Perhaps co-defining the future of heavy metal,
White Zombie's major-label debut nearly equals fellow classics
Guns N' Roses'
Appetite for Destruction,
the Cult's
Electric, and
Soundgarden's
Badmotorfinger in significance. With a funky rap-metal undercurrent, these metal monsters combine
Black Sabbath's riff sludge and
Metallica's rhythmic intensity, a combination that would again resurface in the late '90s. On
La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1,
Zombie and co. take listeners on a hokey carnival ride capable of inducing vomit yet provide an exhilarating, heart-throbbing metal experience. Tactless and continuously shocking, lyricist
Rob Zombie reveals blatant tales of muscle cars, sleazy encounters, and Fangoria-mustered fantasy, clearly paying homage to vintage trash culture. Complemented by Russ Meyer film soundbites and demonic aura,
Zombie ridicules middle American Leave It to Beaver values and insolently challenges the politically correct. Diabolical manifestos such as the barbaric "Soul-Crusher," macabre "Spiderbaby (Yeah-Yeah-Yeah)," and sexually indiscreet "Thrust!" will intrigue those yearning for lewd explicitness but may offend traditional hard rock enthusiasts. "Thunder Kiss '65," an ode to Russ Meyer's 1965 busty B-movies Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and Mudhoney, remains this album's most listenable and enduring highlight. Along with perverted lyrics,
Rob Zombie's vocal snarls and the band's muscular metal thunder produce the furious concoction that secures
La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1's place in heavy metal history. Weak appetites for raunchy, tongue-in-cheek decadence need not apply. ~ Jacob N. Lunders