Astro-Creep: 2000 - Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head

White Zombie had been a highly influential band in new genres such as noise rock, groove metal and industrial metal for one decade. The release of its final full length effort of original material with Astro-Creep: 2000 - Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head would mark the band's most commercially successful output and also set the stage for Rob Zombie's later solo career that was massively influenced by the sound of this output. This record here is interesting for anyone interested in alternative rock and metal sounds of the nineties as well as cultural trends of the mid-nineties. If you appreciate this album, you are also going to like several other White Zombie and Rob Zombie efforts. You might also want to check out similar pioneer groups such as KMFDM, Die Krupps and Oomph!.

The sound of this release is relatively simple to describe but was nevertheless rather innovative back in the days. The lead vocals find a catchy balance between sweltering aggression and rough melody which suits the instrumental work perfectly. Speaking of the latter, the drum play is simple but precise and energetic, recalling danceable military march music one more than one occasion. The bass guitar play isn't exactly technically stunning but also tight and powerful as it completes the drum play perfectly. The guitar riffs meander from simple but intense riffs over more discordant and psychedelic sections recalling bands such as Melvins, Faith No More and even early grunge by groups such as Soundgarden. Charlie Clouser is only noted as a guest on this output but his work on keyboards and especially programming is an important part of this release's unique identity. This album is filled with sound samples, most of them coming from obscure horror films from the fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties. This shouldn't come as a surprise however since the band name White Zombie is inspired by a horror movie of the same title from the thirties. Cineasts will therefore have quite a few references to discover while those who don't share the band's passion for the aforementioned genre will find the elevated number of samples rather tiring. One has to admit that the band doesn't just use these samples as gimmicks as its songs' lyrics, the band members' outfits and even the group's stage productions honour classic horror cinema.

The group's unique soundscapes might take a while to open up to new listeners. While a first impression might be rather chaotic, the band's particular style actually becomes quite coherent after multiple spins. While not all songs might stay on the listener's mind, some of them are quite catchy. ''Electric Head Part One: The Agony'' and ''Electric Head Part Two: The Ecstasy'' form the heart piece of this release in my opinion. These songs are aggressive but not overtly brutal. They are melodious but never fluffy. They are memorable but still have experimental sections. They represent the identity of White Zombie best and are among the band's greatest tracks ever. Another instant hit is the atmospheric, catchy and danceable ''More Human than Human'' that rightfully became one of the group's greatest successes.

However, several songs on this output also lose themselves in massive oversampling and draining repetition. ''Real Solution #9'' is such a case as this song would have been a decent interlude if it had been cut to half its actual length. Hidden track ''Where The Sidewalk Ends, The Bug Parade Begins'' is also a dud that doesn't deserve to be discovered but rather to remain hidden. It sounds like an odd underdeveloped sound collage that artificially stretches the record's length from rather short to overall decent. However, quality should have been valued over quantity in this case to make for a more enjoyable listening experience.

At the end of the day, White Zombie's Astro-Creep: 2000 - Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head is an intriguing product of its time combining raw noise rock with brutal industrial metal and danceable groove metal hints. The band's horror image going from the cover artwork over the band clothing to the multiple samples gives the group its very own style that some people might admire and other loathe. It can't however be denied that this album is certainly creative, entertaining and unique to a certain degree in the context of its release. Rob Zombie has used these same ideas time and again, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse but this album here can be seen as the climactic end of White Zombie and the intellectual creation of Rob Zombie.

Now this, this I like. White Zombie's last proper full-length is loud, groovy, destructive, and distorted with all manner of techniques. Astro Creep is one filthy motherfucker of an album that showed some of the heaviest stuff to get major success in the 90s. Saturated in pedal effects, catchy, fun, weird, and ready to put a boot to your ass are the sort of descriptors I'd use for this album. White Zombie already had a slant towards the abnormal since Sexorcisto that they kicked into overdrive on Astro Creep with a new half-industrial style with a heavy psychedelic tint that much more fits their insane lyrics and more fun-loving persona, compared to the usual throng of angry, combative groove metal bands. Astro Creep is one of those albums that smacks you upside the head and captures you with its mix of warped riffs and bombastic attitude.

Astro Creep is unique and strong in its usage of distortion and mixing it with catchy riffs and a hard, driving pulse that keeps the songs crunchy and active at a mid-to-high tempo. Jay Yuenger delivers meaty riff upon meaty riff drenched in reverb, phasers, wah-pedals, and industrial effects that have a crushing, but also very liquid sound to them. He also uses a lot of bent and stretched notes to give a more warped sound. The usage of crunchy production, and hallucinogenic samples also helps give the songs on here a very sludgy texture which adds all the more density to the wild, swaggering grooves on offer here. Rob Zombie's voice is a one-of-a-kind filthy snarl that sounds fun in a monstrous way, bellowing with all his might. Everything sounds thick and gritty, just covered in grime like a swamp monster, and with the same kind of impact as that swamp monster stomping a police car into the mud. The hallucinogenic quality of the samples, effect pedals, and Zombie's voice, plus the fast pace and warped grooves make Astro Creep one of the stranger and more energetic groove metal albums.

Everything composed for this album runs the gamut of thundering groove stompers, warped chunky distorted driver's chargers, and trippy, almost funky industrial pounders. The best tracks on Astro Creep are the ones that make the best use of its strengths, those being the driving pace, warped sound, catchiness, and most active grooves and riffs. "Real Solution #9" and "Blood, Milk and Sky" show off the biggest industrial influence with their heavy usage of samples, trudging beats, and acidic atmosphere. "Electric Head Part 1", "Blur the Technicolor" and "Super-Charger Heaven" go for a thrashier pace and blast by with catchy choruses and intense riffs backed up by caustic distortion to truly emphasize the grooves. There's also a real banger with "More Human than Human" which has a pulsing beat, a funky rhythm, and an agile semi-rapped flow and delivery from Rob Zombie, all while being as warped and catchy as can be. These represent the kinds of songs on offer, as Astro Creep displays diverse songs while staying consistent in their signature style of psyched-out groove metal. The other songs are nothing to sleep on either, as they all contain some combination of these styles and resonate like an explosive acid trip.

Groove metal on acid is what style I'd say describes Astro Creep, and perhaps that's why I like this so much. It emphasizes what people look for with this subgenre the most, the grooves. It spruced them up by varying the tempo a lot and by piling on a heavy amount of grimy distortion and psychedelia all while keeping the songs memorable and badass with plenty of muddy riffage. The abundance of memorable bangers on this album makes it hard to ignore and hard to deny its strength. Astro Creep is a classic of its time that glows bright like comic book radiation in the moonlight with its rare and mighty mixture of chunky grooves, smack-talking swagger, and industrial psychedelia that few have ever dared to re-create.

The first thing I've got to do here is kind of agree with the previous reviewers and say that this is a cool album. Without a doubt, there's something badass about Rob Zombie and the rest of his bunch of misfits, and there's something even cooler about the way that they approached this album - with absolutely no regard for normal people. This was a popular album and one of the big crossover moves in 90s metal, which was littered with the fuckers, so that's saying something big. White Zombie really never fitted in anywhere, what with the weird lyrics and artwork, plus their (clothing) style hung somewhere between grunge and metal without really borrowing directly from either genre. Their description on Metal Archives is woefully inadequate, since there's no way that you can boil down this sound to industrial/groove metal, since my mind jumps to Fear Factory's early 00s output, which lacks all the detail, atmosphere, and creativity that this has.

The second thing I've got to say is that this should have no real appeal for fans of traditional heavy metal, because there are very few elements in this that spring from anyone as sacred as Judas Priest, Metallica, or Death. Looking at Black Sabbath, however, one must take a different view, as that band's titular introduction to metal is exactly the sort of atmospheric slug through horror and psychedelia that this achieves, though the comic book exuberance and boldness of colour and action is direct from the Zombie. The words comic book should be a good indicator that this isn't the most serious of albums, nor was it designed to be anything more than a cult, but that's exactly why it's cool and shirks the classic restrictions. Rob Zombie, even if he isn't quite the greatest performer in metal, certainly has had one of the greatest ideas in making such distinctive and fun music, artwork, and stage shows.

'Astro Creep' works much better than its predecessor because (fucking enormous title aside) it has a focus that 'Devil Music' just didn't achieve. The songs aren't much more succinct, though that one minute that has been trimmed off makes all the difference to lean, energetic songs like 'Super-Charger Heaven' and 'Electric Head pt.2', which race through their boisterous, swinging grooves with glee and sweep the listener along for the ride. There are also many quieter, slower parts that aim more for atmosphere and creepiness, which work in most instances, though lose some of their effect due to the constant return to this tactic. As such, we end up somewhere between a horror movie and a superhero comic and - even if that's not exactly your thing - is guaranteed to produce excitement with regularity. The riffs are not too complex, but are main features in most songs and more satisfying than that industrial/groove description gave you hope to think. The previously mentioned songs both have great main riffs, particularly the confrontational opening of 'Electric Head pt.2', while the ludicrously named 'El Phantasmo and the Chicken-Run Blast-o-Rama' also has a great mover as its centrepiece. Industrial elements are present in some of the rhythms and plenty of additional effects, but they exceed the tepidity of much industrial embellishment and give the songs a purpose that the lazy, drawled vocals and psychedelic guitars often avoid. 'Real Solution #9' and 'More Human Than Human' are the most industrial songs here and both are fairly satisfying, especially the latter, with its circling, building main motif.

If there's any single problem with 'Astro Creep', it's that it sometimes doesn't go far enough. Although largely without precedent, this style of music is only interesting because it's so different from most other metal; thus, when 'Creature of the Wheel' or 'Electric Head pt.1' develop into fairly average grooving rockers with a steady beat and industrial elements, you do feel that there was something more to be done with this formula. The up-tempo tracks triumph because of their energy and the creative instrumental work, meaning that those three already mentioned work best, while 'I, Zombie' and 'Blur the Technicolor' get by on speed and shock value alone. For some listeners, the frequent samples could be problematic as they are mildly distracting from the music, but I feel that they add to the patchwork effect of the album and increase its oddball charm.

Not really comparable to much else either at the time or now, 'Astro Creep' is a reminder that one needn't pander to the crowd to achieve success, nor does one ever need to dilute one's inner wackiness. A victory for the weird.

Putting it simply, I didn't like as many songs on here as I liked on its predecessor. It also brings forward an even more marketable sound then before. Its far less awesome tracks and more mediocre tracks.

Here the industrial influences really shine through. The album brings back the art of sampling, but now we have added studio effects as well. It adds a nice new element for many of the song (Creatures of the Wheel). It also adds some tracks that seem lazy such as Real Solution # 9. Real Solution #9 features an effect that sounds like a turntablist scratching away, the vocals on the verses are distorted to a point where they can hardly be understood and sound like all the sampling.

As far as actual instruments it retreads the footsteps of its predecessor. The guitar and vocals drive the performance and with out them the bass and drums can't hold their own weight. The new industrial effects have skewered that though as now many of the songs are driven by effects and not the guitar.

The riffs are more simplistic grooves but now played at slower tempos. The previous album had some awesome grooves, this one all the grooves are generic and struggle to hold any power. I don't get the point I'm using an instrument intended for melody to try and do something rhythmic, I mean clearly it works in many cases, but more often then not it fails. Luckily though, amongst these simple grooves there are some melodic like sections (More Human Then Human).

Underneath this layer we have some solid bass work that is being used a backbone. Solid on how it works with the bass, its great chemistry between the two. This is all accompanied by drums that keep a midpaced beat but fail to do anything special or attention grabbing. Production on the drums wasn't quite as good as on LA Sexorcisto which is a shame.

Rob Zombie continues to deliver a solid vocal section but he again fails to do anything impressive. His obsession with horror once again shows through as horror themes are prevalent throughout the album. The lyrics are a bit weak at times but what do we expect from radio friendly shock value. It's an o.k. album I guess, a bit disappointing after how much I loved the predecessor.

Stand out tracks: More Human than Human and Super Charger Heaven

I'm sure lots of people would consider this album nu-metal, or mallcore, or whatever. Fuck you all. I don't care how many tr00 metal penis inches an album has, all I care is that it's catchy. And Astro Creep 2000 by White Zombie is catchier than the French team at the Ass-Grabbing Olympics.

This album finds the band changing their style yet again, to become more of a groove/industrial act similar to Ministry. Now, we could hold a long and thoughtful discussion about whether they sold out, but the songs on this album are of a damned high quality, turning this into their best album.

White Zombie always were something of a mystery. They were shockingly bad live musicians (especially vocalist Rob Zombie, who couldn't hold a note to save his life) and their sound and image was entirely second hand, yet they exercised a certain strange charm over the listener. Remember, the 90s were a time where everyone was trying to sound as dry and apathetic as possible. White Zombie were a blast of singalong, monsters 'n' mayhem fun. I once heard them described as Beavis and Butthead Metal, and I can't disagree with that description.

"Electric Head Pt 1" starts off with weird samples and voiceovers before cutting into a fast, minimalist pseudo-thrash riff. Rob Zombie's voice sounds huge and menacing, and gives the song the extra punch it needs. (Rob may have sucked live, but he was awesome in the studio) All in all, solid opener. "Super Charger Heaven" is the album's lead single and a ridiculously catchy groove tune that was a staple at the band's live shows. Trying not to sing along to this song is like resisting a girl who has her boobs pressed against her chest and her hand down your pants. "DEVIL MAN, DEVIL MAN, COME ON, RUNNING THROUGH MY HEAD!"

Unlike the band's previous offering, the album remains relatively solid right the way through. There are no bad songs, although a couple of songs like "Real Solution #9" don't have the same impact the others do. Betraying their noise rock roots, songs like "Grease Paint and Monkey Brains" have this kind of grungy sting, and this contrasts well with faster speed metal like "I, Zombie" and "El Phantasmo")

"Creature of the Wheel" is super heavy, with ominous double-bass rolls and a roared vocal performance from Rob Zombie. I have a soft spot for "El Phantasmo and the Chicken Blast-O-Rama". It starts out with a merry circus tune before WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!, a brutal thrash riff that kicks your teeth out through the back of your head. Even the most jaded metalhead will enjoy this one.

"Electric Head Pt 2" and "Blur the Technicolor" are groovy funk metal with lots of catchy parts. "More Human than Human" was the band's biggest chart success and is probably the most immediately accessible song here. It's rapcore, but don't be scared off, because it owes more to the Melvins than to Limp Bizkit. It has an overdriven bass riff and some tasteful electronics turning this into a freaky trip-out session where Rob pays lyrical homage to the movie Blade Runner.

The album's strangest moment is "Blood Milk and Sky." It is sounds sort of like a song from Sepultura's Roots album, in that it blends tribal music and groove metal. Again, don't get the wrong idea. It is far better than anything on Roots, and I'm just making the comparison so you can get a point of reference in your mind. There's something hypnotic about those chug-chug riffs and wailing chants. And even though it's 11 minutes long, it stays relatively fresh right the way through. At the end, there is a short instrumental called "The Sidewalk Ends where the Bug Parade Begins" that mostly consists of guitar feedback. A homage to Lou Reed, perhaps?

All of these songs listen well, but together they form something greater than the sum of their parts. Back the old days, albums actually were albums, in that they were conceptually united pieces of music. They weren't merely a list of cuts spliced together by studio producers. Despite their undeniable mallcore tendencies, White Zombie understood this. Astro Creep 2000 is fun, catchy and silly, but at the end of the day I feel justified in calling it a small work of art.

I know I shouldn't. Ever since I first started listening to real metal, I learned to despise industrial music for the overrated scenester horseshit that it was. I soon discovered that groove metal was far more contrived and banal than it first appeared, and l learned to distrust those bands as well. But for some reason I fucking love Astro Creep 2000, an album that fuses industrial elements to groove metal, with lots of psychedelic and horror influences. Perhaps its beauty lies in its absolute insanity, but for whatever reason, I find it cool as shit.

White Zombie is often discarded as industrial bullshit metal, but this is actually their only album with notable industrial influences, unlike Rob Zombie's future solo endeavors. These influences, while obvious, aren't really as obnoxious as they're made out to be, generally manifesting themselves in effects, samples and some of the drum beats. The only song that is predominately industrial is "More Human than Human." Otherwise, their presence is pretty much negligible. As for groove metal influence, that's a different story. Most of the metal riffs here are groove riffs, excepting a few psuedo-thrash riffs and a couple doom riffs. If you can't handle groove metal at all, you'll hate this with a passion. If you can, well, this album is ripe with some of the coolest shit around.

Aside from the previoius album's "Thunder Kiss '65," this album pretty much has all the best Zombie songs. "More Human than Human" was the big hit, and it's pretty sweet for being techno-esque. The first half of the album is somewhat weaker, but picks up at track six and doesn't look back. "Grease Paint and Monkey Brains" is evil and creepy, with a great intro and cool vocals. I personally like Rob Zombie's singing, despite the lyrics, which I'll get to in a moment. He has a rough, distinctive voice and really makes the songs come across darker. "I, Zombie" and "El Phantasmo" are the faster numbers, with some seriously heavy riffing, at least as far as this band is concerned. "Blur the Technicolor" features one of THE coolest groove riffs ever (again, this only applies if you enjoy the occasional groove riff, as I do). The last track is slow and sinister and a fitting closer. I like every song on this release. The guitar work isn't mind-blowing, but it's heavy and fitting. Even some of the drumming is really good. Solid metal, even if it's not true.

I know Rob Zombie's lyrics are not meant to be taken seriously. I know they're supposed to be fun, catchy tributes to horror films and pure insanity. But for the love of sweet Satan, I'd like to hear him write a song where the word "Yeah!" isn't an integral part of the composition. I'm sure he has songs where it isn't used, but I'm not exaggerating when I say that most of the songs on this album and all his other albums use the word frequently, especially in the chorus. Hell, the prechorus to "More Human than Human" is just "Yeah!" a shitload of times.

The rest of the lyrics aren't much better. The fucking Rob Zombie Lyric Generator would be the easiest program to write ever. First you throw together a bunch of loosely coherent phrases/sentences full of nouns like "demon," "zombie," "devil," and "motherfucker," preferably in the first person. Use verbs like "kill," "fuck," and the more basic action ones to tie the nouns together. Feel free to embellish with as many adjectives as want, especially if they aren't real words, ie. "Psychoholic." Sort of sing these in a menacing tone, incorporating "Yeah!" at your slightest whim, and you've got yourself a song comparable to anything Rob Zombie has ever written.

But even the lyrically repetitiveness can be forgiven if you don't take this album too seriously. It's meant to be a fun romp through B-horror flicks; a stereophonic experience if you will. It's pretty much his best album, beating out most of the White Zombie records and destroying his solo stuff. Keep an open mind, and you'll find this album to be far more rewarding than you'd ever want it to be.

It's pretty funny how Zombie's only (real) Metal album Devil's Music Volume 1 actually does not even meet the standards that this one does in a mainstream point of view. This is one hell of a killer album, metal or not, but the thing is, this is VERY commercialized shit. Astrocreep 2000 sounds a lot like Metal, but at the same time, judging by it's weaker build, it relates to more like (Industrial) Heavy rock. I am a fan of Industrial music as well, and this is not exactly Industrial Metal perse, but it is very heavy, and has some damn good Groove riffs with heavy distortion. However, that does not make it metal, and it does not exactly sound like Metal to me.

For some reason that I do not know for the fucking death of me, but for some reason, I enjoy this album. I am an individual who is VERY closed minded when it comes to music. Normally to me, it's Metal or Nothin, but I have always been some-what a fan of White Zombie's music, so maybe that could be why I love it so much. Like I said before, it's not exactly metal; it's more metallic rock, but still, I love it.

Electric Head Pt. 1 (The Agony) starts out an AWESOME track, but also, what made me realize that this is not exactly metal because of it's riffing. The speed of the song is intense, and once the song gets going, it's frightfully powerful. Being the stoner that I am really enjoys listening to this when I am high (hence, why I love industrial music so much, and one of the reasons I always listen to Fear Factory when I am high). Though this song has little progression, it has lots of aggression. 8/10.

Super-Charger Heaven is really a great song, and in my eyes, it has a very modern thrash sound to it. However, it also sounds a little bit like modern hard rock. The double kicks in this are wicked, but Zombie's vocals aren't something that are really great. I prefer his more aggressive lower vocals opposed to his higher pitched ones, which is what is used in this song. One of the better songs. 9/10.

Real Solution #9 is another song that I do not really like TOO much. Partially because the drums have a more hip-hop-esque sound to them. Still though, it's not bad, considering the fact that this is a throw-away that lacks a lot, and has a tone of movie soundbytes in here. Nothing special 6/10.

Creature Of The Wheel is a crazy song. This one is a real headbanger, but at the same time, it's a little slower. Another one of the songs with soundbytes. However, Zombie's vocals are pretty killer because he uses a lot of aggression. I hate to admit that this one lacks a lot. 6/10

Electric Head, Pt. 2 (The Ecstacy) has a lot of groove to it, and is probably one of the more Disco type songs on here, since it's accordingly been dubbed as Rejected Disco Thrash Metal or whatever. Definately not as good as part one, but also pretty cool and somewhat catchy. 7.5/10

Okay, now Grease Paint and Monkey Brains is a song that most people would probably regard as a throw-away, but this is a song I kinda new from when I was a lot younger, so I like this one. However, in some way, it kinda has that kind of Static X type sound to it, which I hate, but also, it's NOT bad. This is probably one of the more Metal tunes though (but I hate admiting it). 8/10

I, Zombie is a tune that goes back to the speed that Electric Head part 1 was. Even though this one is not really special, it's a real fight song, and I do NOT mind hearing it (let alone any other song on the album). 7/10.

More Human Than Human - DEFINATELY one of the better tracks on the album. One catchy tune, and HELLA HEAVY! I LOVE this song, and is one of Zombie's bitchin tunes. However, this is a tune that you more bob your head to as opposed to headbanging, but either/or it doesn't really matter, because it's still a great song. 8/10.

El Phantasmo And The Chicken-Run Blast-O-Rama is an awesome song that I have also known for a LONG time. I personally would call this song to be one of the better songs. I love it. The intro is hella-heavy and is meant to be headbanged to. Unfortunately, the speed stops shortly after, but this song is also pretty good without the speed. 9/10.

Blur The Technicolor is a fine tune that is really fun to listen to whenever. The way the vocals are organized help accent it to a more catchier demeanor. Like most groovish tunes, they are more simpler, which is what this one is. I like this one quite a bit actually. 8/10.

Blood, Milk and Sky is a song that for some reason can kinda bring the chills with the vocals, and how slow it is. This one is also the longest on the album. I LOVE the female singing in this one; because it helps bring atmosphere to it, and it will pretty much trip you out which is also one of the things I love about this one. I do not really understand what the fuck is up with this one, but it has like a 3 minute break in the middle of the song, THEN goes back to that very peaceful beautiful heaviness that I love. Probably the best song on here. 10/10

BOTTOMLINE: Though it has a few throw-aways, and is NOT exactly metal, I dig it either way. I would love it more if it was metal though, because I am so closed minded. Still though, little progression which brings it down, but the aggression which is an improvement from the last LP helps to some-what bring it up. The reason I say some-what is because Heaviness is not ALWAYS great. Still though, out of all the Zombie shit, this is the best. Therefore, 80 percent.

Anyone in the 19-24 age group will definitely remember a time when you couldn't walk down the Middle School/High school without at least seeing someone wearing an Asto Creep 2000 t-shirt with one of Rob Zombie's twisted artwork on it...It almost brings a tear to my eye remembering the days of memories past. Lord knows, I remember myself proudly showing-off my old White Zombie t-shirt at Middle School.

White Zombie had everything going for them. They were a band that pretty much threw the whole Horror Movie/50's Dragster magazine/tattoo-parlor-come-to-life image in everyone's face, and guess what? Everyone loved it! I know I sure did. Already being obsessed with both Horror/Sci-Fi movies and Heavy Metal at a young age, White Zombie was pretty much the ultimate combo for me to devour up."More Human than Human" did not help drive "Astro Creep:2000" to double platinum status (I'm pretty sure it's gone at least triple since then) all on its own. White Zombie was just a kooky camp of kids that lived for cheap thrills, horror movies(you're going to hear a lot of this in the review), and whatnots. Their music was a genius combo of Sludge Metal, Doom, some semi-Thrash influences with a flavor of Disco's up-beat Pop sensibilities. Add into the factor of the most brilliant(and sometimes heavy) usage of Sci-Fi and Horror movie audio samples and you definitely have a new Frankenstein-like monster brings a new definition to the saying 'WHAM! BAM! Thank-you mam!'

Rob Zombie was at the top of his game as far as writing lyrics and arranging the music to fit his voice(he lost this with his sub-par solo material, which disappointed me as a long-time WZ fan). He knows his limits and doesn't see the usage to over-step those boundaries. Next to Rob's genius is bassist Sean Yseult. Any male fan of White Zombie knows how much of a mythical goddess Sean Yseult, golden curly locks and all, was in our early days of puberty, but none the less a rather excellent bassist and laying down a thick wall of extra 'crunch' to WZ's sound. Drummer John Tempesta(of ex-Testament fame for us Metal heads) and guitarist Jay Noel Yuenger also in turn throw in their bit of the help in helping "Astro Creep:2000" become one helluva album. Must I not forget the Horror/Sci-Fi movie samples? If I did I would be missing-out on a huge part of "AC2K". The samples were just brilliant in giving is that fun edge to it, in that you can easily take this as a good party album and nobody would notice the difference.

"Astro Creep:2000"'s track list is like a Halloween mixed bag of treats for us. Few of them the average music fan knows, or has heard on the radio, the instant classic that is adored by everyone. Some are our personal favorites, and then there are the couples that stick-out but later grow on us over time.

1. Electric Head Prt.1 (The Agony) - Starts out with a warped old movie sample, going into some reverse organ piano playing and then some doomy-sounds before hitting that main sludge-like verse riff that just gets you into the head banging spirit.

2. Super-Charger Heaven - OH YES! This is definitely a Hot Rod racing anthem. I can just imagine racing a rust-covered, Army olive green 69' GTO with 450 HP engine, pumping-out green flames from the exhaust. Definitely faster in the sense of adding a dash of 50's Rockabilly tones to it. The little Latin rite of excommunication-sample before the last verse is a little tweak that will have you screaming "Devil Man running in my head!" all day long.

3. Real Solution #9 - "And I remember her saying I'm already dead!" Ooooooo! How creepy! Definitely laying-down the mood for this track in a slowed down mid-tempo song. It's almost on automatic and the lyric "Who will survive and what will be left of them?" taken from the infamous Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie poster.

4. Creature of the Wheel - Ugh! Sludge, and more sludge! More or less a continuation of "Real Solution #9" but even ten times more heavy. Definately a headbanger. If thouest does not commence violent headbanging, then you sir are an idiot. Adding to the weirdness is the continuation of Rob's infatuation of the 70's Charles Heston cult classic "The Omega Man"(the first hint was on "La Sexorcisto" with the song "I Am Legend") complete with samples taken from the movie itself.

5. Electric Head Pt. 2 (The Ecstasy) - "I just said 'Up yours baby". With an intro like that, it brings up into the stomp-heavy riff fest of the second part of the 'Electric Head' duo. Not as fast as the first, but still does the job in making one want to head bang. Not bad for a song with samples taken from the flick "Shaft" (The original for the slow ones).

6. Grease Paint And Monkey Brains - Oh man. I don't care what was creepier before this song, but that twisted Circus carnival noise just does it for me. Nothing is as scary sounding as Carnival noise. This one is a snoozer with Rob's whispering but picks-up with a trippy-sounding guitar solo. Samples taken from everyone's favorite zombie movie "Dawn Of The Dead"...the last 30 seconds or so has the only headbanging-worthy riff, but worth the wait.

7. I Zombie - Starts off with a church choir quickly turned into horrifying female screaming then BAM! Downward-spiraling chainsaw guitars and Rob's voice even more downward descending. A great wake-up after the snooze-fest of 'Grease Paint and Monkey Brains'

8. More Human Than Human - As I said previously "Astro Creep:2000" did not exactly go double-platinum on its own. The infamous MTV Buzz Clip(god I'm really showing my age now) helped make this song probably the most recognizable singles from the 90's, amidst the rest of the mainstream crud (remember, this was released a year after Kurt Cobain bit the bullet) that was going on. A funky-little bass line by Sean Yseult, some techno influence and Rob's rap-like Disco edge made this song a fun anthem for the Replicants from the movie 'Blade Runner'(Watch the movie and you'll find out what I mean)...A lot better than most of the shit that was being thrown around during those bleak years for Metal.

9. El Phantasmo & the Chicken-Run Blast-O-Rama - What a killer song title! I must admit whenever I bought my first copy back in '95, I just remember looking at that particular song title and thinking "Now that's the key to selling albums...great songs titles". This song while having a good riff at the beginning quickly turns into one of the more groove-style down tuning (probably a drop-C)...the song continues with really creepy Horror Movie samples that sound like they came from the 'Night of The Living Dead' or a really obscure 70's Grindhouse flick.

10. Blur the Technicolor - Oh yes! Definitely my favorite. The intro has some interesting tribal samples(could have easily came from 'Cannibal Holocaust'...Rob has expressed quite a love that that movie). The groove riffs really exceed where they sounded limited in the previous song, plus with a more warped sound to them and not to forget Rob's excellent showcase of quasi-hard rhyming.

11. Blood Milk and Sky - Back into the sludge we are! Starts off with an Indian chant played backwards, this song is given a dream-like atmosphere. Rob just gargles, mutters, and deeply moans the lyrics...really brooding and drone-like. There are some really nice female sing-along vocals during the chorus that just make it even more mysterious.

And there you have it. For those who missed out on it whenever it was first released...shame on you. Shame, shame, FOR SHAME on you poor pitiful souls. You have not lived, until you have experienced 'Astro Creep:2000'. By far one of the most entertaining and original Mainstream Metal albums of the 90's. And to those who are too 'kvlt' enough for this...pull your heads out of your asses. This album deserves to be in every music collection.

This album is incredibly groovy! Its like really heavy stoner rock. Trust me, when you're high, the lyrics on this will put insane images into your head. Hell, the lyrics will do that even when you're NOT high or intoxicated in some way. The female's voice in Blood Milk and Sky sounds incredibly trippy, as does the main riff. Oh, and don't forget the sexy moaning of some chick in the beginning of More Human Than Human. Yes, this album does sound rather mainstream, but its impressive nevertheless. Very creative and unique. The riffs on this baby are hard and fun, and actually quite suitable for some headbanging. Rob's vocals are strong, clear, and they have a brutal element to them. Not once are they drowned out by the instruments, or vice versa- its the perfect balance.

All in all, a very twisted and in your face album. Definately worth checking out.

Best Tracks: Creature of the Wheel, More Human Than Human, and Blood Milk and Sky.

When White Zombie was still cool and I knew every word to More Human than Human. "I am the astro creep... demolition style hell american freak, YEAH". Disco-metal never sounded so good... you can bang your head or shake your ass, either way you're having a damn good time. In retrospect, this was my first taste of heavy music (along with Tool and AIC) and I still have a pinup of Sean Yseult on my wall.

"Disco trash metal" is a fitting term... all of these songs have driving bass grooves and ridiculous lyrics/samples culled from old school horror. Rob Zombie's sneer is both endearing and annoying, a feat few vocalists can execute. When he barks "DEVIL MAN DEVIL MAN" you can't help but appreciate. Nothing here quite approaches "extreme" by metalhead standards, but it all kicks ass

Supercharger Heaven is a high octane fist pumper with Chuck Berry double stops and mumbled lyrics you'll never understand. "Blood Milk and Sky" is fucking EVIL... crushing riffs and white noise with spooky keyboard noises galore. I Zombie is quite industrial, and El Phantasmo is the lovechild of Rick James and Slayer.

Swallow your dignity, throw on a vintage Texas CHainsaw Massacre t shirt and worship the Zombie.

I gotta say this is one of the first albums I ever REALLY listened to. This album was a turning point for White Zombie, they sky-rocketed to commercial success on this one, but still retained some very essential elements to making a heavy metal album. That said, why doesn't Rob just stick to producing albums now? He seems like he's better at that than anything else. He is a fairly lousy vocalist, and his band now is nothing compared to White Zombie, though Tempesta is a fucking drum Genius. Anywho, here's what I think...

Electric Head (Pt.1) opens up the cd with some eerie sound effects, and kicks into a high paced hard rock/metal fest with its pounding guitar/drum assault and rob's low pitched talking. Super-charger Heaven is the next track and that is really a song true to it's name, it a fast paced song made purely for the intent of racing the fucker in the beefed up jap-mobile civic next to you at the red. You won't find a better song on this album, though some come close. Real Solution #9 is Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but the song leaves a little to be desired, simply because a song about a classic horror flick deserves a more moody atmosphere, and it wasn't quite there. Creature of the Wheel is the only song that I can say sucks on the cd, and thus inhibits a 100 rating from me. I Zombie, More Human, El Phantasmo, all excellent metal tunes, and Blur The Technicolor is one hell of a groovy song that shows a side of White Zombie almost never tapped.

If you don't own this album, there most definitely is something wrong with you. This is about as good as mainstream heavy metal is ever going to get, and don't count on Rob Zombie ever releasing anything that can come close to comparing with this one. Just keep an open mind, and you'll understand the impact this record has had on me.