ROB ZOMBIE's New Album Is 'A Monster'

John 5 spoke to WRIF's Meltdown about ROB ZOMBIE's forthcoming studio album, which will arrive later this year via the iconic rocker's new record label, Nuclear Blast Records.

"It's completely finished, all ready to go," he said (hear audio below). "I don't see the artwork, 'cause [Rob] does all the artwork, but the music is mixed, mastered — everything. It's all ready to go. And it is a monster.

"I was just talking to Rob's manager yesterday, and we were really, really excited for it," the guitarist continued. "And we're really excited to play new songs. That's the other thing. It's so fun to get out there and play new songs. It's fun for the band and it's fun for the crowd too."

Asked how long the ROB ZOMBIE band has been working on the new record, John 5 said: "We work on it every little once in a while and we tweak on it. But everything is scheduling. Rob's working on a new movie right now. So everything is scheduling, and he is the master of that stuff. 'Cause he gets everything done. He's not one of those people that says, 'I'm gonna do this,' but you never see it happen. If he says he's gonna do something, it will always come out. And I've learned that from him big time, that's for sure."

John 5 also talked about how the upcoming ROB ZOMBIE album compares to the shock-rocker's previous efforts. "Let's see how I can explain it," the guitarist said. "So, how we used to make records — and maybe I'm just letting the cat out of the bag — but how we used to make records [was] we would come up with music, me and Rob would just come up with this music, and then he would write lyrics to it, and melodies. And that's traditionally how most do it, I would say. So what happened this time is there was very, very, very basic music written and he would write his lyrics and melodies first. So then I came in and then wrote all the stuff. He was absolutely 100 percent perfect and happy with his vocal and melody, and they were phenomenal. Because there wasn't any other music getting in the way, so he could really do exactly what he wanted. And then when I came in and I put all the music around it, it was, like, 'Woah! It took us 15 years to figure this out.' And it is so great. And it's heavy, and it's hooky, and it's exciting."

John 5 went on to say that he hopes other people like the new ROB ZOMBIE record as much as he does. "Because coming from me, I'm a Zombie fan, I'm a WHITE ZOMBIE fan, and I listen to things like that as well, and I've heard it a bunch, and I'm, like, 'Man, this is, like, really something special,'" he said. "If WHITE ZOMBIE came out with this record, I'd be, like, 'This is incredible. This is rad.' It's heavy. It's hooky. It's all the things that we want a ROB ZOMBIE record to be. He really hit it out of the park this time."

Last year, John 5 compared ROB ZOMBIE's upcoming album to THE BEATLES' groundbreaking LP "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", saying that it is "by far the best Zombie record that he's ever done." He added: "A lot of people say, 'Oh, it's just our greatest record,' and I don't say that. Whatever I say is so honest when I'm doing interviews. So I think it's our best record."

2016's "The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser" was the second consecutive effort to feature Zombie and John 5 alongside bassist Piggy D. and drummer Ginger Fish.

Zombie told Loudwire about his upcoming album: "I think it's the best record we've made. Parts of it are the heaviest, parts are the weirdest, it's the most complex record we've ever made, but at the same time, it's always very catchy and listenable, but it's the most intricately structured record."

He added: "There are those songs that go in a direction we've never even gone near before. Personally, I like records that are very varied in sound. Not just like, 'Oh, here's 12 super heavy tracks,’ and they're all the same tempo. I like records that are all over the place. That's why I think my favorite BEATLES record was always The White Album."