Gwar - Lust in Space
Metal Blade
Thrash Metal
11 songs (44:35)
Release year: 2009
Metal Blade
Reviewed by Tony
I can't remember how Gwar were introduced to me because frankly it was at a time in my life where my lifestyle was probably similar to that of Oderus Urungus. That being said, Gwar didn't really catch on with me until my senior year of high school. By the end of 2006, Beyond Hell was one of my favorite albums of the year and they were a staple in my Mp3 player for my high school rugby days. I guess I didn't like them as much when I was younger because at that time they were just returning to their thrash roots with albums like Violence Has Arrived in 2001 and War Party in 2003.

By the time this album, Lust in Space came to be, I was fully into Gwar and they were certainly one of my favorite bands. I was already a regular reader when this album came out on August 18th 2009. I waited for weeks for some reviewer on MR to put a review in for Lust in Space . Sadly, no one ever did so I decided to take it into my own power as a reviewer to do it myself.

Lust in Space is another concept album, this time illustrating Gwar stealing a Scumdog ship and venturing back into the outer beyond. If you are unfamiliar with the mythos behind Gwar , then don't even bother. Lust in Space to me, is an amalgam between their more Punk sounding Scumdogs of the Universe the heaviness and power of Beyond Hell and finally, the shredding myriad of raw talent that was War Party . Those three albums are my favorite triplet from Gwar so I must say I was very satisfied here.

Lust in Space begins with one of the longer, more artsy songs (forgive me for using a word as lame as artsy) in the title track. The song has a clean guitar intro before bridging into some eclectic as always lyrics sung by Oderus Urungus. The drums enter and the atmosphere builds before the song breaks out into an epic ode to intergalactic space travel.

The first thing anyone will notice that differs Lust in Space from Beyond Hell is the usage of time changes and interesting time signatures that aren't frequently present in Beyond Hell . While many view me as a somewhat skilled musician, I never learned theory and therefore cannot detect time signatures. Gwar's use Jizmak's drums during the beginning stages of this 6:13 song are progressive, with varying cymbal patterns and alternating double bass lines. This song does not exceed a medium pace, but it almost acts as a prolonged intro. The second track truly picks up the album and sets itself as probably the heaviest song on Lust in Space. That song would be Let us Slay . This song is my favorite on the album. It captures the thrash element that drew me to Gwar's 21st century works along with Scumdogs of the Universe . Let us Slay does just that. It slays. With pulverizing riffs, scintillating leads, and some fun drumming. Once again, the riff structures and construction of the drumming set this album apart as Gwar's most zany and progressive. I wouldn't call The Uberklaw a rip off of Go to Hell from the previous album but it bears striking similarities especially in the intro. The Uberklaw is less epic but I feel that the instrumentation on this song is more complex. Another note to make is that the chorus of The Uberklaw is very punkish and somewhat upbeat. This reminds me most of their Scumdog days.

Rivaling my favoritism towards Let Us Slay is the other track reminiscent of their 1993 masterpiece: Metal Metal Land . Metal Metal Land is basically a detailed description of Pinocchio's Pleasure Island for deranged, horny metalheads. Not only are the lyrics hilarious and fun to listen to but they are also sung in dual by Oderus Urungus and Beefcake the Mighty.

Having seen Gwar live for the first time on their Electile Dysfunction tour on October 2nd, 2008, I deduced that the reason why there are two songs sung exclusively by other members of the band is for Oderus to take part in on stage tomfoolery. The stage show was best described by me as a mishmash between Mexican Luchadore Wrestling, World War III, and American political assassination, finally combined with kick ass heavy metal. Anyways, the point I'm getting at is I believe that The Price of Peace , sung by Beefcake the Mighty and Release the Flies sung by Flattus Maximus are just an excuse for Oderus to lay down his mic and beat the crap out of some enemies. Both these songs turn out well though, as The Price of Peace wound up being my favorite songs.

Previously, Devin Townshend produced Beyond Hell and the result was some of the most crisp sounding metal I have ever heard. I frequently complain about the vocals being too loud in all genre's of metal, and here on Lust in Space the vocals are mixed perfectly, but the band doesn't sound as heavy as they do on Beyond Hell . Lust in Space is a result of Gwar reaching back and drawing forth a little bit of all their best material and bending it to their satisfaction. I truly enjoyed this album and I must lift it to the top of the ladder as one of Gwar's finest and surely a top 5 Thrash Metal album of 2009.

Killing Songs :
Lust in Space, Let Us Slay, The Uberklaw, Metal Metal Land, The Price of Peace.
Tony quoted 95 / 100
Other albums by Gwar that we have reviewed:
Gwar - Battle Maximus reviewed by Jared and quoted 75 / 100
Gwar - Bloody Pit of Horror reviewed by Tony and quoted 87 / 100
Gwar - War Party reviewed by Tony and quoted 87 / 100
Gwar - Beyond Hell reviewed by Kayla and quoted 91 / 100
Gwar - Scumdogs of the Universe reviewed by Shane and quoted 92 / 100
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