Why is White Zombie’s La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume 1 on my best 1,000 albums ever list?
An undeniable hurricane of thrashy, trashy, dirty, funky metal that gets under your skin like very few albums can.
What does White Zombie’s La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume 1 mean to me? What does it make me feel? Why is it exciting or compelling?
I’m personally – and especially at this time in my life – not all that interested in White Zombie’s homages to horror exploitation movies or provocations against a perceived stuck up popular culture circa the latter days of the George H.W. Bush administration, though those things may be entertaining or attractive for some.
For me, the excitement of La Sexorcisto is turning up “Thunder Kiss ‘65” or “Soul-Crusher” and feeling an undeniable hurricane of thrashy, trashy, dirty, funky metal that gets under my skin like very few albums can. And on repeat listens, what gets really interesting is the versatility White Zombie puts on display, pulling in the best of slow gloom metal from the likes of Black Sabbath with speed metal that bands suchs as Metallica or Pantera would surely admire.
But the beauty is that this album is really in a weirdo metal category all its own, and that absolutely deserves celebration.
“Thunder Kiss ‘65” is an all time metal classic, and I appreciate how the music video is equal parts funny, exciting, and effective at driving its “ode to Russ Meyer‘s 1965 busty B-movies Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and Mudhoney.”
“Soul-Crusher” meanwhile is virtuoso speed metal, Rob Zombie’s howling vocals matching up perfectly.
“Black Sunshine” is a really fun (by White Zombie standards!) speed metal blaster, with outstanding metal riffs interspersed with chugging, sludgy chords. Iggy Pop is also credited on this one.
This album also sounds like
To recap some of the album’s influences: Black Sabbath, Metallica, Pantera, and Mudhoney. Might also throw Primus, Corrosion of Conformity, and Faith No More in there for good measure.
Pop culture stuff that’s somehow related to White Zombie’s La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume 1
Some purists might think me bonkers (and maybe they’d be right!) but I hear a little “Soul-Crusher” influence on one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite all-time local bands. That’d be Brother Meat’s “House,” a band (from Ithaca, New York) and a song that you’ll be reading more about, my friends.
Some stats & info about White Zombie – La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume 1
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Metal, Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal, Industrial Metal, Hard Rock, Funky Metal, Thrash Metal, Speed Metal, Rock Music
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4.5 out of 5 stars
- When was La Sexorcisto released? 1992
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #916 out of 1,000
White Zombie’s La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume 1 on Spotify
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective take on what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.