Yeah so these NYC weirdos basically took everything that was heavy and groovy in the early 90s and mixed it with horror movie samples and B-movie sleaze, and somehow made it work way better than it had any right to. Rob Zombie and crew were doing their own thing while everyone else was either going grunge or getting all serious with their metal, these guys just wanted to make you bang your head to some seriously twisted carnival music.
La Sexorcisto was the record that basically launched them from the underground noise rock scene into something that actually got radio play, which is pretty nuts when you think about it. The whole thing sounds like if Black Sabbath got really into old horror flicks and decided to make the soundtrack to the weirdest drive-in movie you never saw. Rob’s vocals are all gravelly and snarling, the bass is thick as hell, and Jay Yuenger’s guitar work hits that sweet spot between groove and thrash that just makes you want to move.
“Thunder Kiss ’65” is obviously the big hit here, that riff is just undeniable and the whole thing grooves harder than most bands can even dream of. “Black Sunshine” is another standout that shows they could do the heavy psychedelic thing without losing any of the punch. These tracks basically wrote the blueprint for what groove metal could be when it stopped taking itself so seriously and just embraced the fun weirdness.
Look, this album isn’t perfect, some of the later tracks kinda blend together and those radio skits probably could’ve been left on the cutting room floor. But when it hits, it really hits. This is essential listening if you want to hear a band that figured out how to be heavy, groovy, and completely off-the-wall all at the same time. It’s like the soundtrack to the best/worst midnight movie you’ve ever seen, and that’s exactly what makes it so damn good.