WHITE ZOMBIE

I would never really call White Zombie a metal band, Mainstream American society might label them a Heavy Metal band but they are not in my opinion, never have been and never will be, Astro Creep 2000 might be passable as metal to some people but I dont see how any of their previous releases could be mistaken for metal.

This is also the first album in which Rob started to "growl", every recording before hand his voice has been *very* nasal.

Make Them Die Slowly does indeed sound like half-paced thrash rock that never gets out of second gear, and on the first listen I was thinking "what the hell was that ?", but I went back and listened to it a few times and despite the terrible recording (especially the bass, its there but at about -25dB) I actually find this album fairly groovy.

The lyrics are fairly simple but less psychadelic than previous releases and use the standard "Rob Zombie Vocabulary" which most words and phrases re-feature at least twice if you go through the whole discography.

Demon Speed is a fairly average track, nothing stands out and nothing really catches your attention. Disaster Blaster is a bit more groovy and has some funky guitar riffs, although the version on the 1989 EP God of Thunder (Disaster Blaster II) is indeed better. Murderworld is one of the better tracks on the CD, being probably the most brutal, some of the riffs are fairly similar to Disaster Blaster and Revenge. in Revenge, Rob actually seems to be getting some volume variation out of his voice, fairly catchy tune but not as good as Murderworld. Acid Flesh is has the most upbeat tempo out of all of the songs, probably the best one on the CD. Power Hungry is a very unstructured song that features rap-like lyrics, you either like it or absolutely hate it and skip to the last track Godslayer, which is a slow "doomy" sort of track, has some of the best riffs on the CD.

Unfortunately for us (and perhaps WZ), there were quite a few tracks that had to be scrapped (Dead Ringer, Punishment Park, Star Slammer, Scum Kill II) because in the first studio they went to do the recording at they ran out of tracks and in the second studio they ran out of money, so Bill Laswell of Caroline records offered them a 7-track recording which was better than nothing I guess.

If you expect this album to be close to La Sexorcisto or Astro Creep 2000 you will hate it, if you were a fan of WZ from their early stages you probably dont mind or enjoy this recording. I went backwards with my discovery of WZ but still manage to appreciate this recording discovery of WZ but still manage.

72 out of 100

Enverse (courtesy of the Metal Archives website)

It is surprising how many of Rob Zombie's and White Zombie's fans do not know this album exists. If they did manage to pick it up however, most would find it too hot to handle. This is far removed from the radio–friendly(–ish) comic book/splatter movie rock Zombie has made his name with. The common first reaction when hearing 'Make Them Die Slowly' is "what the fuck was that?". So what the fuck do we get?

Probably the best way to describe the album is half–paced Thrash. OK, so Thrash is identified with it's speed and aggression. This has aggression by the bucketload. It just lacks the speed. Play it at 78rpm and you'd get something like a dark and gloomy, almost Gothic, Nuclear Assault. The riffing is fairly standard Thrash fare, nothing flashy, but catchy enough. Strangely, the riffs should be memorable, but they slip through your mind quicker than shit through a goose. The solos and drumming are both solid, but unimpressive because of the inability of the band to change out of second gear.

The guitar tone is, well, odd. Imagine Bob Dylan's singing voice as an electric guitar– twangy and nasal, with a hint of a whine. An unusual effect, but as memorable as the riffs are forgettable.

Anyway, enough of the instrumental sideshows, what about the main event? What about Rob Zombie's voice? Luciano Pavarotti he isn't, but like any good singer with limited ability, Zombie knows his limits. He has written the songs to fit his voice, rather than embarrassing himself trying to stretch himself too far. The subject matter of the songs is just what you'd expect from Rob Zombie– B–movie schlock horror. Zombie drawls, moans and snarls his way through such lyrical niceties as "This is murderworld sister/A deep throating little baby–face" and "Justice claws/A death horizon/ Freak–zone flesh/Maggot man rising".

Conspicuous by their absence are the movie samples overused in later White Zombie releases, and a good thing too. The samples were often more interesting than the songs. On this album, the minimalist, stripped back metal is allowed to shine through, uncluttered by obscure cinematic outtakes.

This is definitely not to everyone's taste. The guitar sound and Zombie's voice can be hard to stomach. Get past those obstacles though, and it's a fun time romp through Rocky Horror land. Spookier than The Misfits and more horrific than The Cramps, this would appeal to fans of both those bands.

65 out of 100

Vim Fuego (courtesy of the Metal Archives website)