[MUSIC] THE SAVAGE ANIMAL "The Videography of White Zombie"
06.22.11
BY MIKEY MIGO
It’s not an opinion that White Zombie is the best industrial groove metal band of all time, it’s a fact. In the current days of over produced metal or the growler metal, it’s easy to just lost complete interest in the metal scene. A few bands keep my interest within the “metal” genre these days, but it’s clearly not as fun as it used to be. White Zombie is a band that encompassed the primal grunt of metal, melody and groove, and took the “techno” out of industrial. I remember having two White Zombie cassette tapes back in the day that got tons of play. Rob Zombie went out on his own and did very well for himself. Still, I do miss White Zombie and music like it.
One factor of White Zombie’s awesomeness is their music videos. Outside of the first one, Rob Zombie directed them himself. These were the videos were where Zombie cut his teeth and did some awesome and inspired work. He’d go on to make some pretty good movies and all of his solo videos. To me, these earlier videos might have been better . Granted I’ve not seen them all in years, I have pretty fond memories of them. Let’s check them out and see where they stand…
”Thunder Kiss ‘65”
Album: ”La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1”
Director: Juliet Cuming
Year: 1992
This is the video that started it all. I remember being really young at the time this came out, but it still stood out. It was creepy, but it was really interesting. Rob rocks a much more colorful outfit as the band rocks out in a studio and in the desert. It cuts back and forth between the band, women dancing, and a weird skeleton dude hitching a ride from a luchadore. It’s a low budget video, but you just don’t see videos like this anymore. It’s all energy and not a whole lot of CGI, boredom, or gimmicks. Rating: 8.0
”Welcome to Planet Motherfucker”
Album: ”La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1”
Year: 1993
I’m not going to pretend to remember this video. I don’t. Of course I remember the song, but I’ve never seen this video. It’s a really good live video. I am a sucker for black and white live concert footage. I dig the speed ups, the slow downs, and the chaotic crowd action. For an early 90’s video, this is pretty good. Rating: 7.0
”Black Sunshine”
Album: ”La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1”
Year: 1993
Iggy Pop! That’s all I need to say. Thie video has somewhat of a narrative. It has Iggy playing a man behind a type writer going at it about a fast car, “Black Sunshine”. Zombie looks a little weird in this one with the hat and clothes he’s wearing. Total 90’s. The video is pretty okay. It’s a solid song and an okay video. The best shots to me are of the band performing outside the old house. This video has a lot of good stuff in it, but it’s not their best. Rating: 6.0
”Feed The Gods”
Album: ”Airheads”(soundtrack)
Director: Rob Zombie
Year: 1994
This is a really underrated White Zombie song and video. The whole “heeey yeah!” thing Rob screams is the same thing he used in a lot of songs most notable “Superbeast”. The video has a lot of strobe shots of the band rocking out intertwined with luchadores grappling and shots from the movie. I was a big fan of this movie so I have no issues with the footage included. Then we get live footage, weird cut aways, and a lot of seizure enduing flashes and cuts. The last minute and a half or so features a lot of attractive women dancing around in leopard print cat suits. No complaints about that. Rating: 7.0
”More Human Than Human”
Album: ”Astro-Creep:2000”
Director: Rob Zombie
Year: 1995
This is one of the best metal songs of all time. Don’t agree? You’re dumb. One of the best comments I’ve ever read is attached to this song on YouTube. One fan says “I paused my porn to listen to this”. If THAT isn’t a ringing endorsement I don’t know what is. That opening loop, that guitar that comes out of no where, and the raw grit that is Rob’s voice on this makes for some magic. The video is weird. There’s weird graveyard stuff mixed in with over exposed performance video. I like the robot stuff, but I really like the cuts and the energy captured here. This song will never be remembered for the video. It’s a solid video, but I don’t think I’ve seen it more than twice in my life. The song is just so powerful that it’s hard not to love this. The song is a at least a 9.5, but the video? Pretty Good. Rating: 6.5
”Electric Head Pt. 2 (The Ecstasy)”
Album: ”Astro-Creep:2000”
Director: Rob Zombie
Year: 1995
This was always one of my favorite tracks off this album. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the video. I like it. The black and whites look really good and the motion makes me sea sick. We cut into shots of a freak show. Visually the video is pretty awesome. Then the band starts to perform among the freak show characters and it gets a little hokey. Not the normal vintage kitsch stuff Zombie is known for, but a little too overbearing. It’s not bad, just not the best video of White Zombie by far. Rating: 5.5
”Super-Charger Heaven”
Album: ”Astro-Creep:2000”
Director: Rob Zombie
Year: 1996
I don’t remember this one either. It’s a live concert experience with tons of candid stuff. The band was huge at this point. If you see the crowd you see they were playing in front of much bigger crowds than the earlier parts of the 90’s. I do like the live video for “Welcome to Planet Motherfucker” better than this one. The pit is pretty crazy though. Rating: 5.0
”I’m Your Boogieman”
Album: ”The Crow: City of Angels”(soundtrack)
Director: Rob Zombie
Year: 1996
The video starts with a weird “Dr. Spooky” segment and goes into to track. I remember hearing this song and wondering why it was never used in more promotional material by people. It’s from ”The Crow: City of Angels”, which was a good movie. I am not feeling the lame “old school studio stuff”, but the creepy as hell Zombie images rock. The song is cooler than the video, but he looks like the “Hellbilly Deluxe” Zombie here, which makes it pretty clear we’re nearing the end of this journey. Rob Zombie never looked as evil and creepy as he does in this video. That’s the best part in my opinion. Rating: 6.0
”The One”
Album: ”Escape from L.A.”(soundtrack)
Director: Rob Zombie
Year: 1996
This is the last video of White Zombie. It’s from another soundtrack too. This time we got “Escape from L.A.”. It was a good movie too, but I don’t remember this. It’s movie footage mixed in with live performance. It’s simple and to the point. That’s not always a good thing. It’s very formulaic in its structure and shoot. I did find some positives though. I really like the overlay in the performance portion. It’s a cool effect and looks awesome. The problem is the video doesn’t really take off. Rating: 7.0
VERDICT
One YouTuber commented “Bieber checks his closet for Rob Zombie every night”. Who can argue that? This collection of music videos is something to be enjoyed. I am a big fan of this band and some of the videos here are attached to some good memories. Then there are some videos that don’t feel all that inspired. I never read any interviews or anything about how the band ended. You can see a HUGE difference between the early White Zombie videos and the later ones. The early ones felt way more inspired and creative. As time went on it got more and more paint-by-numbers basic. I’m still grateful for the years the band was around and kicked ass. If you haven’t watched these videos then you need to check them out. Even the worst White Zombie video (which one? You decide.) is better than the “best” Lady Gaga video.
What is YOUR favorite White Zombie track?
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