Review Summary: With consistent songs, chunky riffs, and a handful of hilarity, this is a monumental GWAR album
When GWAR first started out, their sound was strictly comprised of hardcore punk, with wide influences ranging from the Butthole Surfers to the Misfits to even Slayer. Soon thereafter, they shifted completely away from it, changing their appearance to heavy metal (found on
Scumdogs of the Universe and their monumental 1992 LP
America Must Be Destroyed. This remained a staple for the band for years to come, giving them a truly boisterous yet melodic sound that they’ve imprinted in a lot of their works. While at times their sound can be mildly generic and cheesy (simple guitar riffs and drums), GWAR has been a truly untouchable band over the years.
The band follows the same lineup with this record, the same group of ridiculously dressed guys in space-themed costumes with a hell of a sense of humor and a handful of gimmicks, all packaged into together. But only this time, they are bulked up and more equipped. The guitar riffs, for example, are more melodically complex in texture and form, and the drums are more proficient in technicality this time around as well. As well as this, without completely derailing their sound completely, they even include guitar solos. While they may not be many, the few are prime examples of how brilliant this band can really be. GWAR’s chemistry is something that has been intact for years, as they’ve remained incredibly consistent with their music. GWAR is a band that has seemingly improved with every release, and
America Must Be Destroyed is an excellent representation of their skill level.
Ultimately, this album blends their traditional sick-and-twisted humor with more positive aspects as well. There’s more of an upbeat vibe to this one instead of just pure heaviness as witnessed on some of their other releases. To start things off right with the album, it explodes straight into the grind influenced jam
Ham on a Bone, which could easily startle someone by the head-twirling guitar riff and aggressive drums as seen straight from the get-go of the song. The chorus is vocally tense, with screeches and screams thrusting its way throughout. Although the track (and with most of the album) doesn’t necessarily fluctuate much and change (it’s the standard song structure), it’s a wonderfully jam packed tune that is a GWAR highlight.
Gor-Gor, which I believe came out as a single, is a definite GWAR essential in their field. Starting off with a rather quiet introduction, a quick drum roll makes its way down and a violent, insanely catch riff comes into play, which mainly drives the song entirely. The song’s lyrics are hilarious as ever; common GWAR critiqued disgusting yet humorous choice of words centered around a dinosaur, or more thought-to-known as Gor-Gor itself. However songs like
Have you Seen Me could be foreseen has slightly inaccessible, mostly because of the verses. Instead of a steady guitar riff or even a drum fill here and there, you are plugged in with something entirely different with GWAR; a piano. Rather jazzy sounding, it’s a very dismal and quiet lead, knocked-out with a loud, slightly droning chorus that can come in without expectation. The self-titled track is by far the 2nd greatest track on here (next to the tear-jerking masterpiece of ‘The Road Behind’ that is).
America Must Be Destroyed is a hate-driven, political apathetic, mildly racist (although I think that was intentional) jam that could be a centerpiece for a riot or disaster. With the pre-chorus bashing black men, and the chorus progressively building up tense hate over the subject matter, it shows GWAR with a temper and how much they can burst into a fire.
The best tune here, and frankly, the main area for emotion for GWAR, is
The Road Behind. A delicate, mellow acoustic guitar is intertwined here and there with whistles heard by one of the band members, and eventually unfolds into a beautiful jam. The meaningful chorus and reflective lyrics by far make it one of the most emotional GWAR songs (emotion, wow!), and is the best song this album has to offer.
The way I can picture it, there’s nothing wrong this album other than it being mildly corny at times (the lyrics can come off as almost too weird and just plain sick). Honestly though this is a strong album by the guys and a choice of recommendation if you’re looking for a starting place.
RIP Flattus
Song recs:
Ham on the Bone
Gor-Gor
Have You Seen Me?
America Must Be Destroyed
The Road Behind
