Music
RETRO REVIEW: ROB ZOMBIE’S ‘Hellbilly Deluxe’
So, about 10 years ago, I went into the local used CD/record store to check their metal selection. I was really big into Metallica and Pink Floyd at the time but I wanted something that was a bit more fast-paced, crunchier, and a bit crazier. As per usual, the counter of the store was stacked about 3 feet high with CDs and LPs they had just bought. And in a weird, almost fate-like circumstance, all of the CDs had their bottom spine showing (the one that has the plastic ridges and no information) showing except for one: Hellbilly Deluxe.
I had already heard “Dragula” many times on the radio and seen the video a few times while at friend’s houses. I had enjoyed it, but not enough to go out and buy a brand new copy. Now, here was my opportunity to get it for basically half the price of a new CD. I decided to give it a shot. This album seemed like it could fit my criteria. Plus, the cover artwork was sweet.
After a creepy spoken word intro, the album gets underway with “Superbeast”. Anyone who has heard this song can attest to how driving and heavy it is. This track is ripe with effects, synths, programmed beats and thick guitars. It’s awesome and still as driving as the first time I heard it.
But how does the album fare now? Well, to be honest, when the album came out it already had a “dated” feel. No offense there. I mean, isn’t that what the album was going for? Putting aside the futuristic sounds and crisp production, everything about the album screamed out vintage horror. I imagined creepy black and white laboratories where glass vials and tubes bubbled with menacing liquids. I pictured a dark night where clouds slowly moved past a full moon. I envisioned foggy forests where tree branches looked like skeleton arms. With that kind of atmosphere, the album already felt like a fine wine: aged and more enjoyable for it.
Is the album perfect? No, of course not. Some of the tracks feel a wee bit like filler and at a clock time of less than 40 minutes, there isn’t enough time to really sink your teeth into the mood. Just like the classic Hammer House of Horror TV episodes, with a little more time to work with, Hellbilly Deluxe could’ve been a classic.
The Lost Boys: A New Musical officially kicked off on Broadway last month, and Deadline now reports that the show’s Broadway run has been extended into next year.
The show was originally set to run through November, but Deadline reports that The Lost Boys: A New Musical “has released a block of tickets through Sunday, March 7, 2027.”
The news comes in the wake of The Lost Boys: A New Musical becoming the most Tony-nominated musical of the season with twelve nominations including Best Musical.
Additionally, “The Lost Boys will launch a North American National Tour in Spring 2028, at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. Additional cities and tour dates will be announced later.”
The Lost Boys: A New Musical is of course an adaptation of the 1987 horror classic from director Joel Schumacher, with the cast including Ali Louis Bourzgui as lead vampire David (originally played by Kiefer Sutherland), Maria Wirries as Star (originally played by Jami Gertz), and LJ Benet as the soon-to-be-turned Michael (originally played by Jason Patric).
The horror musical’s cast also includes Shoshana Bean as Lucy Emerson, Benjamin Pajak as Sam Emerson, Paul Alexander Nolan as Max, Jennifer Duka as Alan Frog, Miguel Gil as Edgar Frog, Brian Flores as Marko, Sean Grandillo as Dwayne, and Dean Maupin as Paul.
The Lost Boys: A New Musical is Directed by Michael Arden, featuring Music and Lyrics by The Rescues, Book by David Hornsby & Chris Hoch, Story by James Jeremias & Janice Fischer, and Produced by James Carpinello, Marcus Chait & Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring) by special arrangement with Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures.
When a mother and her two teenage sons move to Santa Carla in desperate need of a fresh start, they soon uncover the darker side of this sunny coastal community. While Lucy tries to piece her family’s life back together, Michael keeps pulling away in search of belonging.
As he finds connection with a local rock band and its charismatic leader, his younger brother Sam comes face-to-face with a terrifying reality: When night falls, Michael’s new friends are even more dangerous than they first appeared.
Joel Schumacher directed the original The Lost Boys vampire movie in 1987, wherein two brothers move to a new town and discover that the area is a haven for vampires.
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