''Beyond Hell'' is the tenth studio album by

Gwar Gwar, often stylized as GWAR, is an American heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1984, composed of and operated by a frequently rotating line-up of musicians, artists and filmmakers collectively known as Slave Pit Inc. After th ...

. Released on August 29, 2006, by

DRT Entertainment DRT Entertainment was a New York City based independent record label founded in 2003 by Derek Shulman, Ron Urban, and Theodore "Ted" Green. The label is defunct. The label advertised itself as an "artist friendly hard rock music company for ban ...

, the album was originally announced through the band's official website on February 23, 2006. Unlike the band's output since 2001, it is a concept album and a

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

, centering on Gwar's journey to Hell as they escape from the attacking armies of humanity.

Overview

The concept of this album is the closest thing to a

that Gwar has done since '' RagNaRok''. The concept revolves around the band's journey to hell and their epic battle with the

devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

. The album follows the sound Gwar set with '' Violence Has Arrived'' and perfected with '' War Party''. The album had previously been tentatively titled ''Go To Hell!'' and ''Greetings From Hell!''. ''Beyond Hell'' is one of the two albums by Gwar to have no other lead vocalist than Oderus Urungus (the other is '' Violence Has Arrived''). A single for Gwar's cover of

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

's song " School's Out" was released for radio play before the release of the album, and a video for it was shot in August, premiering on MTV's '' Headbangers Ball'' on August 19. ''Beyond Hell'' was produced by

Devin Townsend Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also ...

Strapping Young Lad Strapping Young Lad was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, '' Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing ...

(who also provided backing vocals in "Tormentor") and Cory Smoot. The album was demo'd and recorded in Smoot's personal recording studio (christened SlavePit Studios) with the exception of Dave Brockie's vocals, which were done in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

at Devin Townsend's studio. The album is available as a regular CD or in a limited digipack format, which also includes a bonus

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

with various extras on it plus expanded artwork and a poster. The DVD features behind-the-scenes clips featuring a tour of the " Slave Pit" which is where all the costumes are made, and stored, as well as a short called "Meeting

Dave Brockie David Murray Brockie (August 30, 1963 – March 23, 2014) was a Canadian-American musician, who was the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Gwar, in which he performed as Oderus Urungus. He performed as a bassist and lead singer in the b ...

" where the producers meet the man behind the Oderus mask, as well as

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

footage of producer Devin Townsend (whose name is misspelled "Townshend") meeting the band for the first time. The DVD was produced by metal producers Metal Injection, who included a bonus sketch of Russian journalist "Metal" Misha crashing a Gwar recording session.

Concept

Ever since the announcement of the release of ''Beyond Hell'' (then known as ''Go to Hell''), the album's main theme has been known. As quoted from an announcement on Gwar.net: " eyond Hellconcerns Gwar’s epic journey into the tunnels and caverns that honeycomb your world, a journey not only to escape their earthly prison "from within", but also to find and confront this so-called " Satan", who seems to think that he is a bigger bad ass than Oderus. Along the way Gwar encounter's a bevy of demonic dickheads and hapless victims, all ready to die for your entertainment because they're all a bunch of assholes". The line "Abandon All

our Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regulato ...

Hope, Ye Who Enters Here" from Dante Alighieri's ''Inferno'' is used in the last verse in "Go To Hell!" The main outline of the album's plot is told in the lyrics, and it is expanded upon on tour by the band through skits between each song. The story starts with a theatrical introduction by a narrator-like figure, telling of how the "drunken brothers" of Gwar sleep, unaware of the situation around them. The story then picks up with "War Is All We Know", telling of the attack by the armies of humanity, led by the Nazi Pope on Gwar's Antarctic fortress. While the band manage to put up a defense for a while, eventually they are forced to retire as the enemy army nukes Gwar's castle, forcing them to withdraw to the underground, as is told in "Murderer's Muse". Lost, looking for a place to escape, they come across Jitler, a cross of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

and

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

who tells them about how the caverns under Gwar's keep lead into Hell itself. Jitler agrees to lead them to Hell, however, they still get lost along the way. Balsac the Jaws of Death tries using the ''Hell for Dummies'' manual to find their way, while Jitler uses

Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

to find directions. Eventually, they make their way to Hell ("Go to Hell!") but find a very long line at the gates, along with a

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

-like demonic police officer beating up people with a club. As explained in the lyrics of "I Love the Pigs", this demon used to be a corrupt

policeman A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

while he was alive, involving himself in drug deals until the last one went wrong and he was shot (despite this, the cause of death is said to be suicide by the authorities). Gwar murder and mutilate the demonic cop and make their way through the gates of Hell, facing the Tormentor (in the eponymous song), whom they also promptly defeat. Gwar next come across the Eight Lock, a prison within Hell keeping some of the biggest evils in the underworld inside. On tour, several demons are released from it and fight Gwar. The battle isn't over yet, and their next enemy comes off as a parody of decadent

rock n roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

lifestyle, a drugged-out demon of rock, named Toe E. Namel who, according to the lyrics on the song "Destroyed", killed himself by overdosing on heroin. This enemy is defeated. The story then tells the tale of a

nerd A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly tec ...

y Gwar fan ("The Ultimate Bohab") who became victim of the band's antics yet remained loyal until the very end, committing suicide just to follow Gwar to Hell. After all of these battles and obstacles, the band makes it to the palace of Satan himself ("The One That Will Not Be Named"), first asking him to open the door, but after getting no answer, smashing through it and calling him out. It is then that the main enemy of the story, Jewcifer (a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsJew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

and

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passa ...

, intended for satiric effect) appears and fights Gwar, eventually being defeated as Gwar summons Gor-Gor to bite the demon's head off, allowing Gwar to conquer Hell. However, their victory doesn't last long. Following the defeat of Jewcifer, the band find themselves back at their destroyed fortress ("Back in Crack"), receiving a 9-ton crack boulder from

Sleazy P. Martini Sleazy P. Martini is a persona, character played by Virginia, American artist, filmmaker, musician, performance artist, writer Don Drakulich in the heavy metal band Gwar. He wears two oversized gold necklaces, one with a dollar symbol, and one w ...

, and pondering over how meaningless their quest was, as they were left with absolutely nothing but a ruined castle and the knowledge that their adventure at least "was good for some kicks".

Characters

– Main characters in the story, decadent rock band made up of alien war gods banished to

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

* The Nazi Pope - Attacks Gwar's fortress early in the story; though mentioned in the liner notes and featured on tour (killed during "Immortal Corrupter"), there is no mention of him in any song. * Jitler - Created by

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

and

merging "right at the ass", leads Gwar through Hell and can be considered one of the few characters in the Gwar mythos that is allied to Gwar without being a member of the group (others being the Bonesnapper and Scroda Moon). * The Pig - A corrupt cop who serves as Hell's resident policeman, first battle in Hell. * Tormentor - Fought after The Pig, not much is explained about the Tormentor, except that he is some kind of demon guardian. On tour, the song was used during the slaughter of Pres. George W. Bush. He is portrayed by Devin Townsend. * The Demon of Rock N Roll – A demon who used to be a drug addicted, decadent

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

star. His official name is Toe E. Namel. * The Ultimate Bohab – A Gwar fan who killed himself to follow Gwar to Hell and is actually an enemy on tour (as he would have been in life; Gwar are not particularly fond of their fans). His name is given as Stubbles McGillicutty. * Jewcifer (He Who Will Not Be Named) – Overlord of Hell, none other than Satan himself and the last enemy Gwar face in their quest. Portrayed by Matt Maguire (MX2, the slave with the knight helmet) both on the album and on tour. *

– Mentioned only in "Murderer's Muse" and "Back in Crack", he sends Gwar a nine-ton crack boulder at the end of the story; his first appearance in a Gwar album for several years.

Track listing

Personnel

* Dave Brockie (

Oderus Urungus David Murray Brockie (August 30, 1963 – March 23, 2014) was a Canadian-American musician, who was the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Gwar, in which he performed as Oderus Urungus. He performed as a bassist and lead singer in the b ...

) – lead vocals * Cory Smoot (

Flattus Maximus Flattus Maximus is the name of a character and former guitarist in the American heavy metal band Gwar. He is known for his red face, white dreadlocks, dinosaur-head shoulder pads and reptile feet. The name "Flattus" is indicative of the charact ...

) –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

, producer * Mike Derks ( Balsac the Jaws of Death) – rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Todd Evans (

Beefcake the Mighty Beefcake the Mighty is the bassist of the heavy metal band Gwar. He appears as a stout (hence his name) humanoid girded in Roman-style armor. He is usually portrayed wielding either an oversized Gladius sword or a large battle-axe. Background ...

) – bass, backing vocals * Brad Roberts (

Jizmak Da Gusha Jizmak Da Gusha is the drummer for the heavy metal band Gwar. Although the costume has undergone many changes since the character was introduced, Jizmak's onstage get-up somewhat resembles a monstrous dog with very large teeth. He is usually see ...

) – drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

– producer * Matt Maguire (normally a slave; Jewcifer on the album) – vocals on "The One That Will Not Be Named"

References

{{Authority control Rock operas Concept albums 2006 albums Gwar albums DRT Entertainment albums Albums produced by Devin Townsend