This morning SpookyDan had the chance to talk with shock-rocker Rob Zombie about his new track, “War Zone”, which is now available on iTunes and Lionsgate’s soundtrack for PUNISHER: WAR ZONE. During the interview, Zombie also talked a bit about the new White Zombie box set, his forthcoming solo album and the status of his animated feature project, THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO. You can read all the juicy details beyond the break.
This morning I hoped on a call with Rob Zombie who talked a bit about everything from his next solo album to what’s happening with his various movie projects.

You may have read last week here on Bloody-Disgusting that Zombie has released a brand new song on iTunes entitled “War Zone,” which was recorded exclusively for Lionsgate’s forthcoming PUNISHER sequel.

“It came about like most movie songs do, you get a call asking to do a song for a film. Usually there is not a lot of time, which is why you usually submit a remix or an old song,” Zombie explains. “But in this case I was already in the recording studio, and there was enough time. I haven’t seen the movie yet, they gave me the script, so I knew the vibe of the movie and I tried to incorporate that into the song. I was happy to have that come up because what it really did was give us a nice kick in the ass, to HAVE TO finish a song. We had been recording for a while, but we really had not finished any songs yet. That really became the domino effect to finish all of the songs.”

He also reveals that the “War Zone” track might become available on Rock Band or Guitar Hero.

“Nothing that I know of is planned right now for the studio stuff. I think that the “War Zone” song is attached to one of those games. Probably in the future we will do that, but there are no plans for it yet.”

“War Zone” is his first studio release in quite a while. The last chunk of his time has been spent recording a new solo album and prepping for the release of the Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, an epic White Zombie box set arriving at retailers next Tuesday. Zombie explains that the box set is a farewell to a loved moment in time.

“ I didn’t want anyone to think that it was the beginning of something, but rather the end of something. Putting the box set together really made me appreciate what I am doing now even more. It was time to get the box set when I found a window of time available, I just figured if not now, when?,” adding, “CDs probably wont even exist for much longer. What good is a box set without the box? We were always a band that was slightly out of time and out of step, so it has aged pretty well. I think we did a lot of good stuff in the beginning, very groundbreaking, but you know it just became this painful situation most of the time as it went on. I haven’t spoken to any of the White Zombie band members since our last show.”

Zombie continues talking a bit about the negative energy surrounding their demise and how he thinks he has found the perfect trio of musicians to work with.

“In revisiting the White Zombie stuff, [it] brought back a lot of things that I had forgotten about, unfortunately some of it negative. So it really make you appreciate what a great group of musicians and guys you are playing with now while I record my new record. It took 20 something years but I feel like I have found the perfect three people to work with; John 5, Piggy D and Tommy C.”

The good news is that a new album is coming in 2009 and that they’re close to finishing recording.

“We will probably be finished with the new CD by the end of the year. The unique thing about this record is that this is the first time since White Zombie that I actually recorded with the band. In the sense that these are the guys I tour with and that I hang out with were a band and we recorded as a band. It’s got a much more solid vibe, more intricate and interesting record just due to the fact that there are always four people in the room at all times, contributing and working. For me it’s great, because my solo records have always been a bit disjointed due to the changing roster of musicians. Great things come out of situations where you feel a great vibe, and that is what’s going on here. This is the first full thing with us together…”

When asked if any of the music will be used in his upcoming films Zombie shot it down immediately.

“No, definitely not. I made a choice a while back never to use any of my music in my movies – with the exception of House of 1000 Corpses, and that was out of financial desperation to get the movie done. I took an advance on the soundtrack, and put the money back into the film to finish it. After that, I always told myself that I would keep the movie and music separate.”

Good news for fans awaiting Rob Zombie’s animated film, THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO (pictured below)… it’s finally done!

“El Superbeasto is finished and done! Finally, we just finished last week with sound and all that stuff. So no, we are just figuring out when the best time to release it will be. But as far as working on it… it’s done! After three and half years, it’s a nice feeling.”

Unfortunately, Zombie is still keeping tight-lipped on his project for Dimension Films, TYRANNOSAURUS REX.

“I can’t really tell you anything about it. There’s nothing really to talk about yet, because I haven’t really started it yet. The problem is that it was announced way ahead of time, so we talked about it a little bit, but its not even started yet.”

Lately we’ve been hearing that Dimension Films has been asking Zombie to produce the sequel to his remake of HALLOWEEN. He talks a bit about how he really wants to be involved and not just receive a paycheck.

“I don’t know what there plans are for the future. If I am going to produce someone else’s movie I would want to know what it was about. I always get offers to make Rob Zombie presents or Produced things, where you shadow produce something but don’t actually work on it, you just pick up a check. I feel weird putting my name on something that I am not responsible for. You cannot 100% stand behind something. At this point, there are no plans to do that.”

Well you heard it from the man himself. But if the past dictates the future Rob Zombie has always been full of surprises. Who knows what could happen!