By: Sean R. Grogan

Rob Zombie: Educated Horses


Rob Zombie's newest release, Educated Horses, lacks the grit and intensity of his latest movie The Devil's Rejects. Zombie, once the triumphant leader of the metal genre, has cleared his palate to make room for music focused more on foot tapping rhythm than headbanging thrash. Educated Horses is missing the heart of his previous efforts and doesn't begin to scratch the surface of his earlier triumphs: La Sexorsisto and Hellbilly Deluxe. Zombie fans didn't ever need to be diehard metalheads to appreciate his music. The songs were easily-accessible enough, as the Massachusetts native would mix hip beats into his dark songs that included eerie samples like "put an X in your head" and occasionally sounded like the hardcore industrial emanations of the living dead. Educated Horses doesn't have this. For some bands, the transition from metal to pop rock is positive and showcases their ability to step outside their genre, but for Zombie this is not the case. It sounds like he wrote this album just to fulfill his label contract.

That's not to say Educated Horses is without its moments. Guitar legend John 5, formerly of Marilyn Manson, brings his own brand of injustice to each track, brandishing his Fender like a weapon of metal destruction. On other tracks, Motley Crue's infamous drummer Tommy Lee assists John 5, lending his hard-rock expertise to the otherwise bland album.

"Foxy Foxy" opens with Zombie's characteristic mellow vocals that usually erupt into a metal fury, but here Zombie fails to break above a whisper. There is no expected thrashing hook. Instead, the barb has been removed and fans are forced to wait for another chance to rip it up in the pit. "The Scorpion Sleeps" sounds more like a sideline cheer rather than a frenzy-induced attack on the senses. Zombie's vocals are as peaceful as a lullaby and the only thing keeping the listener awake are the ripping guitars that save this track, like so many others on the album.

Tracks like "Let It All Bleed Out" and "The Lords of Salem" are reminiscent of Zombie's heavier days. They drip metal and blood and unleash the full fury of the grungy dark vocals, scratchy guitar licks and deep charred bass lines we expect to hear from the master of the big screen horror flick. While songs like "American Witch" and "Death Of It All" sound more like the rock tracks of a bygone era, it's as if Rob Zombie lost his edge for music and shifted the focus of his warped and twisted mind to film.