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Thank you, Rock Gods, for White
Zombie box set
By Shannon Gibbs
November 21, 2008 | In the spirit of Thanksgiving,
I must give thanks . . . to the Gods of Rock 'n' Roll.
If not for them giving inspiration to Rob Zombie and
all associated, I would not have been able to re-experience
the ultimate heart-pounding, jaw-dropping, "OH
MY GOD I LOVE THIS SONG, GOTTA HAVE THIS ALBUM"
feeling I got the first time I heard White Zombie. With
the release of Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, a
four-disc/one-DVD boxed set containing all White Zombie's
64 studio recordings, due out Nov. 25, I was able to
re-visit that feeling and sooooooooo much more.
This boxed set spans White Zombie's influence on metal,
from the band's conception in 1985 to its demise in
1996, celebrating all that was ever twisted, strange
and unnervingly thrilling about this band.
From the beginning, with the first studio album release
under its own label Silent Explosion, White Zombie evolved
both sound and image into an unforgettable montage of
musical histrionics and horror.
The first CD in the boxed set contains 13 songs that
feature all the tracks released on the Silent Explosion
label. Four songs from Gods Of Voodoo Moon
EP (1985,) two from Pig Heaven EP (1986,) and
seven from the Psycho-Head Blowout EP (1987.)
from here their music becomes far more saturated in
metal and horror, captivating audiences and feeding
the need in fans for harder, weirder and more hair-raising
lyrics, bass and guitar riffs, and drum beats.
Disc two embodies all that was great from the first
two full-length albums, Soul-Crusher (1987)
and Make Them Die Slowly (1989.) Of the 17
songs on this disc are a few of my favorites, Demonspeed,
Godslayer and Die Zombie Die. All of them,
I have not heard in years and even a couple I'm not
sure I have heard before, but thoroughly enjoyed.
And then disc three, containing 18 songs and where
my prayers (to the Rock Gods of course) were answered
in the form of the Kiss cover God Of Thunder. I
have been looking high and low for quite a few years
for this song, re-created if you will, in White Zombie
style (thank you, Rock Gods thank you!) This CD also
contains such favorite's as Black Sunshine,Grindhouse
(A Go-Go,) and my one of my favorites, Thunder
Kiss '65, which catapulted White Zombie into mainstream
metal and enabled angst ridden youth (myself included)
to bang heads harder then ever, much to the dismay of
neighbors whom were defended by the decibels this song
must be played at.
And then came disc four, containing 16 songs that
cover the latter part of White Zombie's reign over the
metal world. What else can I say but . . . THANK YOU,
Rock Gods! On this disc there are favorites such as
More Human Than Human, I'm your Boogeyman,
and Feed the Gods, as well as the cover Children
of the Grave, on a Black Sabbath tribute album
(1994.)
As for the DVD, I don't want to sound redundant but
one must thank the gods (of rock) when it is appropriate.
Having never had the pleasure of seeing White Zombie
live, this DVD allows me a glimpse of what I missed.
It contains an array of live performances such as Black
Sunshine, I Am Hell and many more. Not to mention
the music videos to some chart toppers such as I'm
Your Boogieman, More Human Than Human, Welcome to Planet
MF, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. If
you're a true White Zombie or Rob Zombie fan, you must
add this boxed set to your collection. How else can
you really appreciate the "musical horror show,
dark pop culture," and hardcore sound that made
White Zombie all that it was.
MS
MS
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