Rob Zombie, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director
Robert Bartleh Cummings (born January 12, 1965), known professionally as Rob Zombie, is an American singer, songwriter, filmmaker, and voice actor. He is a founding member of the heavy metal band White Zombie, releasing four studio albums with the band. He is the older brother of Spider One, the lead vocalist of the industrial metal band Powerman 5000.Zombie's first solo effort was a 1996 song titled "Hands of Death (Burn Baby Burn)", written and performed with Alice Cooper. It went on to receive a nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 39th Annual Grammy Awards. In 1997, he began working on his debut solo studio album, Hellbilly Deluxe, which was released in August 1998. A month later, Zombie officially disbanded White Zombie. Hellbilly Deluxe went on to sell over three million copies worldwide and spawned three singles. Zombie directed the horror film House of 1000 Corpses in 2000, though the controversial project was not released until 2003. His second studio album, The Sinister Urge (2001), became his second platinum album in the U.S.
Zombie directed The Devil's Rejects (2005), a direct sequel to his prior film House of 1000 Corpses. The project received a more positive reception than its predecessor. His third studio album, Educated Horses (2006), was a departure from his earlier recordings. The album became his third to enter the top ten of the Billboard 200, but saw a decrease in sales compared to his previous releases. Deciding to focus on his directing career, Zombie directed the horror film Halloween (2007), a remake of the 1978 horror classic of the same name. The film became Zombie's highest-grossing film to date, though was generally received negatively by critics. He later directed Halloween II (2009), which failed to match the success of its predecessor. He released the animated film The Haunted World of El Superbeasto that same year. Zombie returned to music with the release of his fourth studio album, Hellbilly Deluxe 2 (2010). The album peaked at number eight in the U.S., where it sold over 200,000 copies.
In 2012, Zombie released a second remix album and directed the horror film The Lords of Salem, which was released in 2013; that year he also released his fifth studio album Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor. Later he directed the horror film 31. Zombie released his next solo album, The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser, in 2016, followed nearly five years later by his seventh studio album, The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy (2021).
Since the beginning of his music career, Zombie's music and lyrics have featured notable horror and sci-fi themes. His live shows have been praised for their elaborate shock rock theatricality. Since beginning his solo career, Zombie has sold an estimated fifteen million albums worldwide.