''Scumdogs of the Universe'' is the second album by American

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

heavy metal band

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 ...

. The album is their first album on

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...

and was released on January 8, 1990. To date, it is the band's best-selling album. A deluxe 30th anniversary box set of ''Scumdogs'' was released in August 2020, with remixed and remastered audio by producer Ronan Chris Murphy, as well as an exclusive cassette containing rehearsal demos and previously unreleased tracks. Those that pre-ordered the box set received a digital download of the remastered album on August 7, 2020, with the first single, "Maggots", being made publicly available the same day. The remaster saw a wide release on October 30, 2020.

Overview

As the title implies, it is a concept album about the Scumdogs' (Gwar) reign of terror on planet Earth. The song "Death Pod" explains exactly how they came to Earth to begin with. The production is very refined compared to the independent, rushed first attempt, with each successive album sounding more and more refined. Gwar began to experiment with samples to some degree, e.g. in the song, "Maggots". The songs are more socially relevant in this album as well. Examples include "Slaughterama", which involves Gwar killing

hippies A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

and

nazi-skinheads White power skinheads, also known as racist skinheads and neo-Nazi skinheads, are members of a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and antisemitic offshoot of the skinhead subculture. Many of them are affiliated with white nationalist organizations and ...

in a game show-style fashion and the opening track, "The Salaminizer", in which the first verse was inspired by/based on " Gangsta, Gangsta", a song by the breakthrough

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

group

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip hop group whose members were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered ...

. Other references include history ''Vlad the Impaler'' and Lovecraft mythology, ''Horror of Yig''. Most of the album is centered on twisted jokes about insane medical practices and sexual perversion. This album is viewed by many of Gwar's fans, as well as Gwar themselves, as their ultimate masterpiece. The band plays more songs from ''Scumdogs'' than any other album. " Sick of You" is the most frequently played song in concert, generally the grand finale. This is the first Gwar album on which more than two people sing lead (''Hell-O'' had

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 ...

and Techno Destructo): "Slaughterama" features Sleazy P. Martini, Sexecutioner sings his namesake song, and the album's CD exclusive closer, "Cool Place To Park," debuts bassist

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 ...

as a vocalist. All other songs featured Oderus. Danielle Stampe (

Slymenstra Hymen Danielle Stampe is a singer, dancer, set designer, and performance artist, best known for her work with Gwar as "Slymenstra Hymen." She has set records for fire breathing and voltage endurance. Early life Danielle Stampe was born in San Diego on No ...

), Michael Derks (

Balsac the Jaws of Death Balsac may refer to: * Balsac the Jaws of Death (born 1950), character and guitarist in the rock band Gwar * Balsac, Aveyron, France * BALSAC (database), a Quebec population database * Henri Heim de Balsac (1899–1979), French zoologist See a ...

), Chuck Varga (

Sexecutioner Sexecutioner is a supporting character in the heavy metal band Gwar, played originally by Mike Delaney, and finally by Chuck Varga from 1989 until 1995–6, with special appearances in 2000 (the ''You're All Worthless and Weak'' concert), 2012, an ...

), and 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 ...

) make their debuts on this album.

Reception

In 2016, ''Scumdogs of the Universe'' was ranked #90 on

Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August of 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive ...

's Top 90 Hard Rock + Metal Albums of the 1990s lists.

Track listing

Note *The tracks "The Years Without Light" and "Cool Place to Park" do not appear on versions released under the Master label, only versions released under Metal Blade label. For the original 1990 Metal Blade release of the album, "Cool Place to Park" is a CD only track. Note *The 30th anniversary track order has been changed to match the remastered vinyl release, while the pre-order download version featured the tracks numbered to match the 1990 release order. The remastered CD's track listing erroneously omits "Sexecutioner", with the numbering jumping from track 8 to track 10, similar to censored versions of ''

This Toilet Earth ''This Toilet Earth'' is the fourth album released by heavy metal band Gwar. Released on March 29, 1994, this album was to be one of their oddest and most bittersweet albums. It was the first Gwar album to be censored (the second was '' We Kill ...

''. Note *The demo cassette contains an unlisted hidden track after "Jellyfish", a studio demo of "Horror of Yig" that was originally intended to be released through

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 ...

's Singles Club program.

Personnel

*Dave Brockie (

) -

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

, bass on "Cool Place to Park" *Dewey Rowell (

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 featur ...

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 use ...

*Mike Derks (

) -

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

, backing vocals * Michael Bishop (

) - bass, backing vocals; lead vocals on "Cool Place to Park" *Brad Roberts (

) -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

*Danielle Stampe (

) - backing vocals *Chuck Varga (

) - vocals on "Sexecutioner" *Don Drakulich (

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 ...

) - vocals on "Slaughterama"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scumdogs Of The Universe 1990 albums Albums produced by Al Jourgensen Gwar albums Metal Blade Records albums