| Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Rob Zombie |
| Cover: | RobZombieVRRVCoverArt.jpg |
| Recorded: | June 2012 |
| Length: | 38:51 |
| Label: | Zodiac Swan / T-Boy / Universal |
| Producer: | Bob Marlette |
| Prev Title: | Mondo Sex Head |
| Prev Year: | 2012 |
| Next Title: | The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser |
| Next Year: | 2016 |
Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor is the fifth solo studio album by American musician Rob Zombie. The album was released on April 23, 2013, four days after the release of Zombie's film The Lords of Salem.[1] The tracklisting was confirmed on Zombie's Facebook page on February 22. This is the first Rob Zombie album to feature drummer Ginger Fish who, like John 5, was previously a member of the band Marilyn Manson.[2] A music video for the album's first single "Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown" was released April 8, 2013.
For Record Store Day 2013, Zombie released a promotional single for "Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown" (with b-side "Teenage Nosferatu Pussy") on 10 inches colored vinyl printed on a reverse groove, with artwork by Alex Horley. This featured a slightly alternate edit of "Dead City Radio" clocking in at 3:54 instead of 3:28 which included an extended pre-chorus and outro not heard on the full album release. Best Buy stores offered a limited edition featuring a 3D sticker cover with a code for exclusive behind-the-scenes footage on the making of the album.
The album received generally positive reviews from critics; it was credited by some. A mixed review came from AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, stating "there seems to be a concept album tying [it] together but it'd require patience to piece together, patience that only fanboys could afford". He also questioned Zombie's decision to cover the Grand Funk Railroad's song "We're an American Band": "Why he decided to cover Grand Funk Railroad is anybody's guess – maybe somebody at the label thought it'd help get him on the radio, but at this point, nobody should be under any illusion that Rob Zombie could expand his audience". A more positive review came from Chuck Armstrong of Loudwire who called it "Arguably his best album since his debut masterpiece", before closing his review with it "will be an album that you listen to from beginning to end, and then you'll want to do it all over again".[3]
Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor sold 34,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.[4]
| Chart (2013) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[5] | 36 | |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[6] | 38 | |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[7] | 175 | |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[8] | 200 | |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[9] | 13 | |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[10] | 27 | |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11] | 60 | |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[12] | 97 | |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] | 49 | |
| UK Albums (OCC)[14] | 33 | |
| US Billboard 200[15] | 7 | |
| US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[16] | 1 | |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[17] | 3 |