Rob Zombie is honestly an artist that I would've normally ever bought.  I found the CD EDUCATED HORSES for a steal at a pawn shop and knowing that it was Zombie's most recent CD that had a handsome enough debut (#5 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart), I thought I would pick it up and listen.  Boy I am glad that I did!  The album isn't say particularly innovative in anyway, but it is a solid album.  This album has several attributes that make it one of 2006's better albums among a mixed bag of releases that have graced the music industry this year.

One of the largest attributes is the heaviness of the guitar. While at times they may be the slightest bit overproduced, the overall timbre is nothing but desirable. The guitars sound sick here and very representative of metal. Another attribute is Zombie's vocals.  Zombie has a nice voice with a very interesting timbre to it that makes even less inspired material rock hard.  The instrumentation of EDUCATED HORSES is another plus;  besides whining guitars are gritty vocals, there is piano throughout a number of the tracks, making even the hardest rocking metal track have a plaintive side to it.

Overall, there are no terrible tracks on this album in the least- for the most part they are at least average, if not better than average. Tracks that stood out in my mind included "American Witch", "Foxy, Foxy", "17 Year Locust", "The Scorpion Sleeps", "Death Of It All", and "The Devil's Rejects".  Perhaps the biggest blessing or detraction however you view it is the 38 minute length.  For the price of a new copy, 38 minutes may seem robbery, but where the "tightness" of the album is concerned, 38 minutes is a blessing because there truly is no filler material, just a few tracks that don't stack up against the hits which is certainly a better formula than "filler" tracks.

Overall, It is ashamed that despite a nice debut on the Billboard 200 that this album isn't selling better than it is.  It is worth a listen.  Certainly it isn't say 2006's album of the year because there are better albums, but it is certainly one of the year's better albums if nothing else. 4 stars.
Rob Zombie is honestly an artist that I would've normally ever bought. I found the CD EDUCATED HORSES for a steal at a pawn shop and knowing that it was Zombie's most recent CD that had a handsome enough debut (#5 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart), I thought I would pick it up and listen. Boy I am glad that I did! The album isn't say particularly innovative in anyway, but it is a solid album. This album has several attributes that make it one of 2006's better albums among a mixed bag of releases that have graced the music industry this year. One of the largest attributes is the heaviness of the guitar. While at times they may be the slightest bit overproduced, the overall timbre is nothing but desirable. The guitars sound sick here and very representative of metal. Another attribute is Zombie's vocals. Zombie has a nice voice with a very interesting timbre to it that makes even less inspired material rock hard. The instrumentation of EDUCATED HORSES is another plus;  besides whining guitars are gritty vocals, there is piano throughout a number of the tracks, making even the hardest rocking metal track have a plaintive side to it. Overall, there are no terrible tracks on this album in the least- for the most part they are at least average, if not better than average. Tracks that stood out in my mind included "American Witch", "Foxy, Foxy", "17 Year Locust", "The Scorpion Sleeps", "Death Of It All", and "The Devil's Rejects". Perhaps the biggest blessing or detraction however you view it is the 38 minute length. For the price of a new copy, 38 minutes may seem robbery, but where the "tightness" of the album is concerned, 38 minutes is a blessing because there truly is no filler material, just a few tracks that don't stack up against the hits which is certainly a better formula than "filler" tracks. Overall, It is ashamed that despite a nice debut on the Billboard 200 that this album isn't selling better than it is. It is worth a listen. Certainly it isn't say 2006's album of the year because there are better albums, but it is certainly one of the year's better albums if nothing else. 4 stars.