Gripping the wheel, his knuckles
went white with desire. The wheels
of his Mustang exploding on the
highway like a slug from a .45.
True death: 400 horsepower of
maximum performance piercing the
night… This is Black Sunshine.

Iggy Pop delivers the spoken-word intro to White Zombie’s classic 1992 tune Black Sunshine, a song ostensibly about a muscle car journey gone all kablooey, but it seems to be celebrating a cacophony of creepy imagery amid a sea of crushing metal riffs and a strong driving beat. And what’s wrong with that? I’d like to know…

This is just one of those songs, right? Crank it, headbang, relish in the overall creepiness of the world Rob Zombie is conjuring up in gleeful black sorcery. There are shout-outs to Russ Meyer, Hammer horror, and practically any dozen exploitation flicks of the late 60s/early 70s. It don’t really matter much though. You’re too busy celebrating the bacchanal of twisted kinetic joy. A mangled wreck of flesh, concrete, and Detroit steel pushed way past the redline.

Sweet’n the ride…