Ragnarök (Gwar album)
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Ragnarök | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 24, 1995 | |||
Recorded | 1995 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 47:11 | |||
Label | Metal Blade Records | |||
Producer | Robert Margouleff | |||
Gwar chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 7/10[2] |
Ragnarök is the fifth album by the rock/heavy metal/punk band Gwar. It was released on October 24, 1995, on Metal Blade Records and contains the most varied vocal stylings of any Gwar album, with the majority of band members singing at least one track.
Background
Ragnarök is essentially a
Content
As it could be supposed, the concept of the album is about the ridicule of Christianity (especially in the song, "Martyr Dumb"). The highlights of the album include "Dirty, Filthy" (a rousing comedy anthem), the title track (featuring the final appearance of Chuck Varga as Sexecutioner on a Gwar album), and "Meat Sandwich". Don Drakulich does a mock-rapping bit as Sleazy P. Martini on "Think You Outta Know This" (a song about ripping people off. It's Sleazy's last album appearance), and there is an energetic duet between Brockie as Oderus and Danielle Stampe as Slymenstra in "Fire in the Loins". "Crush, Kill, Destroy" features new bassist Casey Orr (having replaced Michael Bishop as Beefcake the Mighty) on lead vocals for the first time (he would also sing lead on Carnival of Chaos two years later). The one song featuring a character exclusive to the storyline is "Surf of Syn" – though the vocals aren't the main emphasis of the song, Hunter Jackson as Cardinal Syn does a vocal style similar to death growling. This brings the total number of vocalists up to six – Brockie, Orr, Stampe, Drakulich, Varga and Jackson.
This album, as well as having a variety of vocal stylings, also features a musical side of Gwar not found in previous albums. Nowhere is this more apparent than in "Surf of Syn." This song is the biggest change in Gwar's musical style (from the usual punk and metal to metal-fused surf) until 1997 (with "Sex Cow" and "Don't Need a Man," both from
Ragnarök's songs are not performed in concert as frequently as songs from the other albums (specifically the albums
Videos
Like Gwar's other albums, Ragnarök spawned a video: "Rendezvous with Ragnarök." This featured a paranormal investigator (played by Bob Gorman, a member of Slave Pit Inc.) interviewing Techno Destructo, Beefcake the Mighty, Balsac the Jaws of Death, and Flattus Maximus. In between the interview segments, live footage from the 1995 Ragnarök N' Roll Tour (though the music is dubbed from the album, not the concerts) tells the story outlined by the interviews. This video features the most speaking Flattus Maximus has ever done. "Rendezvous with Ragnarök" features three music videos: "Saddam A Go-Go" (though from 1994's This Toilet Earth, the video featured footage from the Skulhedface tour, after the movie "Skulhedface" was released), "Meat Sandwich" and "Surf of Syn." The version of "Sonderkommando" is not the studio version found on "This Toilet Earth;" it features the Pledge of Allegiance sung to the music, as well as a line from "By-Tor and the Snow Dog" by Rush. "Think You Outta Know This" was never performed on the Ragnarök N' Roll Tour; Drakulich stopped touring after Ragnarök was released. It was taken from the 1996 Halloween Slaugh-Tour, though it used the album's music.
The "Surf of Syn" video was the first video recorded for Ragnarök, and was done on a very limited budget. "Meat Sandwich" was probably also limited in resources, though there were no props or sets to be made. The band was almost arrested for making the video, as they walked around the capitol building in Richmond, Virginia, in full costume (with no permits, and quite exposed) and simulated someone (Oderus) being hit by a car (which belonged to Jizmak Da Gusha).
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Meat Sandwich" | 3:29 |
2. | "The New Plague" | 2:52 |
3. | "Whargoul" | 5:37 |
4. | "RagNaRok" (Vocals by Sexecutioner) | 3:59 |
5. | "Dirty, Filthy" | 2:30 |
6. | "Stalin's Organs" | 2:19 |
7. | "Knife in Yer Guts" | 3:15 |
8. | "Think You Outta Know This" (Vocals by Sleazy P. Martini) | 2:46 |
9. | "Martyr Dumb" | 3:57 |
10. | "Nudged" | 2:39 |
11. | "Fire in the Loins" (Vocals by Oderus Urungus & Slymenstra Hymen) | 3:58 |
12. | "Surf of Syn" (Vocals by Cardinal Syn) | 4:22 |
13. | "Crush, Kill, Destroy" (Vocals by Beefcake the Mighty) | 1:34 |
14. | "None But the Brave" | 3:50 |
Personnel
- Dave Brockie (Oderus Urungus) – Lead vocals
- Pete Lee (Flattus Maximus) – Lead guitar, backing vocals
- Mike Derks (Balsac the Jaws of Death) – Rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Casey Orr (Beefcake the Mighty) – Bass, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Crush, Kill, Destroy"
- Brad Roberts (Jizmak Da Gusha) – Drums
- Dave Musel (Müsel) – Keyboards, samples
- Danielle Stampe (Slymenstra Hymen) – Lead vocals on "Fire in the Loins"
- Chuck Varga (Sexecutioner) – Lead vocals on "RagNaRok"
- Don Drakulich (Sleazy P. Martini) – Lead vocals on "Think You Outta Know This"
- Hunter Jackson (Cardinal Syn) – Lead vocals on "Surf of Syn" (Uncredited)
- Jenna Anderson – Backing vocals on "None But the Brave"
References
- AllMusic. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.