White Zombie

For metalheads who thought bands like W.A.S.P. and Mötley Crüe just weren't menacing or heavy enough, White Zombie was the perfect antidote for a period of time during the mid- to late '90s, fusing B-horror movie visuals and subject matter with heavy music and growled vocals. And while White Zombie was originally thought to be a full-fledged band, it would later become known that the group was almost entirely the vision of its larger-than-life singer, Rob Zombie. Hence, the White Zombie story begins with good ol' Rob (who was then known as Rob Cummings), shortly after he relocated from his hometown of Haverhill, Massachusetts to New York City during the early '80s. Although he had long admired such theatrical metallists as Kiss and Alice Cooper (as well as such punk outfits as the Ramones), Rob wasn't quick to form a group in the Big Apple; instead, he worked as a production assistant on the TV show Pee Wee's Playhouse and did art design for magazines. By 1985, however, Rob opted to pursue a career in music and united with then-girlfriend/bassist Sean Yseult and formed White Zombie (titled after the 1932 Bela Lugosi flick). First considered a New York Underground band rather than a heavy metal band (as proven by such early admirers as Thurston Moore and Kurt Cobain), the group issued several indie releases