Maps of Music

The Sinister Urge (2001)

Where the lyrics of The Sinister Urge take you, and where it was really made.

Named after an obscure 1960 Ed Wood film, this album was first a commercial hit and only later became a fan favorite, voted so in 2012.

Key places

Recording site in Hollywood (2001)

Recording site The Music Grinder (Hollywood) — The album was recorded at The Chop Shop in Hollywood, California. The point uses the city centre, so the exact building position is not shown. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Sinister Urge: second solo studio album by American musician Rob Zombie
• Released 13 November 2001 by Geffen Records
• Follow-up to the highly successful debut Hellbilly Deluxe, released in 1998
• Title named after the 1960 crime drama film The Sinister Urge, directed and written by Ed Wood
• Like the previous album, horror film and suspense elements appear in both lyrics and music
• Change of sound on several songs: Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy) has a more dance-influenced beat

Background

• Released more than three years after the first album
• Zombie worked with numerous writers and producers from Hellbilly Deluxe again
• Scott Humphrey returned to produce the album
• Former White Zombie member John Tempesta returned to play drums
• Zombie said he had no set theme and tried to avoid preconceived ideas
• Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath singer, appears on Iron Head, the fifth track
• Kerry King of thrash metal band Slayer provides a guitar solo on Dead Girl Superstar

Recording

• Recorded at The Chop Shop in Hollywood, California
• Engineer Frank Gryner, assisted by Dan Burns
• Mixed by Frank Gryner and Scott Humphrey
• Hellbilly Deluxe used a lot of electronics; this album features a live band, with more emphasis on the instrumentals

Cover

• Zombie appears with a green tint on a light blue background
• The explicit version has a skull and crossbones that the clean edition does not have

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Robert Bartleh Cummings, born January 12, 1965 in Haverhill, Massachusetts, performs as Rob Zombie.
• He co-founded the heavy metal band White Zombie with Sean Yseult, and was its frontman.
• He took the stage name from the 1932 horror film White Zombie, which also gave the band its name.
• White Zombie released four studio albums and one remix album before breaking up in September 1998.

Career

• His solo debut, Hellbilly Deluxe (1998), sold over 3 million copies in the United States and spawned three singles.
• His second album, The Sinister Urge (2001), became his second platinum album in the U.S.
• He directed the horror film House of 1000 Corpses (released 2003), The Devil's Rejects (2005), and a remake of Halloween (2007), his highest-grossing film.
• Halloween II (2009), The Lords of Salem (2012), 31 (2016), and The Munsters (2022) followed.
• He released a total of eight studio albums, the most recent being The Great Satan (2026).

Members

• Current members include Mike Riggs (guitars), Blasko (bass), and Ryan Goff (drums).
• Guitarist John 5 left in 2022 after a 17-year tenure to join Mötley Crüe.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Critics gave mixed to positive reviews
• Debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200
• Sold just below 150,000 copies in its first week
• Only one commercial single, Demon Speeding, released June 2002

Reappraisal

• Has become a fan favorite over time
• Voted the fan-favorite album in 2012, with Hellbilly Deluxe in second place

Records

• Second consecutive studio album to enter the Billboard 200 top 10
• Platinum certification from the RIAA for shipments exceeding one million copies
• Sold nearly two million copies worldwide to date
• Second RIAA-certified album by Zombie
• One of three Rob Zombie albums to reach Platinum, with Hellbilly Deluxe and the 2003 compilation Past, Present & Future
• Demon Speeding hit the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, Zombie's third Top 20 hit on that chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title comes from Ed Wood's 1960 crime drama The Sinister Urge
• Demon Speeding was the only commercial single, released June 2002
• Scum of the Earth was featured on the Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack
• The track 11b is a hidden track starting at 6:26 and is not on the CD track list
• The video for Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy) is inspired by A Clockwork Orange
• Several songs from the album were released as promotional singles before and after release

Sources: www.discogs.com · en.wikipedia.org

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