As Sick As Is Gomorrah

Love it or hate it, gigantic prehistoric space monsters playing heavy metal and slaying all who stand opposed is pretty damn interesting. Returning with a mighty vengeance from their fortress in Artarctica, GWAR brings us their twelfth studio release, Bloody Pit Of Horror. Even after 25 years, the band has lost none of its steam, continually increasing their heaviness and absurdity while still remaining true to their hardcore punk roots.

Opener “Zombies, March!” begins the four-song saga of the Bloody Pit Of Horror, which tells of GWAR returning to lead an undead army called the Nekro Swarm against all humanity, feeding their bodies to the Bloody Pit until all have become zombies, then flying off into space with their six-billion-strong army to conquer the universe in “Storm Is Coming.” Beefcake The Mighty gets his obligatory vocal feature on “Beat You To Death,” and “You Are My Meat” underscores Oderus Urungus’s unrelenting disdain for humankind. The album also features “The Litany Of The Slain,” a chronological retelling of all the enemies GWAR has destroyed over the years. Finally, the record closes with “Sick And Twisted,” Oderus’s final declaration of his cruel and abrasive personality.

Bloody Pit Of Horror is a notable achievement, as it marks GWAR’s switch to 8-string guitars. This change lends a remarkable brutality to the disc as a whole, and gives them a more relevant, modern sound. It should also be mentioned that this album was originally written as a solo effort of Corey Smoot (better known as lead guitarist Flattus Maximus), but was eventually molded into a GWAR album. Regardless, with Smoot once again at the helm of the production, everything sounds crisp, clean, balanced, and unmistakably GWAR.

To be honest, GWAR has been putting out the same album for the past three decades. However, that album is AWESOME, and simply making it heavier was the way to go. As an entry point to the GWAR mythos, this is a good choice for those who prefer metal to the punk styling of their earlier records, but all true bohabs, as GWAR fans call themselves, should already have this on the shelf.