Rob Zombie – Educated Horses

If I could ask Rob Zombie one question about his latest album Educated Horses it would be simply, what happened?

Rob Zombie and his former band White Zombie were a lot of things: they were loud, they were heavy, they were campy, and most of all they were fun. Unfortunately Educated Horses is none of those things. Gone are most of the b-movie samples and chugging guitar riffs that made Zombies music so entertaining and enjoyable. Whats left is a watered-down album full of half-hearted pop singles with only a few moments of brilliance shining through.

It could be argued that Horses simply shows a more mature side of Rob Zombie the argument being, who wants to see a mature side of Rob Zombie? This is the guy that previously brought us songs like Grease Paint and Monkey Brains and Welcome to the Planet, Mother F***er and the two horror movies House of 1000 Corpses and The Devils Rejects. Theres nothing scary about Zombies new single Foxy Foxy, which couldnt possibly be confused with anything that even remotely rocks. If anything, the track reeks of I blew all my cash making movies and now daddy needs a hit single.

Let It All Bleed Out, Ride, and possibly The Lords of Salem are the only tracks throughout the discs 40 minutes that wouldnt seem out-of-character on any of Zombies previous releases. Most of the other tracks find Zombie singing over sitars, strings, mellow guitars and pop beats. Im no studio wizard, but the entire album appears to be overly produced with the music buried deeply under layers of production. Any questions about Zombies new direction can be answered by the noticeable lack of a Parental Guidance label on the disc. Its hard to imagine the author of La Sexorcisto Devil Music Volume One releasing an entire disc of radio-friendly material, but its true.

So, here comes the hard part. Can I say I hate it? No, or at least not all of it. Zombies ability to deliver hooks remains intact. Several of the songs are catchy, although unfortunately none of them are particularly memorable. Zombie was quoted on his website as saying I am positive that this is going to be the most kick-ass record yet. Id definitely have to disagree with him there. Old fans looking for more of the same will ultimately walk away disappointed, Im afraid. Fans who appreciate 70s rock (ala Alice Cooper) and can bring an open mind to the table may be able to appreciate Zombies new direction.

01. Sawdust In The Blood
02. American Witch
03. Foxy Foxy
04. 17 Year Locust
05. The Scorpion Sleeps
06. 100 Ways
07. Let It All Bleed Out
08. Death Of It All
09. Ride
10. The Devil’s Rejects
11. The Lords Of Salem

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