It happens not so often that I struggle when writing a review like happened when drawing up this one. After listening several times I had to confess that my expectations to this album were plain too high. Hellbilly Deluxe is Platinum refined – and this completely with justification when thinking about tracks like Superbeast, Living Dead Girl or Dragula. And there it snags exactly: Hellbilly Deluxe 2 – Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls And The Systematic Dehumanization Of Cool doesn’t carry this hit-potential. Track titles like Jesus Frankenstein, Werewolf Women Of The SS (taken from the Tarantino/Rodriguez Fake-Trailer in Grindhouse) or Werewolf Baby transport the well-known ZOMBIE shocking spirit, at first. Hellbilly Deluxe 2 is staged in a broad variety musically: stomping beats, appealing rockers, Horror background or a Stoner spirit in Cease To Exist don’t hide the fact, that good basic approaches can be heard, the steam in the boiler is cooling down though. If this record picks up pace it knows to please, the track The Man Who Laughs which is five minutes too long demonstrates the opposite.
The impression remains that ROB ZOMBIE chose this album title just to pocket the fame of past heydays after the one or other marbled movie-critic. Another title than Hellbilly Deluxe 2 would have pleased me much more. As so often: most sequels run after the success of the first part merciless. Hellbilly Deluxe 2 runs after on a higher level.