SCUM OF THE EARTH – Sleaze Freak

Rob Zombie fans will probably be familiar with Riggs, who played guitar on a couple of Zombie’s albums before leaving to form Scum Of The Earth; the band’s debut album was released in 2004. Late 2007 saw the release of the sophomore disc, Sleaze Freak. In addition to the 13-track album, the Sleaze Freak package also includes a bonus DVD.

If you’ve heard a Rob Zombie album, then you’ve heard a Scum Of The Earth album too. While there are differences between Zombie and Scum Of The Earth, you might have some Zombie-fied flashbacks while listening to Sleaze Freak. The guitars are chugging and loud; the bottom end is heavy and grinding; there are smatterings of electronic noises and keyboards; the vocals are distorted and scratchy; the subject matter is cartoonishly sleazy in a fake “evil” kind of way that can’t really be taken seriously (although that’s probably the point); and there are sampled voices here and there. Even the album artwork smacks heavily of stuff you’ve seen on Zombie’s discs, with colorful caricatured drawings of naughty, devilish bimbos adorning the cover and inner pages of the CD booklet. Riggs doesn’t seem to share Zombie’s affection for cheesy horror films, but other than that, there’s not much difference between this album and most of Mr. Zombie’s audio oeuvre.

The obvious similarities don’t automatically mean that Sleaze Freak is a bad album; if you know ahead of time that what you’re getting basically sounds like a Rob Zombie disc and you don’t have any problems with that, then you’ll probably enjoy this one.

While Scum Of The Earth sounds a lot like Zombie, they’re probably not quite as heavy as he is; the songs are a little less powerful than what you might expect or hope. The tunes are certainly heavy and hard-hitting enough, while still retaining some catchiness and a sense of fun, making this album fairly enjoyable to listen to, although some of the songs suffer from a bit of potty-mouth, with gratuitous cursing dragging them down a bit.

Of the 13 songs on Sleaze Freak, lead-off single “Bombshell From Hell” is probably the best: it’s fast, fun, and catchy. The title track manages to impress, as does the stomping “I Am Monster,” which chugs along at a quick clip. Most of the songs are decent, but a few of them have trouble sticking out from the crowd, and “Scum-O-Rama,” which clocks in at a little over a minute, barely registers. If you stick around to the end, you’re treated to a hidden song entitled “Just Like Me.” This tune is different from the others: it’s a bit more serious and eschews the digital trickery while still managing to be heavy. After “Bombshell From Hell,” it’s probably the second-best song on the album.

The DVD included with Sleaze Freak is nothing special, although it’s worth watching once. It’s made up of footage of the band recording the album interspersed with fun stuff like a nudity-free trip to a strip club and a tattoo parlor. There’s also a gallery of album artwork, a “missing scene,” and a live rendition of one of the album’s songs. It’s presented well, but is mostly disposable. Still, it’s nice to have.

Sleaze Freak is a decent offering from Scum Of The Earth, and will satisfy fans of the band and those who are into Rob Zombie-styled Cartoon Metal.