Career history
Riggs' career as a musician started at the age of 19 in 1990 when he started the band Demiltry in Austin, Texas, for whom he played the rhythm guitar and sang lead vocals. The band released only one record, a 4-track demo titled Artist of Misery for which Riggs composed the title song on the album. The band split up soon after the release. He went on after this to play for another Austin band called Skrew which included future Nine Inch Nails guitarist Danny Lohner. He toured with Skrew supporting their first album, Burning in Water, Drowning in Flames, then went on to contribute to the recording of their second release, Dusted. After playing with Skrew for several years, Riggs joined Prong after the release of their studio album Rude Awakening and toured with them for some time. When Riggs was attending a WWF event, he met Rob Zombie (ex-White Zombie) who said he was working on a new album, and had yet to find a guitarist. He played guitar for Zombie on Hellbilly Deluxe and The Sinister Urge before he left the band to begin his own project. He founded the band Scum of the Earth for which he plays guitar and sings lead vocals. After signing to Eclipse Records, the band released their first album entitled Blah...Blah...Blah...Love Songs for the New Millennium on October 26, 2004, produced by famed producer Ben Burkhardt at Belt of Orion Recording in Los Angeles, California. Songs were featured in National Lampoon's TV: The Movie , on numerous MTV shows, and a slew of action sports DVDs. Riggs is best known for playing his own signature model Fernandes Vertigo with a kill switch and others with a sustainer. He also uses a wah pedal. He's used Marshall G100R CD, Diezel VH4 and Mesa Triple Rectifiers.
He is also known for playing his see-through Fernandes Vertigo guitar that is filled with fake blood that he pours on himself, drinks or spits into the crowd while playing.
In 2022 Riggs rejoined Rob Zombie's solo band when prior guitarist John 5 left to join Mötley Crüe.
White Zombie was an American heavy metal band that formed in 1985. Based in New York City, they started as a noise rock band, releasing three EPs and one studio album in that style before changing to a heavy metal-oriented sound that broke them into the mainstream. The albums La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One (1992) and Astro-Creep: 2000 (1995) established them as an influential act in groove metal and industrial metal, respectively. Their best-known songs include "Thunder Kiss '65", "Black Sunshine" and "More Human than Human". The group officially disbanded in 1998. In 2000, White Zombie was included on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, ranking at No. 56. As of October 2010, the band has sold six million albums, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Rob Zombie is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have been praised for their elaborate shock rock theatricality. He has sold an estimated 15 million albums worldwide.
Daniel Patrick Lohner, frequently known as Renholdër, is an American musician and record producer best known for his work with Nine Inch Nails and A Perfect Circle. In 2020, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Nine Inch Nails.
John Tempesta is an American drummer known for his work in hard rock and heavy metal. He has been a member of British band the Cult since 2006. He is the brother of guitarist Mike Tempesta, who also had worked together in several projects.
Hellbilly Deluxe: 13 Tales of Cadaverous Cavorting Inside the Spookshow International is the debut solo studio album by American musician and filmmaker Rob Zombie. The album serves as his first release outside of the band White Zombie, with whom he released two multi-platinum studio albums. Hellbilly Deluxe was released on August 25, 1998, through Geffen Records. Musically, the project portrays Zombie's love for classic horror films with heavy metal and electronic music. The album's lyrics speak of murder, chaos, and supernatural forces. The majority of Hellbilly Deluxe was recorded in California, and was produced by both Zombie and Scott Humphrey; Zombie is credited as the sole writer on all of the songs.
John William Lowery, best known by the stage name John 5, is an American guitarist. His stage name was bestowed on him in 1998 when he left David Lee Roth's solo band and joined the rock band Marilyn Manson as their guitarist, taking over for Zim Zum. Still going by the name John 5, Lowery became the guitarist for Rob Zombie in addition to his continued collaborations with musical artists across many genres. In 2022, John 5 left Rob Zombie and became the touring lead guitarist for Mötley Crüe, being promoted to a full member the following year.
The Sinister Urge is the second solo studio album by American musician Rob Zombie. The album is the follow-up to his highly successful debut album Hellbilly Deluxe, released in 1998. The album was released by Geffen Records on November 13, 2001, more than three years after the release of his first album. The album's title is named after the 1960 crime drama film The Sinister Urge, directed and written by Ed Wood. Much like his previous effort, The Sinister Urge features elements of horror film and suspense in both its lyrical content and its music. Zombie also features a change of sound in several songs on the album when compared to Hellbilly, with songs such as "Never Gonna Stop " featuring a more dance-influenced beat.
Scum of the Earth is an American industrial metal band. The band was formed in 2003 by musicians associated with Rob Zombie, who temporarily set aside his music career to focus on writing and directing movies. They have released three albums and eight singles.
American Made Music to Strip By is the first remix album released by American musician Rob Zombie. The album was released through Geffen Records on October 26, 1999. It is composed entirely of remixes of songs taken from Zombie's debut studio album, Hellbilly Deluxe (1998). Zombie worked with a number of musicians and producers to create updated versions of the songs, including Charlie Clouser, who had previously worked with Zombie on his debut solo effort. Ten of the original album's songs have been remixed, excluding three instrumental interludes. Two of the remixes featured on American Made Music to Strip By had previously been released on promotional discs for "Dragula" (1998) and "Living Dead Girl" (1999).
Rob "Blasko" Nicholson is an American bassist. He performed on the first three Rob Zombie solo albums and is currently part of Ozzy Osbourne's band. He is also noted for his contribution as bassist to the metal band Cryptic Slaughter within underground metal circles.
"Dragula" is a debut solo single co-written and recorded by American rock musician Rob Zombie. It was released in August 1998 as the lead single from his solo debut Hellbilly Deluxe. Since its release it has become Zombie's most recognizable song as a solo artist. It is also his best-selling song, and had sold over 717,000 copies in the U.S. by 2010. The song is based on the drag racer "DRAG-U-LA" from the sitcom The Munsters.
"Superbeast" is a single from Rob Zombie's solo debut, Hellbilly Deluxe. The song was co-written by Charlie Clouser, formerly of Nine Inch Nails. It also appears on Rob Zombie's Past, Present & Future, the greatest hits album The Best of Rob Zombie, and two remixes are contained on American Made Music to Strip By.
"Scum of the Earth" is a song by heavy metal musician Rob Zombie. It was originally featured on the Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack and later included on Zombie's album, The Sinister Urge as the lead single. It found considerable radio play upon release.
"Dead Girl Superstar" is a promotional single taken from Rob Zombie's second album The Sinister Urge. Zombie considered the song to be a sequel to "Living Dead Girl" from his previous album, Hellbilly Deluxe. It was also featured on the Kerrang, Vol. 3 compilation album in 2002. The song's guitar solo is played by Kerry King of Slayer fame. It is one of the few songs on the album to contain a solo. The song contains audio samples from the 1974 Isaac Hayes film Truck Turner. The song also appears in the game Warzone 2100.
Scott Humphrey is a Canadian record producer and mix engineer. He began his music career as a keyboard player and programmer. He is best known for his work with multiplatinum recording artist Rob Zombie and has co-written, co-produced and mixed all of his records up to 2007's Zombie Live. He was also Rob Zombie's co-composer for the score to Zombie's film House of 1000 Corpses. Much of the production work was done at Humphrey's studio, The Chop Shop.
The discography of American vocalist, film director, screenwriter, and film producer Rob Zombie consists of seven studio albums, three compilation albums, two remix albums, two live albums, one video album, 23 singles, and eight promotional singles. Zombie first rose to fame as a member of the heavy metal band White Zombie, with whom he released four studio albums; the group disbanded in 1998. Opting to continue making music as a solo artist, Zombie began working on his debut solo studio album that would come to be known as Hellbilly Deluxe: 13 Tales of Cadaverous Cavorting Inside the Spookshow International (1998). The project became a commercial success for Zombie, entering the top five of the Billboard 200 in the United States and selling over three million copies in the United States alone. The album spawned three singles, all of which were used extensively in films and video games following their release. Zombie released remixed versions of songs from his debut studio album on American Made Music to Strip By (1999), which peaked inside the top forty in the United States.
Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool is the fourth solo studio album by former White Zombie frontman Rob Zombie. The album is a sequel to his debut album Hellbilly Deluxe. It was released on February 2, 2010, through Roadrunner Records. This is the first album with bassist Piggy D and the last with drummer Tommy Clufetos.
Skyla Talon is an American hard rock guitarist, singer-songwriter and record producer. Skyla is the vocalist/guitar player in Modelsaint. He is also known for his role as the guitarist in Scum of the Earth which is fronted by Riggs, formerly of Rob Zombie. Talon is also the founding member of Killingbird and Blackburner.
Frank Gryner is a Canadian record producer, mix engineer, audio technician, and multi-instrumentalist. He has mixed/engineered or performed on recordings for multiplatinum artist Rob Zombie, as well as A Perfect Circle, BT, Peter Pepper, and Andrew W.K. among many others.
