Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

This is the second release from Scum of the Earth, a band fronted by former Rob Zombie members Riggs and Tempesta. And listening to this, it’s not surprising. In fact, when listening to the first track brought me back to 1998 and Rob Zombie’s Hellbilly Deluxe. The guitar and drums sound the same (for obvious reasons) but lead guitarist/frontman Riggs vocal style is almost identical to Zombie’s.

But a closer listen brings about other impressions. The songs seem to lack a certain lyrical flair associated with Zombie’s work. But songs like Devil Scum show Scum of the Earth using more electronics in the composition to good effect. Like Zombie’s work, the lyrics and subjects tend to deal with macabre and sexual fantasy imagery.

It’s worth going over Just Like Me because it is the most unique song on the whole album. It features a softer acoustic sound before diving into some balls-to-the-wall rock and then back to the acoustic sound. It also showcases alternatives to Riggs’ usually growly vocals.

For what it is, Sleaze Freak is pretty good. If you like Rob Zombie, you’ll probably like Scum of the Earth. But they don’t tread on a whole lot of new ground. With some slight instrumental changes and the track Just Like Me, it sounds like something that was done almost 10 years ago. Yeah, it was good, but that doesn’t mean that it needs to be redone.