ROB ZOMBIE To Begin Work On New Studio Album In June

Rob Zombie and his bandmates — John 5 (guitar),Piggy D (bass) and Ginger Fish (drums) — will enter the studio in June to begin work on an as-yet-untitled new album for a late 2012 release.

Commented Zombie: "As production on [Zombie's upcoming film] 'The Lords Of Salem' ends, it is time for music. We will be packing up the band and moving to remote location to record. No distractions, just music."

In a May 2011 interview with ARTISTdirect, Zombie stated about his plans for the band's next album, "We're very excited to get back to it. I feel like it's been a journey back. It's like the long way around. 'Educated Horses' was sort of this weird reformation of the band. 'Hellbilly Deluxe 2' was edging back to the old days. Now, with the new band, we really want to take it back to the beginning in a weird way — just a dark, crazy Zombie record. It's almost exactly like what I think people would want us to do."

ROB ZOMBIE and MEGADETH will embark on a co-headlining tour this spring. The trek, which marks the first time the two bands have toured together, kicks off Friday, May 11 in Holmdel, New Jersey and encompasses high-profile appearances at several rock festivals, including M3 Rock Festival, Rock On The Range and wraps Saturday, May 26 at Rocklahoma. ROB ZOMBIE will headline Rocklahoma, co-headline Rock On The Range (with INCUBUS),and will close all shows on the MEGADETH dates.

This will be ROB ZOMBIE's first concert tour since last summer's "Hell On Earth" co-headline trek with SLAYER. Zombie spent last fall and winter shooting his sixth feature film, "The Lords of Salem" which he wrote and directed and is making with the producers of the "Paranormal Activity" franchise. With principal photography completed, the film is currently in post-production.

Never one to play it safe, Zombie — with guitarist John 5, bassist Piggy D and Ginger Fish on drums — will bring his legendary stage show out in full force on these dates. Audiences will get what they expect from a ROB ZOMBIE show — an amped-up, non-stop barrage of sin, sex and Satan guaranteed to rip your face off, a true rock and roll spectacle at its finest.

Rob Zombie's fourth solo album, "Hellbilly Deluxe 2", debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard album chart on February 10, 2010, selling 49,000 copies in its first week of release. That total was less than 50 percent of the number of copies that his previous effort, "Educated Horses", sold in its first week back in April 2006, when it moved 107,000 copies to land at No. 5 on the chart.

Zombie was originally supposed to issue the album in November 2009 through his longtime label, Geffen Records, but delayed its arrival to February 2, 2010 after abruptly leaving to sign with the Roadrunner label. He admitted to The Pulse of Radio that he was a little unsure at first whether that was the right thing to do. "Well, I mean, it was weird because at first you think like, well, you know, you're on Geffen, do you want to make the switch, should you just change next time on the next record, you know, just ride out what you started," he said. "I struggled with it but I thought, you know, my gut is telling me this is the thing to do because I have a feeling if I put it out in November, the label's not gonna support it, and by December the record will be dead. And I just said, you know, screw it. Whatever the repercussions, let's just do it."

The CD/DVD edition of "Hellbilly Deluxe 2" arrived in stores on September 28, 2010 via Roadrunner Records. The expanded version of the album features three brand new tracks recorded with the band's current touring lineup, including SLIPKNOT drummer/MURDERDOLLS guitarist Joey Jordison, along with a reworked version of the song "The Man Who Laughs". A bonus DVD featuring live footage and a 30-minute touring documentary, dubbed "Transylvanian Transmissions", is also included.