White Zombie: Rob Zombie (vocals); J. (guitar); Sean Yseult (bass); Ivan Deprume (drums). Recorded at 321 Studios, New York, New York in May 1991. White Zombie's performance of "Thunder Kiss '65" was nominated for a 1994 Grammy Award as "Best Metal Performance With Vocal." Combining schlock-horror theatrics with Sabbath-inspired metal, White Zombie were one of the most colorful and entertaining heavy-rock acts to rise to popularity in the 1990s. Though the band had been performing since the mid-'80s with a variety of lineups (with singer and group impresario Rob Zombie the constant), things began to click with LA SEXORCISTO, the group's major-label debut. Buoyed by grinding hard-rock grooves (some of the record is almost danceable) and inspired equally by Russ Meyer movies, Halloween, and Alice Cooper, LA SEXORCISTO is a journey through the roiling, raunchy underbelly of metal. The ghoulish album illustrations and song titles like "Spiderbaby (Yeah-Yeah-Yeah)" and "Cosmic Monsters Inc." prove White Zombie's aesthetic is as steeped in fangs and fake blood as in punishing metal thunder. Over chunky power chords, Rob Zombie growls and snarls stream-of-consciousness lyrics full of psychotic fantasies, sleazy double entendres, and stylistic references to beat poetry and B-movies. "Thunder Kiss '65," with its hypnotic verses, was a hit from the album, thanks in part to a video that made its way into rotation on MTV. White Zombie is all the more appealing for its self-conscious, tongue-in-cheek playfulness, making LA SEXORCISTO a whole lot of fun.

• Genre: Pop
• Format: Vinyl
• Released: 05/08/12