CD Review: Rob Zombie - Mondo Sex Head

Written by Christopher Nosnibor Tuesday, 02 October 2012 10:23

Artist: Rob Zombie
Title: Mondo Sex Head
Genre: Metal / Industrial / Techno / Dubstep
Release Date: 3rd August 2012
Label: Universal Music 

Album Review

There’s always an element of knowing what you’re going to get with a Rob Zombie album. that’s by no means a criticism, and in this day and age where there’s precious little you can depend on, other than the cost of living going up and politicians lying through their teeth, it’s good to know there are some artists out there who are reliable in the consistency of their output. So, no danger of Rob Zombie introducing a jazz element to his work, then. Well, no, but the fact that ‘Mondo Sex Head’  is essentially a collection of dance remixes mightn’t sit too well with the Zombie purists. Still, remix albums are notoriously difficult, and few artists have pulled off a truly solid remix release, with only a handful of notable exceptions proving the rule – such as Nine Inch Nails’ ‘Fixed’, for example.

One thing that’s striking – and impressive – about ‘Mondo Sex Head’ is its sequencing. Recurrence of tracks aside, it doesn’t really feel like a remix album, and hangs together remarkably well. Industrial electro beats kick-start ‘Thunder Kiss ‘65’, as remixed by Jonathan ‘JDevil’ Davis (better known as that dude from Korn) before the grinding guitars come a-gratin’ and lands things in Ministry – or perhaps more accurately, Revolting Cocks territory. It’s a hyped-up snarling hybrid of electro and metal reminiscent of KMFDM and middle-era NIN, the kind of thing that would sit neatly in the Wax Trax! catalogue, and sets the tone for the album as a whole. The seven-minute ‘Living Dead Girl’ stretches out a trance-like vista of cybergoth, and the  pumping rhythms and orchestral strikes continue through the grinding electro workout of ‘Let It All Bleed Out’.

The reverb-drenched bump ‘n’ grind of ‘More Human than Human’ has more than a hint of Marilyn Manson about it, but the production’s attentive and the groove’s supremely solid, and somehow the whole thing seems less cliché. The same can’t be said for the industrial disco of the EEE remix of ‘Dragula’ and if the Ki: Theory remix of ‘Pussy Liquor’ is low-down and dirty, it’s also a shade obvious almost a decade after the track’s original release and 22 years on from RevCo’s seminal ‘Beers, Steers and Queers’. The sample-laden ‘Burn’ might pack a punch, too, but for all its bluster really doesn’t sound especially fresh. Still, the Das Kapital reworking of ‘Lords of Salem’ brings the grunt of guitars and evokes the spirit of Raymond Watts’ post-KMFDM outfit PIG in its mangling of industrial disco and pulsating metal, and that’s no bad thing. Equally, the Tobias Enhus Remix of ‘Devil’s Hole Girls’ brings a stomping beat that’s hard to argue with.

As the tracks that appear at the front of the album begin to be revisited, the effect begins to be one of a sensory numbing as the relentless industrial groove pounds on and on. Nevertheless, across the 18 tracks that grace the deluxe version (or 13 on the standard edition) there’s not only a lot of meat to chew on, but a decent heft of quality material, and on balance, ‘Mondo Sex Head’ is definitely one of the stronger and more consistent remix albums of recent years – and, importantly, it stands up as an album in its own right, which is definitely worthy of respect.


Tracklist

01. Thunder Kiss '65 (JDevil Number Of The Beast Remix) / White Zombie
02. Living Dead Girl (Photek Remix)
03. Let It All Bleed Out (Document One Remix)
04. Foxy Foxy (Ki:Theory Remix)
05. More Human Than Human (Big Black Delta Remix) / White Zombie
06. Dragula Remix
07. Pussy Liquor (Ki:Theory Remix)
08. Lords of Salem (Das Kaptial Remix)
09. Never Gonna Stop (Drumcorps Acid Remix)
10. Superbeast (Kraddy Remix)
11. Devil's Hole Girls (Tobias Enhus Remix featuring The Jane Antonia Cornish String Quartet)
12. Burn (The Bloody Beetroots Motherfucker Remix)
13. Mars Needs Women (Griffin Boice Remix)
14. Thunder Kiss '65 (TOBACCO Remix)
15. Never Gonna Stop (Drumcorps Grind Remix) Exclusive Track
16. Pussy Liquor (Tobias Enhus Remix featuring Mariachi sol de Mexico)
17. Thunder Kiss '65 (Destructo Remix)
18. More Human Than Human / Living Dead Girl / Burn (Jack Dangers Remix - Full Metal Machine Mega Mix)


Website

http://robzombie.com/


Cover Picture




Rating

Music: 6
Sound: 6
Total: 6 / 10