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Zombie guitarist unleashes earthly scum

"What makes bad kids bad? What makes them do the things they do? Booze, babes and bad buys" is the statement made at the beginning of "Blah...Blah...Blah: Love Songs for the New Millennium," the new recording effort by Rob Zombie guitarist Riggs' new band, Scum of the Earth.

If what makes bad kids bad is booze, babes and bad guys, then what makes this album bad is Riggs' reliance on Rob Zombie's old tricks. From his look to the way he sings is undeniably Zombie-like. Song titles like "Bloodsukinfreakshow," "Murder Song," "Pornstarchampion," "The Devil Made Me Do It" and "Beneath the Living" give a good indication as to what the whole CD is about.

Riggs' guitar abilities are demonstrated much better in this solo outing than his work with Zombie (he isn't restricted to just providing a background crunch), but he's still overshadowed by the B-movie, cartoon-ish horror that that has become a stereotype. It's tough to break away and be recognized as an individual musician when the subject matter and even the album artwork is blatant throwback to Zombie. Sure, scantily clad demon girls might be eye catching to the male record buyers, but there's a price that comes with holding onto old, worn-out methods.

"Blah" follows the Zombie formula pretty closely, so anyone who considers themself a fan of Zombie's music should seriously consider checking out this CD. But there's something else on this disc that Zombie doesn't have, and that's a sense of song development, and the courage to throw in the ballad-like "Little Spider. "

Although "Blah" isn't that great of an album, it has smaller qualities that shine through, mostly through Riggs' diversity in guitar playing and choice to ease up on the use of techno-driven beats that have become a Rob Zombie trademark. Maybe if Riggs continues this trend on future releases and tones down the schlock, Scum of the Earth can turn into something really awesome.

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