Review Summary: The Crazy Front-man’s Cherished Nineties Band Painful Death Device
Three years after the unusually titled “Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor” comes the once more whimsically named “The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser” from director, screenwriter, film producer and musician known to us as Rob Zombie. Rob’s been a busy beast within this time frame by directing 2 films, starring in multiple movies and of course extensive touring for the aforementioned album and now he’s begun to sharpen his fangs again for a new release. Will “The Electric Warlock…” maintain Rob Zombie’s entertaining nature whilst at the same time express a sense of maturity that its predecessor lacked? Or are we all damned to the B-Rated horror movie acid trip that is becoming such a prominent part of his music?
B-Rated horror move acid trip it is then!
One of the most irritating things about “The Electric Warlock…” is the amount of monologues that are featured on the album. Whether it’s some narration that describes the subject of the song or simply a woman having an orgasm some sort of monologue wriggles its way into nearly all 12 songs; and with a total duration of nearly 32 minutes they do genuinely take up a fair portion of the album. All songs- except ‘Wurdalak’-are less than 3 minutes long and you’d therefore expect them to be infectious, rapid-fire ragers but because of the short length, tracks like ‘The Last of the Demons Defeated’ and ‘In The Bone Pile’ are as forgettable as the album’s track listing. One good thing about this though is the catchy choruses (even if they are repetitious) like the relatable ‘…Teenage Rock God’.
“The Electric Warlock…” really does John 5’s underrated talent on guitar no justice at all. Especially since beneath Rob Zombie’s imaginative lyricism there does lie some grooves that remind us why we love the band such as ‘Get Your Boots on…’ Even tracks like ‘…Dedicated Gore Whore’ and ‘…***ing In a UFO’ would be considered fun tracks except the latter sounds distinctly like a discount “Wynoma’s Big Brown Beaver” by Primus. ‘…Get High’ is definitely a heavier track but if you listen to this song to enhance your experience in recreational drug usage then it won’t. Creatively, the strange spacey bit mid way through is supposed to represent your clouded, drugged mind but musically- it’s inane. (I’d suggest Kyuss or Sleep). Perhaps the absurdity of this album is a proclamation to its uniqueness?
The production is the saving grace here. During this short trip, Rob Zombie does illustrate a cinematic feel (not just through the usage of monologues and speeches) to his sixth solo album. His trademark voice and the instruments sound constantly crisp and the electronics and hazy moments are purposeful inclusions to add an extra spice of fantasia to the songs.
Rob Zombie described this album as “the heaviest, most ***ed up musical monster to date”. Unfortunately, only parts of that statement are correct. I never thought I’d say this but I don’t think people will be super excited about the Acid Witches having a Satanic Orgy.
NB:
After dissecting the title of the album I’ve come to the conclusion (given up trying to understand) that what Rob Zombie is portraying is that the album itself is a device that dispenses the celebratory sounds of a satanic orgy performed by some Acid Witches; and that this famous affair is hosted by, naturally, The Electric Warlock… Yeah?
