DOES ROB ZOMBIE REALLY NEED A LIVE ALBUM?

I’m actually a fan of Zombie’s – which is to say, I own a few of his albums and admire his talent – but I’ve seen the dude’s live show (once), and like a lot of industrial acts, it’s so dependent on sampling and whatnot that it gets by entirely on Zombie’s abilities as a frontman and the energy of the music… which is performed exactly as originally written and recorded. Seriously. There’s no Tool-like jamming, no deviations from the original formula, no unexpected guitar solos, just a competent band playing competent rock.

So what the hell is anyone gonna do with a Rob Zombie live album? I guess hard core fans will appreciate the chance to listen to all their favorite Zombie tunes with the sounds of a crowd screaming in the background, but… I can’t imagine that this is going to capture anything special, the way the best live albums do. In the end, this really seems like an excuse to cash in on another greatest hits collection.

-AR