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Sinister Urge: The Life and Times of Rob Zombie
Sinister Urge is the first in-depth, career-spanning biography of heavy-metal musician and filmmaker Rob Zombie. Born Robert Cummings in 1965, Zombie is now as well known for his movies as he is for his music, which he has released and performed both as a solo artist and as part of his early band White Zombie. In both fields, he imbues his art with the vivid sense of macabre theater that has thrilled his millions of disciples since he and his band first emerged with Soul-Crusher in 1987.
Although he has sold millions of albums and generated many more millions of dollars at the box office, Zombie has never taken the easy option or the predictable route. Indeed, while the music industry – and many of his peers – have fallen to their knees in the last decade or so, Zombie has found a new edge, his work undiluted by success or middle age.
Drawing on original research and new interviews with bandmates and associates, Sinister Urge takes a detailed look at Zombie's challenging oeuvre, offering close analysis of his albums and films alongside tales of his life and work on and offstage.
Although he has sold millions of albums and generated many more millions of dollars at the box office, Zombie has never taken the easy option or the predictable route. Indeed, while the music industry – and many of his peers – have fallen to their knees in the last decade or so, Zombie has found a new edge, his work undiluted by success or middle age.
Drawing on original research and new interviews with bandmates and associates, Sinister Urge takes a detailed look at Zombie's challenging oeuvre, offering close analysis of his albums and films alongside tales of his life and work on and offstage.
275 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 25, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 1, 2015
If you're looking forward to reading this book because you think it will give you some personal stories and more information about Rob Zombie himself, like I did, then you may want to think again. I was very disappointed when I realized that's not what this book was about. Even though the author tells us from the beginning that Sinister Urge is a look at Rob Zombie's career, I was still hoping for it to be a little more intimate. The information is based on things any fan of Zombie's will already know. So, I guess if you don't know much about his career, this book would be a good place to start.
The author did an excellent job of gathering up all this information, however, and of course he cites it all at the end. He also gives us a brief history of Nu-metal and he breaks down every CD and critiques every song. I think my favorite part of the book was the section on House of 1000 Corpses and Devil's Rejects. The author and I had very differing opinions when it came to Zombie's Halloween remakes. I liked the first one, but despised his Halloween II.
This book will tell you everything you need to know about Rob Zombie's career, including his time in White Zombie and the other bands he has toured with or worked with in any way. It is very instructive as far as that goes. I need to mention one thing that really got on my nerves, though, was the author didn't have much hope in the reader completing the book. I know I read the phrase "if you made it this far..." (or something along those lines) at least three times.
Still, it wasn't a complete waste of time, it was like reminiscing for me. I became a fan of Rob Zombie in my later teen years, and it was nice to go back and relive that time in my life.
ARC provided through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
The author did an excellent job of gathering up all this information, however, and of course he cites it all at the end. He also gives us a brief history of Nu-metal and he breaks down every CD and critiques every song. I think my favorite part of the book was the section on House of 1000 Corpses and Devil's Rejects. The author and I had very differing opinions when it came to Zombie's Halloween remakes. I liked the first one, but despised his Halloween II.
This book will tell you everything you need to know about Rob Zombie's career, including his time in White Zombie and the other bands he has toured with or worked with in any way. It is very instructive as far as that goes. I need to mention one thing that really got on my nerves, though, was the author didn't have much hope in the reader completing the book. I know I read the phrase "if you made it this far..." (or something along those lines) at least three times.
Still, it wasn't a complete waste of time, it was like reminiscing for me. I became a fan of Rob Zombie in my later teen years, and it was nice to go back and relive that time in my life.
ARC provided through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
March 22, 2017
Interesting read... I feel this book should be a documentary instead, though!
October 17, 2019
Rakastan sekä Rob Zombien musiikkia että elokuvia. Lisäksi mies on vegaani, joten luonnollisesti olen suuri fani. Oli hauskaa lukea Zombien elämästä, mutta jäi aika pinnallinen fiilis kirjasta. Suurin osa Zombien kommenteista oli sitaatteja muiden medioiden haastatteluista ja iso osa kirjasta kuluu kirjoittajan arvosteluihin Zombien teoksista. Kyllä tämän silti innolla kävi läpi.
May 30, 2025
I am a Rob Zombie fanboy so of course I enjoyed this.
September 11, 2017
(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)
Sinister Urge is the first in-depth, career-spanning biography of heavy-metal musician and filmmaker Rob Zombie. Born Robert Cummings in 1965, Zombie is now as well known for his movies as he is for his music, which he has released and performed both as a solo artist and as part of his early band White Zombie. In both fields, he imbues his art with the vivid sense of macabre theater that has thrilled his millions of disciples since he and his band first emerged with Soul-Crusher in 1987.
Although he has sold millions of albums and generated many more millions of dollars at the box office, Zombie has never taken the easy option or the predictable route. Indeed, while the music industry – and many of his peers – have fallen to their knees in the last decade or so, Zombie has found a new edge, his work undiluted by success or middle age.
Drawing on original research and new interviews with bandmates and associates, Sinister Urge takes a detailed look at Zombie's challenging oeuvre, offering close analysis of his albums and films alongside tales of his life and work on and offstage.
Joel McIver has written a number of outstanding music bios (Cliff Burton, Metallica, Slayer, Black Sabbath) and this book joins that group of books that I like.
To be honest, while I was a fan of White Zombie and Rob's solo stuff, I never really knew that much about the guy behind the songs. In fact, because he was so larger-than-life, I actually veered away from knowing anything, lest it put him in a less favourable light. So, when I approached this book, it was without knowing anything about the guy, really...and I think that made it a better read than if I knew everything about the band and Rob himself...
Looking at some reviews, I can see that real fans of Rob's work were disappointed with this book (I already knew all that stuff) but, for me, it was exactly what I wanted. From his childhood, all the way through his music and film career, we are given a complete run down of everything Zombie. While for some people it didn't reach great heights, I fully appreciated all the details of the who, when, where and why...
If you are a die-hard fan of Rob Zombie, I am not sure this book will offer you much more than you already know. For everyone else with even a passing interest, this book offers you everything you may want to know about the man.
Paul
ARH
Sinister Urge is the first in-depth, career-spanning biography of heavy-metal musician and filmmaker Rob Zombie. Born Robert Cummings in 1965, Zombie is now as well known for his movies as he is for his music, which he has released and performed both as a solo artist and as part of his early band White Zombie. In both fields, he imbues his art with the vivid sense of macabre theater that has thrilled his millions of disciples since he and his band first emerged with Soul-Crusher in 1987.
Although he has sold millions of albums and generated many more millions of dollars at the box office, Zombie has never taken the easy option or the predictable route. Indeed, while the music industry – and many of his peers – have fallen to their knees in the last decade or so, Zombie has found a new edge, his work undiluted by success or middle age.
Drawing on original research and new interviews with bandmates and associates, Sinister Urge takes a detailed look at Zombie's challenging oeuvre, offering close analysis of his albums and films alongside tales of his life and work on and offstage.
Joel McIver has written a number of outstanding music bios (Cliff Burton, Metallica, Slayer, Black Sabbath) and this book joins that group of books that I like.
To be honest, while I was a fan of White Zombie and Rob's solo stuff, I never really knew that much about the guy behind the songs. In fact, because he was so larger-than-life, I actually veered away from knowing anything, lest it put him in a less favourable light. So, when I approached this book, it was without knowing anything about the guy, really...and I think that made it a better read than if I knew everything about the band and Rob himself...
Looking at some reviews, I can see that real fans of Rob's work were disappointed with this book (I already knew all that stuff) but, for me, it was exactly what I wanted. From his childhood, all the way through his music and film career, we are given a complete run down of everything Zombie. While for some people it didn't reach great heights, I fully appreciated all the details of the who, when, where and why...
If you are a die-hard fan of Rob Zombie, I am not sure this book will offer you much more than you already know. For everyone else with even a passing interest, this book offers you everything you may want to know about the man.
Paul
ARH
February 19, 2021
Excellent!!! Extremely well written. It’s no secret that I’m a super Rob fan. I cling to my 1989 LES NYC White Zombie days hard.
I appreciate this book because it analyzes Rob music snd film and art and life. Puts it all in perspective to where it came from and what where inspiration came from and was given. How Robs vision fits sling side the times and the scene and concurrent industries. I like the perspective because the writer aptly describes everything, calling a turd a turd, while respecting the creative force snd organizing everything into a mind explosion.
I’m inspired.
Take away — Rob Zombie is the real deal. He is true to his vision. Love it or hate it, he doesn’t really care. He’s an obsessive work a holic with a visionary drive that must keep going. He is true to himself and I really appreciate and love that.
I appreciate this book because it analyzes Rob music snd film and art and life. Puts it all in perspective to where it came from and what where inspiration came from and was given. How Robs vision fits sling side the times and the scene and concurrent industries. I like the perspective because the writer aptly describes everything, calling a turd a turd, while respecting the creative force snd organizing everything into a mind explosion.
I’m inspired.
Take away — Rob Zombie is the real deal. He is true to his vision. Love it or hate it, he doesn’t really care. He’s an obsessive work a holic with a visionary drive that must keep going. He is true to himself and I really appreciate and love that.
August 3, 2018
A lot , if not all of the quotes are from the internet. Not a lot of information or in-site on Zombie if you have been remotely following his career. Thought the religious bit at the end was unnecessary. Glad I got it on sale for 1/2 price.
July 19, 2019
I've been fan of this guy literally my entire life. How he talks about Alice Cooper is how I feel about him. Yet it is still impossible for me to grasp how truly talented this guy is. Absolutely inspiring
December 20, 2018
Waste
I love Zombie, but this book is unimaginative and poorly written. Boring is an understatement. Insert tab A into slot B. Rinse and repeat.
I love Zombie, but this book is unimaginative and poorly written. Boring is an understatement. Insert tab A into slot B. Rinse and repeat.
July 30, 2019
Great subject, shitty author.
October 8, 2020
This guy is so peculiar but I love him I devoured this novel in a day and a half and will definitely read it again
November 3, 2022
Hard to know what to hate first - the bad writing, the lazy journalism, the poor formatting - choices, choices!
It's a relatively short book with lots of padding. McIver takes several opportunities to go off on tangents -on the PMRC, on the history of censorship and rock music, on the history of Satanism in music - most of which impact only tangentially on Rob Zombie. One doesn't feel that McIver has done any research on these topics, he's just writing off the top of his head, and it feels more like ranting than journalism. If he had to include these, and I feel that they are all extraneous to the story and could have easily be eliminated, he would have been better off to put them in a sidebar instead of into the main text where it just brings the narrative to a screeching halt.
A lot of his material is pulled out of interviews that Zombie has done with others. I think the book would flow better if he made better use of his endnotes, instead of constantly putting the references to each interview in the main text. And then he repeats quotes. We have Zombie in two different interviews talking about how he doesn't do many new songs in concert, how nobody wants to hear the new songs, they want to hear the songs that they already know. Do we need this twice? This kind of thing crops up more often than it should.
McIver includes interviews with various members of Zombie's band who don't really have much to say. Slipknot's Joey Jordison recorded three songs with Zombie, and we have to read about how he started drumming. Why? That's a different book, not this one. Usually, when you include quotes from others, they're talking about your subject, or commenting on events that impacted him, not just talking about themselves. It's just filler. McIver also cherry picks the interviews - he doesn't talk to anyone besides Zombie about why the White Zombie broke up or why the first Rob Zombie band fell apart. Why not? Too much work? This isn't an official biography where McIver sat down with Zombie and had to play nice. Give us someone else's perspective. Maybe Zombie is a complete prick to work with. We'll never know from McIver, because he's not saying anything.
He does start the book with a disclaimer that he's not going to dig into Zombie's personal life. That's fine, but some context or words from others on significant events isn't digging very deep. It seems like McIver's opposed to doing any kind of work at all. Except for kissing Zombie's ass. That, he does in spades.
He goes into excruciating detail about all of Zombie's movies, giving plot summaries, casting, music, quotes on the movie from Zombie and his wife, and then tepid endorsements from dubious authorities. It's really boring and just provides more padding for an otherwise very slim volume.
His writing is often quite awkward. Nobody should ever write a sentence that includes the phrase "introverted males of the teenage persuasion," unless it's done with a humorous intent. If it is, this is the only sign of humour that I've seen from McIver in the whole book. He uses a similar phrase earlier. When he talks about how much Zombie's movie Halloween 2 made, he notes that the movie's producer had predicted that it would make that much, and describes it as "something of a self-fulfilling prophecy." No, it's not.
It can't all be blamed on McIver, however. I don't find Zombie that compelling a figure. His quotes aren't great, I don't find he has much insight or that there is a great deal of thoughtfulness in his comments. He just talks without saying much. Maybe McIver just picked bad quotes, or maybe there's not much to Zombie beyond his work. The best stuff in this book comes from the interview McIver did with Sean Yseult. She's worth interviewing, but I've already read her book.
I recommend giving this one a pass and wait until someone who can actually write does a decent book on Rob Zombie.
It's a relatively short book with lots of padding. McIver takes several opportunities to go off on tangents -on the PMRC, on the history of censorship and rock music, on the history of Satanism in music - most of which impact only tangentially on Rob Zombie. One doesn't feel that McIver has done any research on these topics, he's just writing off the top of his head, and it feels more like ranting than journalism. If he had to include these, and I feel that they are all extraneous to the story and could have easily be eliminated, he would have been better off to put them in a sidebar instead of into the main text where it just brings the narrative to a screeching halt.
A lot of his material is pulled out of interviews that Zombie has done with others. I think the book would flow better if he made better use of his endnotes, instead of constantly putting the references to each interview in the main text. And then he repeats quotes. We have Zombie in two different interviews talking about how he doesn't do many new songs in concert, how nobody wants to hear the new songs, they want to hear the songs that they already know. Do we need this twice? This kind of thing crops up more often than it should.
McIver includes interviews with various members of Zombie's band who don't really have much to say. Slipknot's Joey Jordison recorded three songs with Zombie, and we have to read about how he started drumming. Why? That's a different book, not this one. Usually, when you include quotes from others, they're talking about your subject, or commenting on events that impacted him, not just talking about themselves. It's just filler. McIver also cherry picks the interviews - he doesn't talk to anyone besides Zombie about why the White Zombie broke up or why the first Rob Zombie band fell apart. Why not? Too much work? This isn't an official biography where McIver sat down with Zombie and had to play nice. Give us someone else's perspective. Maybe Zombie is a complete prick to work with. We'll never know from McIver, because he's not saying anything.
He does start the book with a disclaimer that he's not going to dig into Zombie's personal life. That's fine, but some context or words from others on significant events isn't digging very deep. It seems like McIver's opposed to doing any kind of work at all. Except for kissing Zombie's ass. That, he does in spades.
He goes into excruciating detail about all of Zombie's movies, giving plot summaries, casting, music, quotes on the movie from Zombie and his wife, and then tepid endorsements from dubious authorities. It's really boring and just provides more padding for an otherwise very slim volume.
His writing is often quite awkward. Nobody should ever write a sentence that includes the phrase "introverted males of the teenage persuasion," unless it's done with a humorous intent. If it is, this is the only sign of humour that I've seen from McIver in the whole book. He uses a similar phrase earlier. When he talks about how much Zombie's movie Halloween 2 made, he notes that the movie's producer had predicted that it would make that much, and describes it as "something of a self-fulfilling prophecy." No, it's not.
It can't all be blamed on McIver, however. I don't find Zombie that compelling a figure. His quotes aren't great, I don't find he has much insight or that there is a great deal of thoughtfulness in his comments. He just talks without saying much. Maybe McIver just picked bad quotes, or maybe there's not much to Zombie beyond his work. The best stuff in this book comes from the interview McIver did with Sean Yseult. She's worth interviewing, but I've already read her book.
I recommend giving this one a pass and wait until someone who can actually write does a decent book on Rob Zombie.
October 28, 2015
The first thing that strikes the eye is the vivid crimson cover-a fitting iconic imagery of the persona that is Rob Zombie.
This illuminating biography written by Joel McIver, with an engaging forward by Jeremy Wagner, chronicles the life and times of Rob Zombie, born Robert Cummings. Focussing on the man and not necessarily the concept, the biography takes us on a tour of Zombie's brain (pun intended). We meet the slightly off-centre child, whose genius was yet to be exposed to the world and move forward through decades of impressionable work. So much more than a musician, director and cartoonist amongst others, Zombie is shown as the artist he truly is. Not just a glitzy exposé of his private life, the biography emphasises the extensive body of work and the sacrifices, hard work and good times it took to create.
Having been a fan of Zombie's for many years, I was excited to get my hands on this advance preview from Netgalley. Upon completion I felt a little ambivalent however. Maybe I expected to be entertained more. The use of 70s horror movies to label the chapters was a great idea and set up an understanding of where each chapter was heading. I enjoyed the all-encompassing view of the subject matter-that each facet of his life was touched upon and no section received special treatment. In saying that however, I felt that if the author didn't like a particular part of a section like an album or movie, that it was passed over or merely mentioned. This sometimes then turned some chapters into fleshed out lists which caused me to gloss over them. The addition of the end credits, citing all of Zombie's work was a clever move-it finished the book like a movie and tied it into the chapter headings.
Well worth the read for hardcore fans as well as those meeting Zombie for the first time. Myths about his evil lifestyle and stage presence are debunked and he is shown for the gifted and driven man that he is. An entertaining and enlightening read-homage paid by the author indeed.
This illuminating biography written by Joel McIver, with an engaging forward by Jeremy Wagner, chronicles the life and times of Rob Zombie, born Robert Cummings. Focussing on the man and not necessarily the concept, the biography takes us on a tour of Zombie's brain (pun intended). We meet the slightly off-centre child, whose genius was yet to be exposed to the world and move forward through decades of impressionable work. So much more than a musician, director and cartoonist amongst others, Zombie is shown as the artist he truly is. Not just a glitzy exposé of his private life, the biography emphasises the extensive body of work and the sacrifices, hard work and good times it took to create.
Having been a fan of Zombie's for many years, I was excited to get my hands on this advance preview from Netgalley. Upon completion I felt a little ambivalent however. Maybe I expected to be entertained more. The use of 70s horror movies to label the chapters was a great idea and set up an understanding of where each chapter was heading. I enjoyed the all-encompassing view of the subject matter-that each facet of his life was touched upon and no section received special treatment. In saying that however, I felt that if the author didn't like a particular part of a section like an album or movie, that it was passed over or merely mentioned. This sometimes then turned some chapters into fleshed out lists which caused me to gloss over them. The addition of the end credits, citing all of Zombie's work was a clever move-it finished the book like a movie and tied it into the chapter headings.
Well worth the read for hardcore fans as well as those meeting Zombie for the first time. Myths about his evil lifestyle and stage presence are debunked and he is shown for the gifted and driven man that he is. An entertaining and enlightening read-homage paid by the author indeed.
September 30, 2015
eeeh. this was okay. it's more a glorified magazine article than book that goes off on tangents here and there.
January 7, 2016
Great book
Loved zombie since 92 until today. What a great read this was rock n fukin roll hale Satan
Loved zombie since 92 until today. What a great read this was rock n fukin roll hale Satan
May 3, 2016
My review can be found at
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