Review by Josh Felty
Rating: ****
The first time I ever recall hearing Gwar was on a heartwarming episode of 'Beavis & Butthead'. If you can think of the maddest form of metal, then up the ante a million times over, then you've got Gwar. Personally, I always thought they were either a theatric joke or a metal anomaly. Perhaps they're both.
But we cannot thank them enough now can we?
Their 2009 release, Lust in Space, is not only an epic Gwar record, but an epic expression of hardcore music. The opening title track and "Let Us Slay" are clear-cut (to the throat, no less) with crowd call-and-answer moments that would excite even the most vicious critic. "Damnation Under God" is another well-cut track with blinding drum fills and riffage not unlike the very best of one Dimebag Darrell. That's not a comparison, per se, of Gwar with the great Pantera; more of an easy way for me to describe the impact of the guitar work and its bouncing between various phase effects and distortions.
In all honesty, this is the first (certainly not the last) Gwar album I've actually sat through. And that's not because I was never interested in their music: I just like to stick my toe in the pool before taking a dip. To that end, the rest of the album plays out like much of Gwar's earlier work (I would estimate) with the entertaining chant in "Where is Zog?" and the headbangers in "Metal Metal Land" (would you really expect anything less with that title) and "Release the Flies".
I can't help but wonder, in my strange manner of thinking, if Gwar is the music that will played during the Apocalypse. I like to think so. And in some bizarre coincidence, I think their Toxic Avenger/Garbage Pail Kids-infused stage getup would exalt them in the Dark Side's eyes.
Long live Gwar!!