Hellbilly Deluxe 2
Encyclopedia
Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool (shortened to Hellbilly Deluxe 2) is the fourth solo studio album
by former White Zombie
frontman Rob Zombie
. The album is a companion to Rob Zombie's debut album Hellbilly Deluxe
. It was released on February 2, 2010, through Roadrunner Records
.
, and again until February 2010 due to a lack of promotion. According to Rob Zombie, there was not enough time to release advance copies to the press or create a music video for the first single, "What?," before their tour. Though originally intended to be released through Geffen Records
, Zombie's record label of 18 years starting with White Zombie
, the album was released through Roadrunner Records
/Loud & Proud Records.
Hellbilly Deluxe 2 is also the first release where Rob Zombie worked with his full touring band. Previous albums were written and recorded by Rob Zombie himself and a rotating set of musicians. Commenting on the change, Zombie stated, "I've always had a revolving roster of studio and touring musicians, but the three guys in my band now have been on tour with me for years. So we're making it as a band. It's called Rob Zombie, but we're treating it like a band."
Due to the recent decline in physical CD sales and increase in digital downloads, Hellbilly Deluxe 2 may be the last CD released by Rob Zombie. Zombie called the CD format "dead" and stated "all you will have left is digital downloads." As a result of this belief, the artwork featured on the CD release of Hellbilly Deluxe 2 is said to be "the best yet." Rob Zombie has enlisted the help of artists Dan Brereton
(creator of Nocturnals
), Alex Horley (of Image Comics
and DC Comics
) and David Hartman (storyboard artist) to create the album artwork. British dark
/steampunk
artist Sam Shearon
(artwork for Godhead
's At the Edge of the World
and tour merchandise for Iron Maiden and HIM) will also contribute to the artwork of Hellbilly Deluxe 2.
Rob Zombie began touring in support of the new album shortly before its release date. The first leg of the Hellbilly Deluxe 2 World Tour
featured Nekromantix
and Captain Clegg & The Night Creatures, the fictional band from Halloween II. Uncle Seymour Coffins, also from Halloween II, hosted the Los Angeles show on Halloween night.
The song, "What?
", the first single from the album, starting playing on radio stations October 6 and was released on iTunes October 13. Another new song, "Burn", was released on Rock Band on October 27 as part of a triple pack which also includes the hits "Dragula
" and "Superbeast
". They were released for Xbox Live. "Burn" was later released as a free download on December 17, 2009 via the band's website.
, the drummer on the studio recordings for Hellbilly Deluxe 2, left the band in early 2010 to play drums for Ozzy Osbourne
on the album Scream
. Clufetos was replaced by Murderdolls
guitarist and Slipknot
drummer Joey Jordison
initially as a touring member. Before joining the 2010 Mayhem Festival, Jordison joined Zombie, John 5 and Piggy D. to record some new songs. These tracks were described by Zombie as "some of the fastest and heaviest tracks we have recorded in a long, long time." John Tempesta
, former member of White Zombie
and drummer on Zombie's early solo albums, was going to be featured on a song called "Loving the Freaks" during these sessions, and Rob Zombie confirmed that working with Tempesta was planned but never took place due to schedule conflicts.
The three new tracks recorded with this lineup, "Devil's Hole Girls and the Big Revolution," "Michael" and "Everything Is Boring," were released as bonus tracks on the reissue of Hellbilly Deluxe 2. The updated version was released on September 28, 2010 through Roadrunner Records
. Along with new artwork, the reissue also contains a new version of "The Man Who Laughs", most notably replacing the original drum solo with guitars. The intro to "Mars Needs Women" has been separated into the track "Theme for an Angry Red Planet". Also included is bonus DVD containing a 30 minute tour documentary titled "Transylvanian Transmissions."
, the album earned a score of 63/100 based on ten reviews. The album debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200
chart, selling 49,000 copies in its first week of release.
Recording & Other
Art & Design
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by former White Zombie
White Zombie
White Zombie was a Grammy Award-nominated American heavy metal band. Based in New York City, White Zombie was originally a noise rock band. White Zombie are better-known for their later heavy metal-oriented sound...
frontman Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie is an American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.Zombie has also established a career as a film director, creating the...
. The album is a companion to Rob Zombie's debut album Hellbilly Deluxe
Hellbilly Deluxe
* Danny Lohner - Additional Guitar on Meet the Creeper.* Tommy Lee - Drums on Meet the Creeper.-Chart positions:AlbumSingles...
. It was released on February 2, 2010, through Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
.
Background
Rob Zombie had finished recording the album before the end of 2008, but the release had been delayed until November 2009 due to his commitments with Halloween IIHalloween II (2009 film)
Halloween II is a 2009 American horror film written, directed, and produced by Rob Zombie. The film is a sequel to Zombie's 2007 remake of Halloween , and the second film in the rebooted Halloween film series and the tenth Halloween film in total...
, and again until February 2010 due to a lack of promotion. According to Rob Zombie, there was not enough time to release advance copies to the press or create a music video for the first single, "What?," before their tour. Though originally intended to be released through Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
, Zombie's record label of 18 years starting with White Zombie
White Zombie
White Zombie was a Grammy Award-nominated American heavy metal band. Based in New York City, White Zombie was originally a noise rock band. White Zombie are better-known for their later heavy metal-oriented sound...
, the album was released through Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
/Loud & Proud Records.
Hellbilly Deluxe 2 is also the first release where Rob Zombie worked with his full touring band. Previous albums were written and recorded by Rob Zombie himself and a rotating set of musicians. Commenting on the change, Zombie stated, "I've always had a revolving roster of studio and touring musicians, but the three guys in my band now have been on tour with me for years. So we're making it as a band. It's called Rob Zombie, but we're treating it like a band."
Due to the recent decline in physical CD sales and increase in digital downloads, Hellbilly Deluxe 2 may be the last CD released by Rob Zombie. Zombie called the CD format "dead" and stated "all you will have left is digital downloads." As a result of this belief, the artwork featured on the CD release of Hellbilly Deluxe 2 is said to be "the best yet." Rob Zombie has enlisted the help of artists Dan Brereton
Dan Brereton
Dan Brereton is an American professional writer and illustrator who has produced notable work in the comic book field.-Biography:...
(creator of Nocturnals
Nocturnals
Nocturnals is a comic book title created by artist Dan Brereton which debuted as a six-part limited series in 1994-1995 under Malibu Comics collectively subtitled as Black Planet....
), Alex Horley (of Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
and DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
) and David Hartman (storyboard artist) to create the album artwork. British dark
Dark Art
Primarily a product of the 20th Century, dark art is an art style defined as that being "dark" or unsettling in nature. Called and classified under many names such as gothic, horror, metaphysical, nightmarish, and disturbing, it is actually a culmination of techniques and styles. It has been...
/steampunk
Steampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
artist Sam Shearon
Sam Shearon
Sam Shearon also known under the pseudonym ‘Mister-Sam’ is a dark-artist born in Liverpool, England in the United Kingdom....
(artwork for Godhead
Godhead (band)
Godhead, occasionally typeset as gODHEAD, is an American alternative rock/metal band from Washington, D.C.. They are most often credited with being the only band signed to musician Marilyn Manson's short-lived vanity label, Posthuman Records.-History:...
's At the Edge of the World
At the Edge of the World (album)
At the Edge of the World is the seventh studio album by the industrial rock band Godhead, released on October 7, 2008.-Track listing:#"Approaching the Edge "#"The Puppet"#"Stay Back"#"Just Take Anything"#"Hero"#"The Decline"...
and tour merchandise for Iron Maiden and HIM) will also contribute to the artwork of Hellbilly Deluxe 2.
Rob Zombie began touring in support of the new album shortly before its release date. The first leg of the Hellbilly Deluxe 2 World Tour
Hellbilly Deluxe 2 World Tour
The Hellbilly Deluxe 2 World Tour is a current concert tour by solo artist Rob Zombie that began in October 2009 in support of his fourth studio album Hellbilly Deluxe 2. The tour currently consists of 12 legs spanning across Japan, North America, Europe and Australia...
featured Nekromantix
Nekromantix
The Nekromantix are a Danish-American psychobilly band formed in 1989 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their music is generally structured around monster and horror themes. A central icon of the band's image is founder and frontman Kim Nekroman's "coffinbass", a custom-built double bass with a body in the...
and Captain Clegg & The Night Creatures, the fictional band from Halloween II. Uncle Seymour Coffins, also from Halloween II, hosted the Los Angeles show on Halloween night.
The song, "What?
What? (Rob Zombie song)
"What?" is the first single release from Rob Zombie's album Hellbilly Deluxe 2 , set for release in early 2010 on Roadrunner Records/Loud & Proud Records.The song was released on the radio on October 6, 2009 and was released on iTunes October 13.The intro to the song is a...
", the first single from the album, starting playing on radio stations October 6 and was released on iTunes October 13. Another new song, "Burn", was released on Rock Band on October 27 as part of a triple pack which also includes the hits "Dragula
Dragula (song)
-Covers:The song was covered by gothic metalcore band Motionless in White in 2009. It was also covered by Transient for The Electro-Industrial Tribute to Rob Zombie in 2002.-Personnel:* Tom Baker - Mastering* Paul DeCarli - Additional Programming...
" and "Superbeast
Superbeast
"Superbeast" is a promotional single off Rob Zombie's solo debut, Hellbilly Deluxe. The song was co-written by Charlie Clouser, formerly of Nine Inch Nails. It also appears on Rob Zombie's Past, Present & Future, the greatest hits album The Best of Rob Zombie, and two remixes are contained on...
". They were released for Xbox Live. "Burn" was later released as a free download on December 17, 2009 via the band's website.
Reissue
Tommy ClufetosTommy Clufetos
Tommy Clufetos Currently plays drums for Ozzy Osbourne, and previously played for famous rock artists Ted Nugent and Alice Cooper. He also played drums for Rob Zombie, and was featured on the 2006 album Educated Horses, Zombie's first live release, 2007's Zombie Live and 2010's Hellbilly Deluxe 2...
, the drummer on the studio recordings for Hellbilly Deluxe 2, left the band in early 2010 to play drums for Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
on the album Scream
Scream (Ozzy Osbourne album)
-Tour Edition CD2:-Personnel:Musicians*Ozzy Osbourne – vocals, production*Gus G – guitars*Rob "Blasko" Nicholson – bass*Tommy Clufetos – drums, percussion*Adam Wakeman – keyboardsAdditional personnel*Kevin Churko – production, engineering, mixing...
. Clufetos was replaced by Murderdolls
Murderdolls
Murderdolls is an American horror punk supergroup, founded during 2002 in Hollywood, California. The band line-up consists of core members Wednesday 13 and Joey Jordison. Former members include Ben Graves, Acey Slade, Eric Griffin & Tripp Eisen....
guitarist and Slipknot
Slipknot (band)
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...
drummer Joey Jordison
Joey Jordison
Joey Jordison , is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known for his work as the drummer for the nu metal band Slipknot. He grew up in Waukee, Iowa with his parents and two sisters, and was given his first drum kit at the age of 8...
initially as a touring member. Before joining the 2010 Mayhem Festival, Jordison joined Zombie, John 5 and Piggy D. to record some new songs. These tracks were described by Zombie as "some of the fastest and heaviest tracks we have recorded in a long, long time." John Tempesta
John Tempesta
John Tempesta is a heavy metal drummer who has worked several bands including: Exodus, Testament and White Zombie. He also played with former White Zombie singer Rob Zombie as a solo artist and served as drum technician for heavy metal band Anthrax earlier in his career...
, former member of White Zombie
White Zombie
White Zombie was a Grammy Award-nominated American heavy metal band. Based in New York City, White Zombie was originally a noise rock band. White Zombie are better-known for their later heavy metal-oriented sound...
and drummer on Zombie's early solo albums, was going to be featured on a song called "Loving the Freaks" during these sessions, and Rob Zombie confirmed that working with Tempesta was planned but never took place due to schedule conflicts.
The three new tracks recorded with this lineup, "Devil's Hole Girls and the Big Revolution," "Michael" and "Everything Is Boring," were released as bonus tracks on the reissue of Hellbilly Deluxe 2. The updated version was released on September 28, 2010 through Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
. Along with new artwork, the reissue also contains a new version of "The Man Who Laughs", most notably replacing the original drum solo with guitars. The intro to "Mars Needs Women" has been separated into the track "Theme for an Angry Red Planet". Also included is bonus DVD containing a 30 minute tour documentary titled "Transylvanian Transmissions."
Reception
Hellbilly Deluxe 2 received average or mixed reviews from critics. On MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the album earned a score of 63/100 based on ten reviews. The album debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, selling 49,000 copies in its first week of release.
Original version
Reissue listing
Personnel
Music- Rob ZombieRob ZombieRob Zombie is an American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.Zombie has also established a career as a film director, creating the...
– Vocals & Lyrics - John 5 – Guitars
- Piggy D.Piggy D.Matt Montgomery also known as Piggy D. is a musician most famous as a guitarist in Wednesday 13 and bassist for Rob Zombie...
– Bass - Tommy ClufetosTommy ClufetosTommy Clufetos Currently plays drums for Ozzy Osbourne, and previously played for famous rock artists Ted Nugent and Alice Cooper. He also played drums for Rob Zombie, and was featured on the 2006 album Educated Horses, Zombie's first live release, 2007's Zombie Live and 2010's Hellbilly Deluxe 2...
– Drums - Joey JordisonJoey JordisonJoey Jordison , is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known for his work as the drummer for the nu metal band Slipknot. He grew up in Waukee, Iowa with his parents and two sisters, and was given his first drum kit at the age of 8...
- Drums on Tracks 1, 8, 14, 15 (for Reissue) - Tyler BatesTyler BatesTyler Bates is a music producer and composer for films. His most known work includes "The Hangman's Song" and various other tracks from the zombie horror film Dawn of the Dead, and 2008's Day of the Dead...
- String Arrangements - Chris Baseford - Keyboards and Programming
Recording & Other
- Produced by Rob Zombie
- Recorded & Mixed by Chris Baseford
- Recorded & Mixed at The Chop Shop, Hollywood CA
- Mastered by Tom Baker
- Managed by Andy Gould (for Spectacle Ent. Group)
- Booking - John Dittmar
- Legal - Jeffery Light (for Myman, Abell, Fineman, Fox, Greenspan & Light)
- Business - Scott Adair (London & Co.)
Art & Design
- Dan BreretonDan BreretonDan Brereton is an American professional writer and illustrator who has produced notable work in the comic book field.-Biography:...
– artwork - Alex Horley – artwork
- David Hartman – artwork
- Sam ShearonSam ShearonSam Shearon also known under the pseudonym ‘Mister-Sam’ is a dark-artist born in Liverpool, England in the United Kingdom....
– artwork - Piggy D. – Photography (Including Cover)
- Rob Zombie – Photography, Art Direction, Package Design
- Wayne Toth - Makeup & Photography
- Bart Mixon - Makeup