This week on Rewind & React, Adam and Rob head into spooky season with Rob Zombie’s “Dragula,” the first single from his debut solo album Hellbilly Deluxe.
We break down the video’s rapid-fire mix of old horror-film footage, bizarre characters, deliberately cheap effects, psychedelic colors and the coffin-inspired hot rod at the center of it all. It may look sinister, but underneath the makeup and monsters is something much more playful, campy and wonderfully ridiculous.
Along the way, we get into:
- Why “Dragula” takes its name from an episode of The Munsters
- The vintage horror footage and imagery scattered throughout the video
- The Christopher Lee sample hiding at the beginning of the song
- Zombie’s memorable makeup, costumes and larger-than-life visual style
- Why his concerts may be even more theatrical than his music videos
- How “Dragula” was added late in the making of Hellbilly Deluxe and built around a tiny distorted guitar fragment
- Why the frantic editing works so well with the song’s pounding industrial-metal sound
Then it’s time for trivia as Adam puts Rob through Rob Zombie or Marilyn Manson? From Sweet Dreams and House of 1000 Corpses to Powerman 5000, David Lynch, Alice Cooper and Grammy nominations, Rob tries to determine which shock-rock icon did what.
It’s campy, chaotic, loud and unmistakably Rob Zombie.
Listen to Rewind & React wherever you get your podcasts, and send us the music video you think we should rewind next at RewindAndReact.com.
