La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume 1

White Zombie

Geffen Records, 1992

http://whitezombieofficial.com

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 07/18/1998

It's been a long time since White Zombie graced the pages of "The Daily Vault"... something that came to mind as I was going through portions of the Pierce Archives (where even the dust knows your name) in my regular search for "random pulls". There it was, La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume 1, White Zombie's 1992 debut effort.

You can argue for hours about whether this is truly evil music or not, but there's no denying two things about this album: First, the enclosed lyrics are as valuable as gold. Second, this is a powerful, enjoyable album.

Rob Zombie knew what he was doing when he put together this band. Guitarist J knows how to twist some juicy riffs out of his six-string, making him possibly one of the most underrated guitarists in hard rock/heavy metal of the '90s. Bassist Sean Yseult often is hidden in the mix, but when her work is brought to the forefront, she demonstrates her technical knowledge of the bass. Drummer Ivan De Prume can lay down a solid shuffle and provides a solid backbone to the album.my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

And then, there is Zombie himself. His combination of rap/singing adds a touch of macabre power to White Zombie's music... but nine times out of ten I don't have any idea what it is he's saying. This is where the lyric sheet comes in handy, providing enough material to make Tipper Gore run for the exits.

But if the truth is to be told, the content of La Sexorcisto is about as evil as an underground comic book. I highly doubt that Zombie wrote these songs to be taken seriously, and they should be just experienced and enjoyed. The thundering riffs of the Grammy-nominated cut "Thunder Kiss '65" (note to Barbra Streisand: A wonderful piece to have selected to keep the media at bay... though I think my invite was lost in the mail) is a tribute to heavy metal in 1992. Commercially, metal was in its death throes; "Thunder Kiss '65" reminded people that it was still around.

The underdog track on La Sexorcisto has to be "Black Sunshine," a track which, if memory serves me right, did make it as a video on MTV. Solid, catchy riffs, well-placed samples and a powerful vocal delivery make this track the hidden treasure - and it also makes me wonder why this song didn't break the band into the mainstream.

The second half of La Sexorcisto is a little duller than the first, if only because the novelty might have been wearing off a bit. Still, cuts like "I Am Legend" and "Thrust!" are more than worthy of your time and eardrums.

With a solo album from Zombie just on the horizon, one has to wonder what the future holds for White Zombie. La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume 1 did show a band that needed a little more work on their songwriting to keep things fresh, but it also showed these musicians were apt to be quick learners. Evil? No. Heavy? As an anvil. Worth your time? Of course.

Rating: B

User Rating: C


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© 1998 Christopher Thelen and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Geffen Records, and is used for informational purposes only.