Rob Zombie Signs to Roadrunner

The delay of Rob Zombie's 'Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool' release was trumped by a surprise announcement today that the band has made an unexpected, immediate change: leaving Geffen and signing to Roadrunner Records. Zombie recently told Billboard, "Basically, the label wasn't really in a position to promote it or deal with it ... There wasn't even time to make a video, and we were leaving for the tour."

Despite the feeling that he and his band were being rushed along as a low priority, they'll still be headed out on tour -- and Zombie hopes to stay on the road for about a year. The album was expected to come out in mid-November, but with the ink still drying on a worldwide contract with Loud & Proud, an imprint of Roadrunner, the album is now expecting an early 2010 release.

"It certainly wasn't an easy decision to make after all this time, but it had to be done," Zombie stated in a press release. "I love this new record and wanted to surround myself with an excited new group of people who can reignite my enthusiasm for working within a hard rock record label. Roadrunner seems to be the perfect place."

As for the tour, there will be an homage to the original 'Hellbilly' tour, but the band has put together a stage that, he says, "feels very fresh, very modern, very high-tech. It has the spirit of that first show."

The release date of 'Hellbilly 2' and its tour isn't slowing down Rob Zombie's movie work one bit, though. He's just finished the director's cut of 'Halloween 2.' And the rumor that he will remake 'The Blob' is, well, still a rumor, but many feel it's a likely possibility. The highly-anticipated tour begins tonight in Phoenix, and so far the dates are posted until early December.