WALKING WITH A ZOMBIE

Interscope sales/marketing guru Steve Berman is already making what little hair we still have stand up on end: "Rob has delivered a brilliant record, and with the leadership of [Geffen President] Jordan [Schur] and [The Firm’s] Jeff [Kwatinetz], we can’t lose. But who’s Andy Gould, and why does he keep calling me?"

The horror rocker is readying for the Nov. 13 release of his second solo album, The Sinister Urge (third, if you count his ’99 record of remixes), with the first single/video, "Feel So Numb," already making inroads at Active Rock. The new album includes guest appearances by Ozzy Osbourne, Tommy Lee, Limp Bizkit’s DJ Lethal, Slayer’s Kerry King and Beastie Boy collaborator Mix Master Mike, as well as a horn section and a 30-piece orchestra.

Said Schur: "I’m so proud to be involved in what seems to be a career record for Rob. We wanted to show how deep this record is by spotlighting three different tracks to radio/video, the wrestling crowd and the Internet."

• Zombie just joined Ozzy and Mudvayne on the "Merry Mayhem" tour, which runs through the end of the year. A half-hour Zombie concert excerpt, taped in Albuquerque, NM, will air on MTV this Sunday (11/11).
• A second track, "Never Gonna Stop," will be introduced by pro wrestling’s The Edge on next Monday night’s WWF telecast with a live Zombie performance of the song.
• "Never Gonna Stop," along with "Feel So Numb," will also be part of the TV advertising campaign for the movie Rollerball, slated to open in early 2002.
• The Zombie-directed "Feel So Numb" video, which world-premiered on MTV Oct. 14, is available as a stream on Interscope.com and the newly revamped RobZombie.com. The clip features cameos from members of Zombie’s as-yet-unreleased feature directorial debut, House of 1000 Corpses, which distributor Universal Studios found "too dark and disturbing" to put in theaters.
• A Flash video of a third album cut, "Dead Girl Superstar," will be available on Zombie’s site as the linchpin for a new-media campaign.
• The track "Go to California" is "as close as Rob Zombie has ever come to a ballad," according to The Firm’s Andy Gould (Zombie’s manager for 11 years), who added: "We have multiple tie-ins that should take this record into next year. We’re trying to expand him beyond his metal audience. Now do you think Kwatinetz will give me my own parking spot?"