White Zombie Biography

White Zombie was an American Groove metal band named after the 1932 film White Zombie, which starred Bela Lugosi.

Founded by Paul "ENA" Kostabi and Sean Yseult (Shauna Reynolds) in 1985, with Ivan de Prume on drums. Kostabi produced a demo to find a singer, and when Rob Zombie sang over these demo songs, the first White Zombie record (Gods on Voodoo Moon) was born. Kostabi later left the band and was replaced by Tom Guay on guitar. John Ricci replaced Tom Guay shortly, only to quit in 1989. Jay Noel Yuenger then replaced Ricci. During the La Sexorcisto tour Ivan de Prume was fired and replaced by Phil Beurstatte who was then replaced by John Tempesta, who had previously played for Exodus and Testament.
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The band cut a number of semi-independent recordings in New York in the 1980s, these included the albums Soul Crusher and Make Them Die Slowly, as well as the EPs Psycho-Head Blowout and God of Thunder. The band released a single, Slaughter the Grey, in 1986. White Zombie's first major-label album, La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1, was released in 1992, followed in 1995 by Astro Creep: 2000. In 1996, an album of remixes was released under the title Supersexy Swingin' Sounds.

White Zombie was known for combining heavy-metal music with driving lead guitar riffs (as on "Super-Charger Heaven"), overlayed with lyrics heavily influenced by horror films, with often nonsensical imagery. Unlike other metal bands of the 1990s, White Zombie was exclusively a "fantasy" band, one that wrote songs not about real life, but simply about surreal horror fantasies, backed by whimsical live tours.

The group officially disbanded in 1998.

Sean Yseult, after the breakup of White Zombie, co-founded the surf rock band The Famous Monsters, and is currently playing for the horror-themed New Orleans-based band Rock City Morgue.

John Tempesta continued his musical relationship with Rob Zombie after the White Zombie breakup, drumming for Zombie on his first two solo albums, Hellbilly Deluxe and The Sinister Urge. Currently he plays for the Rob Zombie-esque band Scum of the Earth with his brother, Powerman 5000 guitarist Mike Tempesta, and ex-Rob Zombie guitarist Riggs.

Jay Yuenger produced records for stoner rock gods Fu Manchu and New York City rockers Puny Human, as well as lending his guitar skills to a few other bands after the breakup of White Zombie.

While Rob Zombie has mostly kept the image of his former band, fans of both have noted significant musical differences between the two, notably the absence of the heavy bass and lead guitar-playing that characterised White Zombie's musical style.

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