''God's Balls'' is the debut album by the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band Tad. It was released in 1989 on

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often ...

, and re-released in 2016 as a deluxe edition. The band promoted the album by undertaking a European tour with labelmates

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

Production

The album was produced by

Jack Endino Jack Endino (born Michael M. Giacondino; 1964) is an American producer and musician based in Seattle, Washington. Long associated with Seattle label Sub Pop and the grunge movement, Endino worked on seminal albums from bands including Mudhon ...

. The band's goal was to create an album lacking harmony and melody.

Critical reception

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' called the album "impressively punishing," writing that "the riff-heavy 'Behemoth', 'Satan’s Chainsaw' and especially the Ed Gein-inspired 'Nipple Belt' hit like a succession of knees to the groin, with Doyle’s rugged, sneering vocals adding insult to injury." ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' wrote: "Relying on legendary Seattle producer Jack Endino to help translate their monolithic live sound to record, the band set about doing what they do best -- namely channeling ‘70s heavy metal into something even heavier and more oppressive than any of their forebears could’ve imagined."

Track listing

# "Behemoth" - 4:10 # "Pork Chop" - 4:22 # "Helot" - 2:58 # "Tuna Car" - 2:37 # "Sex God Missy (Lumberjack Mix)" - 4:29 # "Cyanide Bath" - 3:37 # "Boiler Room" - 4:49 # "Satan's Chainsaw" - 3:10 # "Hollow Man" - 4:05 # "Nipple Belt" - 3:17

Personnel

*Tad Doyle - Vocals, Guitar *Kurt Danielson - Bass *Gary Thorstensen - Guitar *Steve Wied - Drums *

- Production, Engineering, Mastering * Charles Peterson - Photography

Charts

References

{{Authority control Tad (band) albums 1989 debut albums Sub Pop albums Albums produced by Jack Endino