No one has embraced Halloween and horror’s cliches like this man, yet turned them into something so idiosyncratic and identifiable.

Rob Zombie gives few interviews because they feel like work to him – the lazy bastard would rather fritter his time away making sure every miniscule detail in his music and movies meets the specifications of his beloved, B-movie horror favorites. As a sign of which format he’s come to prefer since “Beavis & Butthead” handed him a lifeline, he cleaned up his image for 2006’s Educated Horses, and then indulged the malodorous Tinseltown custom of crafting an inferior sequel to an outstanding original.

Click the October issue’s cover to read the full feature, or follow the tabs to Monthly –> Features for the previous entries.

What are you supposed to expect from Rob Zombie’s forthcoming Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls And The Systematic Dehumanization Of Cool (Roadrunner/Loud & Proud)? The whole world only has access to two of the 11 tracks, so you’ll just have to join him at the Aragon to find out.

A companion piece to 1998’s original and his fourth solo disc overall (despite numerous best-ofs and a live album), Hellbilly 2 represents a return to regular ol’ rock music following time making both music for movies and movies (his Halloweenremake and its new sequel) themselves. This pre-support tour is also the first major roll-out of the Rob Zombie band, which recorded with him as opposed to the rotating cameos and studio hands who abetted his earlier projects. As for the music, “Sick Bubble-Gum,” which has been shared with fans, steps away from his more electronic, Ministry-styled arrangements with fleet fretwork and a stomping, blues-rock beat. “What?” the single, references old Zombie friends like Jack The Ripper and vampires over a muscular guitar lick reminiscent, oddly, of Weiland projects like Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver. Two madly different tracks — and still nine more to go.

– Steve Forstneger