in some random location rocking out and skipping through sketchy scenes of random people. Both of the videos are rather poorly produced, just as the songs were. The music videos for
Dragula,
Living Dead Girl,
Superbeast, and
Return Of The Phantom Stranger, all play out in an old horror movie format. With rather poor, off-color picture or black and white screen play, Rob Zombie managed to create what it is he loves the most, a bad horror flick gone musical.
Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy),
Feel So Numb, and
Spookshow Baby are much more higher quality produced.
Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy) contains an innocent feel to it as Rob Zombie performs in a nice suit in a room full of bright and pretty colors.
Feel So Numb takes place in a night club with several people dancing to Rob Zombie’s tunes.
Spookshow Baby takes place in a room that looks like a place from House Of 1000 Corpses, and has the number 666 flashing several times on the screen.
Pros
-- Rob Zombie is by far one of the most profound shock rockers in the world today.
-- A lot of catchy tunes.
-- Musically some of the best Industrial music in metal.
Cons
-- A lot of poorly produced tracks.
-- Bad lyrics.
-- Some of the videos are really cheesy.
Track Listing
CD
1. Thunder Kiss '65 (4/5)
2. Black Sunshine (2.5/5)
3. Feed The Gods (4/5)
4. More Human Than Human (4.5/5)
5. Super Charger Heaven (3/5)
6. I'm Your Boogie Man (2/5)
7. Hands Of Death (Burn Baby Burn) (3.5/5)
8. The Great American Nightmare (4.5/5)
9. Dragula (5/5)
10. Living Dead Girl (4.5/5)
11. Superbeast (4.5/5)
12. Feel So Numb (5/5)
13. Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy) (4.5/5)
14. Demon Speeding (3/5)
15. Brickhouse 2003 (4.5/5)
16. Pu**y Liquor (3.5/5)
17. Blitzkrieg Bop (4/5)
18. Two-Lane Blacktop (3.5/5)
19. Girl On Fire (3/5)
DVD
1. Thunder Kiss ‘65 (video) (3/5)
2. More Human Than Human (video) (3/5)
3. Dragula (video) (2.5/5)
4. Living Dead Girl (video) (5/5)
5. Superbeast (video) (3/5)
6. Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy) (video) (4.5/5)
7. Feel So Numb (video) (5/5)
8. Demonoid Phenomenon (video) (3/5)
9. Return Of The Phantom Stranger (video) (3.5/5)
10. Spookshow Baby (video) (3.5/5)
