Rob Zombie - Mondo Sex Head (Album Review)
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Wednesday, 18 July 2012 |
Written by Heather McDaid
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Rob Zombie has never been one to shy away from the unconventional, or one to see a boundary in his music. So, he handed over some of his most famed musical offerings to a string of DJs, let them have their wicked way with his work and is now releasing their collaborative works, entitled 'Mondo Sex Head'.
 Off the bat, the enjoyment of this record relies heavily on personal opinions of dubstep and remixes in general. As you listen, some tracks succeed in finding the neat balance between being a remix and still giving the original number a strong presence; others completely deconstruct the song and rebuild it as something new.
JDevil aka Jonathan Davis of nu metal titans Korn understands the skill of remixing monstrous sounds, as proven by his band's latest effort 'The Path of Totality' - another offering whose success relies on personal musical preference. His rendition of White Zombie's 'Thunder Kiss '65' adds a new electronic flavour to the song, yet still preserves the original in some way.
Dissimilarly, Photek's 'Living Dead Girl' remix is completely subdued. Seven minutes is far too long to go down such a lacklustre road; though trance is stamped all over this track it swiftly becomes background music and really lacks the punch of the original. You can kind of picture this fitting a film scene in a club where someone is tripping balls and everything is in slow motion. So if anyone in Hollywood's reading...
Another Zombie classic 'Dragula' finds itself entwined with a light trance vibe, yet this remix maintains a high level of Zombie's grungy beats. Though many added melodics are light and airy, this does what the 'Living Dead Girl' number failed to do by keeping the chorus almost fully intact while utilising the verses for the most notable instrumental changes. The Kraddy Remix of 'Superbeast' is another great example of dousing something quintessentially Zombie in electronics without losing the core atmosphere; it remains eerie, it remains gritty yet it has an added nuance that enhances the track rather than takes away from it. 'Mars Needs Woman' ends the offering with a punchy, tight remix that continues the fine art of balancing various styles.
To reaffirm, your enjoyment of this record relies heavily on your tolerance of varying styles of remix. Personally, the 'Living Dead Girl' remix isn't up to par with the rest, but that's just not a preferred style or track-length. Another personal preference is keeping an essence of the original track present, so the remixes that stand out are those who bring new dimensions to classic songs without totally deconstructing all their main elements or flaunts. However, each to their own - not all Rob Zombie fans are likely to enjoy this album, but then again some are likely to love it. I fall decidedly more towards the latter.
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