ALBUM REVIEW: THE GREAT SATAN BY ROB ZOMBIE
Reviewed by Cecilia Pattison-Levi
Release date 27 February 2026
With a tolling bell, and an American Government message, an ominous tone brings in big drums, a big bassline thrumming and then Rob Zombie’s vocals cut in as ‘F.T.W’ is delivered. The listener is encouraged to “f#@k it all” as the song talks about ‘1984’, robots and a surveillance culture. Then, the message of “if we want to live, we must die” declaration is made as ‘Tarantula’ hits. It’s followed by ‘I’m A Rock ‘n’ Roller’ with its electronic pulses, samples and guitar riffs. It’s very modern and then it isn’t: it is really rock ‘n’ roll music with the melodic core underneath.
This vein of music continues in ‘Heathen Days’ and it opens with a sample before the aggressive drums, guitar and vocals take over. Rob Zombie seems to be concentrating on heavy, groove-laden guitar riffs and a focus on raw metal takes over. ‘Who Am I’ is an interlude that has a questioning take on keeping your identity in these AI dominated times.
‘Black Rat Coffin’ extends the metaphor with a great rock beat and the lyrical message is great. It is an album highlight. The delightfully strange ‘Sir Lord Acid Wolfman’ is a funk heavy rock track with its tongue firmly in its cheek. The chugging ‘Punk And Demons’ features Mike Riggs' fantastic explosive guitar work and the big bassline groove from Blasko. It makes the track heavier as the musical soundscape melds industrial grit with raw, punk-infused heavy metal.
The dirge of violas brings in ‘The Devilman’ with its big singalong chorus and big classic heavy metal sounds in the drums, guitar and bass. It’s followed by surf rock that gets a heavy metal makeover in ‘Out Of Sight’ with a huge bassline. Then, a thumping blues tinged ‘Revolution Motherfuckers’ references the early 70s and the Vietnam War. It’s a blast from the past as the heavy metal beat and drums kick in – but always with these clever electronic flourishes underscoring the song.
Another interlude ‘Welcome To The Electric Age’ is “changing you”. It is almost a call to arms that is interwoven through all the songs on this album and asks the listener not to be “numb to it”. The last three songs start with the driving and fun ‘The Black Scorpion’ with its great synths like Lurch from the Addams family is playing. Then, the spacey and heavy drums bring in a guitar solo and spacey 1974 style vocals in ‘Unclean Animals’. It is another album highlight as the guitar work is great.
The album closes out with the very short song ‘Grave Discontent’. The 15-song ‘The Great Satan’ is about not surrendering your life to electronics but to take your life back and live it. Rob Zombie has mined some great rock ‘n’ roll melodic structures and gone back to some old-skool 1970s heavy rock to bring this album together. The electronic world underneath has a kind of irony to it, but the songs are strong and fun.
