01. F.T.W. 84
02. Tarantula
03. (I'm A) Rock "N" Roller
04. Heathen Days
05. Who Am I?
06. Black Rat Coffin
07. Sir Lord Acid Wolfman
08. Punks And Demons
09. The Devilman
10. Out Of Sight
11. Revolution Motherfuckers
12. Welcome To The Electric Age
13. The Black Scorpion
14. Unclean Animals
15. Grave Discontent

I think I speak for us all when I ask, where's the weird and wacky title Rob? Where's the weird and wacky title?!

Ah, Robert Zombie, horror aficionado, part time director, and someone constantly finding new and weird names to put on his music; perhaps the most shocking thing this shock has done in a while is release an album with as normal a sounding name as The Great Satan. Well, it's a good thing Zombie puts the epithet "great" in the title, because it's a word that won't be associated with the album otherwise.

Still, while great would be an exaggeration, it doesn't mean The Great Satan has nothing going for it; indeed there is plenty to enjoy here, with Rob Zombie seemingly finding his mojo again after a duo of albums that offered shock value not from their style, but in their lack of quality. The Great Satan is a good album, but one that falls below the moniker it bestows upon itself.

Kicking off with a surprisingly pointed jab in "F.T.W. 84", hopes and eyebrows are raised that Rob Zombie strays away his horror schtick close to polischtick...(remember to nominate me for a Pulitzer Prize) before returning to his more familiar domains. "Tarantula" then emerges with very 90s-sounding keyboards before the returning Mike Riggs makes his presence known with a strong performance (wonder if John 5 regrets his career move).

It's then that the (not so) great Satan rears its head, with "(I'm A) Rock 'N' Roller" highlighting the shortcomings on the album, namely that it sounds like tame re-treads of what Rob Zombie has done much better before. "Black Rat Coffin" and "The Devilman" are indicative of the atypical bubblegum industrial rock that has come to typify Rob Zombie in the last decade: not bad, but not good enough to warrant repeated listens. It is only with (the eccentrically titled) "Sir Lord Acid Wolfman" that Satan is actively bad (interesting idea, but this warped sea shanty is poorly executed).

The return of Riggs and Blasko has seemingly lit a fire in Rob Zombie, as many of the performances sound full of purpose and passion; coupled with strong songwriting on the likes of "Out Of Sight" and "Heathen Days", and you have tracks that do come within touching distance of being great. The dead man himself belies his 61 years of age, and sounds as powerful as he did in his White Zombie days. Though, as "Punks And Demons" highlights, he's someone who can hide behind effects and reverb and it not be seen as a crutch as it does for other singers.

The Great Satan may be an exaggeration, but it's not one totally misguided, as the album is his best in years (not a high bar admittedly) and one which will certainly entertain you, though unlikely be one you'll reach for regularly.

Besides, everybody knows the great Satan of 2026 isn't Rob Zombie, but Dr Kelson.

Performance:	7
Songwriting:	6
Originality:	6
Production:	8