Search - Scum Of The Earth :: Sleaze Freak

Amazing! a must-have for all Rob Zombie fans

Sledgehammer | United States | 12/15/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love the fact that Riggs decided to do his own thing instead of staying in Rob Zombie's band. This is the follow-up to the band's debut "Blah...Blah...Blah..." and it definately does NOT disappoint. Diehard Rob Zombie fans will certainly love this CD, as Riggs' signature guitar sound we all know so well from Hellbilly Deluxe and Sinister urge are prominent, in your face, and loud as hell. Naturally there's a strong resemblance between Scum Of The Earth and Rob Zombie, as Riggs spent 7 years in his employ, but there's definitely a lot more here than meets the eye...



Some Highlights...



BOMBSHELL FROM HELL - it's the first single from the album, and the band made a music video for it as well, which is amazing.



I AM MONSTER - is my second favorite song on this CD and the catchy chorus just loops over and over in my head when i am not even thinking about music, it just won't go away, which is ok by me...



LOVE PIG - this song is interesting because of several reasons. For one, MySpace metal goddes Metal Sanaz is singing guest vocals. Second because it's just the tip of the iceberh here. Riggs always said in interviews that he wanted Rob Zombie to be much more shocking and explicit than it was, however Geffen and the powers that be always put the brakes on anything that overstepped the typical boundaries of political correctness. With his own band however (and being on an independent label as well), Riggs and Scum Of The Earth had absolute free reign to be as terrifying, explicit, and SLEAZY as they ever imagined.



JUST LIKE ME - this song is really different. It's an acoustic tune (mostly) but it's extremely spooky as the atmosphere therein is just amazing. Riggs melds these audio loops and effects around his vocals, the drums and acoustig cries of his skin-covered axe resulting in somethig that has never been - and in my opinion never will be done before or again...



Overall, if you're into Rob Zombie, than you'll be into Scum Of The Earth as well. Some RZ worshipping kiddies might say that Riggs is ripping off Rob Zombie, however it's my opinion (as well as that of many others) that he's just continuing doing what he's always done - making the heaviest, coolest, spooky rockin metal music out there, in his own unique style (which in my opinion has always been his, not Rob's). Haters and jealous trolls might challenge my opinion on this, but all they really need to do is listen to Rob Zombie's Educated Horses and it's pretty evident that Riggs has left the band... Don't get me wrong, I'm still a huge fan of Rob ZOmbie, but there's no "ripping off" going on here, it's simply a fact and benefit to all Rob Zombie fans that we not have two great bands instead of one!"

Riggs does Zombie better than Rob does

George Dionne | Cape Cod, MA | 01/23/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Former Rob Zombie guitarist Riggs returns with the follow-up to his 2004 debut Blah...Blah...Blah...This time around he's packing more ferocious riffs, more pounding drums, and more scum anthems than ever before. If the dark and powerful music doesn't grab you, then the gothic sexual imagery will. As much I enjoy Rob Zombie, I have to admit that Riggs does Zombie better than Rob does."

As Riggs would say to any Zombie comparisons: ####! You!

Craig J. Grunow | Bedlam and Squalor | 01/10/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is different from Zombie in several stark ways: first, on the album there are very thick and loud bass tracks, which often feature some slap work that far surpasses the sound and angst of most Zombie tracks. Actually, most of the instrumental work on these tracks surpasses the angst of Zombie's "Hellbilly and Sinister" days: i.e. louder down-tuned guitar riffs and industrial accents as accents to the guitar work. Zombie's music philosophy for those two albums mentioned was nearly the opposite of that formula.



Riggs has rigs, and he knows how to play them. The guitar tones are well cultured for a style that usually drops so much mids out of its EQ that you get an annoying mess. Not so here. What I most enjoy is the louder and more prominent guitar playing. Here dissonance tricks are incorporated into some twisted musical scale that is all Riggs. Good examples of this would be in "Just Like Me" or "Bombshell", though the whole record can manage to scrape against your eardrums in like fashion.



Song structure and lyrics also differ from Zombie, as Rob is much more conceptual with his horror fixation, and Riggs prefers just display debauchery. I personally love that facet of S.O.T.E., as rock bands who spend far too much time thinking up something to say are flooding the market.



People often forget what the purpose of this music is, especially in the advent of so many different genres of rock. In an age stuffed full of Bono, retro Dylan-ites, and heartfelt, sensitive, metal-heads...I'll pick the lead guitarist who loves writing songs about strippers and screams that he "Is the face of Murder now..." inbetween deathstomps and corpse grinding.



The band name fits the style. Don't like it? Then try an elitist's favorite obscure death metal act, or go buy U2's latest.



Good rock n roll has a middle finger in it somewhere. I like mine to be obvious. Which means I'll keep buying work from Riggs."