“Cease to Exist” is a much more typically macabre song that Zombie aficionados will instantly be in tune with. It’s almost as if he got done with all the gimmicks he wanted to do on the album, and then having nothing else to write, returned to form. The back half of the album is stronger than the first, as Zombie returns closer to his musical roots. There are moments when Zombie channels the Zombie of old, and reaches way back into his bag of tricks to grab a dirge like the very deep, very ugly “Virgin Witch,” or the slightly more stylized “Burn.” The latter is subsequently eyebrow-raising in that it seems Rob steals the chorus from the last half of The Trashmen’s 1963 super-classic “Surfin’ Bird.” No, I’m not joking. “Werewolf, Baby” is just further proof that Zombie can’t quite forget his fascination with trailer park riffs and southern rock influences as a whole. I like the riff in “Mars Needs Women,” but the overall execution is kind of drab, and doesn’t possess any urgency or punch. “Mars Needs Women” and “Werewolf, Baby” I could live without. The album’s single is “What?” which I must admit I find addicting, even if it does sound like a metal cover of some long forgotten ? and the Mysterians song. The next two are not as engaging, as “Sick Bubble-Gum” is repetitive and feels forced. The insistence on an acoustic guitar between verses breaks up the song in an unnatural way, but the album is off to a good enough start. “Jesus Frankenstein” is a thundering open to the album, and has a good deal of promise, even though it never flows as easily as “Superbeast” or “Demon Speeding” did at the beginning of previous albums. The album’s not perfect, but it is a refreshing breath from Zombie.

This new album is several magnitudes of order better than “Educated Horses.” I’m not exactly going out on a limb by saying that, but there it is. After a few years away directing movies, out comes “Hellbilly Deluxe 2,” finally debuting after two lengthy delays from the time of recording in 2008. “Hellbilly Deluxe” and “Sinister Urge” were both modern masterpieces, and then “Educated Horses” was a confusing, muddled mess of an album. At this point, I had no idea what to expect from Rob Zombie.

Hellbilly deluxe album review