Named after the 1932 Bela Lugosi film, White Zombie's musical style was sample-heavy, based around groovy riffs and Rob Zombie's snarling vocals. The samples that filled their records were mostly from obscure horror films, but used creatively to create a kind of carnival freak-show vibe.
Rob Zombie, still known at this time as Rob Cummings, supported himself through multiple jobs, including working as a cycle courier. Most famously, he was a production assistant on Pee-Wee's Playhouse, but he also worked as a designer on pornographic magazines. At this time, he became involved with Shauna Reynolds, another up-and-coming designer. Together they shared a love of classic horror and sci-fi, heavy music, and the weirder corners of American underground culture. They decided to form a band that would draw upon all these influences and White Zombie was formed. Rob took vocals and the name Rob Straker (later changed to Rob Zombie), while Reynolds became the bassist and assumed the name of Sean Yseult. They became the only constants in the often-fluctuating band line-up.
White Zombie best showed their signature style on their final two studio albums. La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1 and Astro-Creep: 2000 Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head were impressive displays of their sample/riff style, thanks to higher production values.
In 1998, Rob Zombie founded his own label, Zombie-A-Go-Go, signing surf and horror acts like The Bomboras and The Ghastly Ones, as well as compiling the mix album Halloween Hootenany. He was managing the new band of his brother Michael, now known as Spider One, the punk-tinged Powerman 5000, but also looked to his own solo career.
After huge opening week sales of his first solo album, Hellbilly Deluxe that dwarfed those of any White Zombie release, it was announced that the band had split up. Bassist Sean Yseult left to form female horror-rockers Famous Monsters and, later, Rock City Morgue. Rob Zombie went on to continued success with his solo music project, and new acclaim as a successful film director.
Cosmic Monsters Inc.
White Zombie Lyrics
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Can it ride like the butterfly?
Star in the dust
Rocketman
Supersky
Sugar the hill
Explode and never die
I think I will
Come on take it! High
I gotta, O yeah! So high
I gotta, O yeah! Come on! So loosely illustrated
A trick of light I demonstrated right to you what you do!How high is up?
Can it reach at the butterfly?
Rise in the howl hit me cold
Supersky
Witness the kill explode! Never die
I think I will
Come on take it! High
I gotta, O yeah! So high
I gotta, O yeah! Come on! So loosely illustrated
A trick of light I demonstrated right to youWhat you do! Yeah!
Deaf to the ear
Fat city sang
Bloody Ma growls "Concentrate the bang"
Broadway do
The winter kills
Astro
Creepin' you until
Overcome the devil
Deluxe the game
One, sweep, spun "I got no name", a paper thin cut
On the edge of hell
Wrestle with heaven but I never fell
Sink to a level realize no direction
West of the moon
I got no reflection
Blood on the stone I do not surrender
Waitin' for someone I do not remember
Yeah! I gotta, O yeah! Come on! So high
I gotta, O yeah! Come on! So loosely illustrated
A trick of light I demonstrated right to you
What you do
Cosmic monsters waited
Turn around incorporated
Right to
The lyrics to White Zombie's song "Cosmic Monsters Inc." are a swirling, psychedelic journey through the cosmos. The song begins with the questioning of the size and nature of life, asking if it can be as carefree and majestic as a butterfly. The imagery of stars and rockets are used to convey a sense of wonder and exploration, while the phrase "supersky" suggests that there may be realms beyond our current understanding.
As the song progresses, it becomes clear that the singer is no passive observer of the cosmic spectacle, but an active participant. The lines "sugar the hill, explode and never die, I think I will" suggest a desire to transcend earthly limits and become one with the cosmic forces. The repeated chant of "Come on take it! High, I gotta, O yeah! So high, I gotta, O yeah! Come on!" urges the listener to join in this journey towards transcendence.
The latter half of the song becomes more abstract, incorporating references to "the devil," "heaven," and "blood on the stone." These allusions to spiritual and supernatural elements suggest that the journey through the cosmos is not just a physical one, but a metaphysical one as well. The repeated phrase "I got no name" suggests a loss of identity or ego, as the singer becomes subsumed by the vastness of the cosmic universe.
Line by Line Meaning
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: IVAN PETER DE PRUME, JAY NOEL YUENGER, ROB ZOMBIE, ROB WOLFGANG ZOMBIE, SHAUNA YSEULT REYNOLDS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind