ALBUM REVIEW: The Great Satan – Rob Zombie
The king of horror and heavy metal is back. ROB ZOMBIE returns with his first offering since 2021 with the not so subtly titled THE GREAT SATAN. The Dragula star once again sticks the landing with an enormous cinematic sounding album that feels like a descent into hell as you can easily imagine it soundtracking a blood soaked horror film but instead, you make do with your own imagination which surely is better than any film.
ROB ZOMBIE doesn’t hold back. From the get go, we are launched into the fray of The Great Satan with thunderous opener, F.T.W. 84. The wailing guitars and bells in its opener feel like the gates of hell opening as its METALLICA-esque guitars take you by the hand and send you on an absolutely bonkers journey. The lyrics “fuck the the world, fuck it all” will certainly be fun to chant live as the song likens todays world to the Orwellian tale of 1984. The intensity ramps up with the following track Tarantula as the huge chugging guitars and thunderous double peddle continue our hellish journey throughout this album. Hopefully if you’re listening you’re not too scared of spiders as that’s all this song conjures in your mind as you manoeuvre yourself around the gory plains of hell. I’m A Rock N’ Roller shakes up the sound lightly as it combines its cheesy and fun lyrics with an industrial noise that is very RAMMSTEIN adjacent with its chugging guitar riffs and pulsating beats.
The pace starts to quicken on the record through Heathen Days which proves itself as an early highlight with its punk style riffs and simple chorus of “heathen days” as once again you find moments that would be great to experience live in the world of The Great Satan. A small interlude takes us into Black Rat Coffin bringing in another industrial addition to the album as ROB ZOMBIE growls the lyrics at you in a track that is packed full of fun, backed with an anvil sound and infectious guitar riffs.
Proceedings take a funky turn on the record with Sir Lord Acid Wolfman, another hectic title that adds to the fun of the record. The horror landscape builds and builds in this song as ROB ZOMBIE takes on the guise of a pirate as he sings his way through as he growls like a pirate which will have no trouble bringing a smile to your face. It’s one of those reminders that heavy metal is, and always has been just great amounts of fun, not to be taken too seriously when listening.
ROB ZOMBIE seemingly has found the perfect balance to keep himself in the zeitgeist and memorable. Punks And Demons and The Devilman work hand in hand as two back to back album highlights as it adds to rich bubbling broth that has been concocted by ROB ZOMBIE. By the end of these two tracks, you’ll almost be convinced into worshipping Satan himself. Out of Site is a decent song that follows two strong tracks, yet a tad repetitive and ROB ZOMBIE would have easily been forgiven if he had chosen to leave it out.
Revolution Motherfuckers sets us on our way to album’s end and is a stomping track that is led by a great combination of synths and bass with the huge guitar riffs to boot. The chorus is this song’s highlight as you’re almost shouting “we are the revolution motherfuckers” along with it, maybe make sure you’re on your own or maybe see if you can spark one when out in public by singing along. Another interlude bleeds into the heaviest track on the record, The Black Scorpion. A frenetic thrash metal track that also feels like old school punk in a delicious combo that serves as a great, late highlight on the album. Unclean Animals is another hellish sounding song that serves as the penultimate track, it’s trippy, slow and unrelenting in its wall of sound that continues the assault on the sense that started with F.T.W. 84, the guitars and musical arrangement are wailing and tight as it works as a pseudo finale. Grave Discontent sees the album out in a War Of The Worlds-esque display of synths takes us to our end, or, more likely with ROB ZOMBIE, our metaphorical grave.
Having been around for what likes forever, it is genuinely surprising to see that ROB ZOMBIE is only on his 8th album with The Great Satan. Overall, this album is bags of fun. It does feel a little bloated at times as it packs in fifteen songs with not all of them hitting the same levels of quality. You can’t help but feel that if there were some tracks cut, this would be a really tight album that takes you through hell and back. If you’re a fan of ROB ZOMBIE, then this is the perfect album for you. If not, leave your brain at the door and just enjoy.
Rating: 7/10
The Great Satan is out now via Nuclear Blast Records.
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