LOCUST ABORTION TECHNICIAN
Year: 1987
Genre: Punk Rock
Sub-Genres: Noise, Experimental, Hardcore
Label: Touch & Go Records
Tracks: 11
Length: 33 Minutes (Medium-Length)
Style: Weird/Scary/Funny
My Rating: 8/8
Sub-Genres: Noise, Experimental, Hardcore
Label: Touch & Go Records
Tracks: 11
Length: 33 Minutes (Medium-Length)
Style: Weird/Scary/Funny
My Rating: 8/8
This is one of the greatest albums to ever be made. It has been said to scare some people, amuse others, and it makes me laugh! With that being said, a lot of people consider this album to be the high-point of the band's career, and the band had never made something quite this weird or disturbing before, and they certainly never did again.
According to Gibby Haynes itself, it's a concept album in which each song is a concept in itself. And he's just about right. There is almost zero filler here, except for the fact that they had two different versions of the same song on here. But other than that, every single song is different. Every one has something new to offer. There is grunge, punk, industrial rock, thrash-metal, and a whole plethora of downright bizarre, extremely creative tracks.
The whole album is like a mental roller-coaster ride. In fact, don't even read this review if you've never heard this record before. I don't want you to know what to expect. Listen to the damn album. That's the best experience you could have. But, if you've already heard this, then READ ON:
1. Sweat Loaf
*silence*
(slowly, soft string music can be heard fading in)
Child: "Daddy?"
Father: "Yes, Son?"
Child: "Wh-Wh-What does regret mean?"
Father: "Well, Son, a funny thing about regret is that it's better to regret something you HAVE done than to regret something you HAVEN'T done... and by the way, if you see your Mom this weekend, would you be sure and tell her: SATAN! SATAN! SATAN!"
That dialogue opens the album. After that, it goes right into a slow, grunge-sounding intro with Gibby yelling. This ends with a soft guitar solo and the sounds of the wind blowing. Back to the "verse" section which is harder and heavier, and now has Gibby using the "Gibbytronix" (a voice modulation device) and laughing. Back to the calm section of the song. Back to the verse part, one more time! This ends with the sound of wind blowing as Gibby's howls fade out. The whole song is said to be some sort of parody of "Sweet Leaf" by Black Sabbath. And still, they have not yet even scraped the surface of the insanity to ensue...
2. Graveyard (Version 1)
Starts with just the guitar. Then the beat and the bass join in. It's of a similar musical style to the previous track, and Gibby's voice is being played in a very low pitch. Sounds really funny, to be honest! This song isn't my favorite, though... it's a bit repetitive.
3. Pittsburg to Lebanon
Starts with the sounds of birds tweeting, which is interrupted by another heavy dirge-fest. Gibby's singing here resembles '70s metal vocals. This one is even slower than the last two songs. Spooky falsetto vocals in the background. The song ends with sounds from a radio. It's about to get even crazier...
4. Weber
This is where it starts to get really weird. This is the shortest track on the album. It's basically a short little lead-guitar driven instrumental piece that is about 37 seconds long or so. Before you know it, it fades out in a slightly eerie way.
5. Hay
This one is scary. It's the soundtrack to insanity. There's a bunch of extremely fast backwards music playing with the sounds of a bunch of mentally retarded adults screaming "HAY!" in the background. Has a very freaky ending, with all of them yelling "HAY" one last time with a scary echo into the darkness.
6. Human Cannonball
The only "normal" song on the entire album. It's basically a traditional-sounding punk song in with lyrics that actually sound unusually serious for the Butthole Surfers. I listen to this in the car a lot. Starts with the beat, and then you hear a voice saying "Are you ready to rock?? WELCOME!!!", and then the bass, and the guitar kick in. This one has a truly wonderful riff, introduced by a nice solo. Before you know it, Gibby starts singing a song that seems to be about feelings of abuse or being rejected. There's another solo later on in the song, and it's one of my favorite guitar-solos I've ever heard. But this song is great. It's like a single moment of sanity and calmness amidst the sea of chaos. But it doesn't last forever. This song is the end of Side 1.
7. U.S.S.A.
This one is also very strange. It sounds like industrial rock. It has one of the scariest, most abrasive-sounding riffs ever, which has a strange clicking sound in the background, the sound of a record being scratched, and a strange high-pitched voice repeatedly shouting "U.S.S.A.! U.S.S.R.! U.S.A.! U.S.R.!". That's pretty much the song, but it lasts for awhile.
8. The O-Men
This is the definition of "badass". It's a crossover-thrash song, and it has Gibby growling unintelligible lyrics to a repeated beat, as well as sped-up voices, slowed-down voices, and a "solo" that is made up of the sounds of tape rewinding.
9. Kuntz
An amazing track. An old-fashioned Thai folk song totally fucked and screwed up to make it sounds like they're saying "kunt" over and over again as well as other Butthole magic. If this doesn't totally make you laugh on the first listen, then I feel sorry for you.
10. Graveyard (Version 2)
WHY the hell did they have to do the same song twice on this album? That's my only complaint about it. They could have included some other NEW song, but this is just a more "normal" sounding version of track 2.
11. 22 Going on 23
This one is pretty weird. It's basically the same bassline and beat repeated over and over with the sounds of a radio broadcast interview of a schizophrenic woman who claimed that she was sexually assaulted. I was playing it in the car one night and my friend actually asked me to turn it off, he was so offended by it. There is a strangely "happy" solo in the middle of this one. The song ends with, well, the sound of cows and crickets. While somebody else who had reviewed this album said they were in a "field", I personally think "slaughterhouse" sounds more fitting. It's a pretty creepy ending.
The Butthole Surfers were never quite this weird again, and some actually even think they "sold out" after this album. Well, regardless, if you like any form of alternative music, you simply MUST listen to this! You'll never be quite the same.
According to Gibby Haynes itself, it's a concept album in which each song is a concept in itself. And he's just about right. There is almost zero filler here, except for the fact that they had two different versions of the same song on here. But other than that, every single song is different. Every one has something new to offer. There is grunge, punk, industrial rock, thrash-metal, and a whole plethora of downright bizarre, extremely creative tracks.
The whole album is like a mental roller-coaster ride. In fact, don't even read this review if you've never heard this record before. I don't want you to know what to expect. Listen to the damn album. That's the best experience you could have. But, if you've already heard this, then READ ON:
1. Sweat Loaf
*silence*
(slowly, soft string music can be heard fading in)
Child: "Daddy?"
Father: "Yes, Son?"
Child: "Wh-Wh-What does regret mean?"
Father: "Well, Son, a funny thing about regret is that it's better to regret something you HAVE done than to regret something you HAVEN'T done... and by the way, if you see your Mom this weekend, would you be sure and tell her: SATAN! SATAN! SATAN!"
That dialogue opens the album. After that, it goes right into a slow, grunge-sounding intro with Gibby yelling. This ends with a soft guitar solo and the sounds of the wind blowing. Back to the "verse" section which is harder and heavier, and now has Gibby using the "Gibbytronix" (a voice modulation device) and laughing. Back to the calm section of the song. Back to the verse part, one more time! This ends with the sound of wind blowing as Gibby's howls fade out. The whole song is said to be some sort of parody of "Sweet Leaf" by Black Sabbath. And still, they have not yet even scraped the surface of the insanity to ensue...
2. Graveyard (Version 1)
Starts with just the guitar. Then the beat and the bass join in. It's of a similar musical style to the previous track, and Gibby's voice is being played in a very low pitch. Sounds really funny, to be honest! This song isn't my favorite, though... it's a bit repetitive.
3. Pittsburg to Lebanon
Starts with the sounds of birds tweeting, which is interrupted by another heavy dirge-fest. Gibby's singing here resembles '70s metal vocals. This one is even slower than the last two songs. Spooky falsetto vocals in the background. The song ends with sounds from a radio. It's about to get even crazier...
4. Weber
This is where it starts to get really weird. This is the shortest track on the album. It's basically a short little lead-guitar driven instrumental piece that is about 37 seconds long or so. Before you know it, it fades out in a slightly eerie way.
5. Hay
This one is scary. It's the soundtrack to insanity. There's a bunch of extremely fast backwards music playing with the sounds of a bunch of mentally retarded adults screaming "HAY!" in the background. Has a very freaky ending, with all of them yelling "HAY" one last time with a scary echo into the darkness.
6. Human Cannonball
The only "normal" song on the entire album. It's basically a traditional-sounding punk song in with lyrics that actually sound unusually serious for the Butthole Surfers. I listen to this in the car a lot. Starts with the beat, and then you hear a voice saying "Are you ready to rock?? WELCOME!!!", and then the bass, and the guitar kick in. This one has a truly wonderful riff, introduced by a nice solo. Before you know it, Gibby starts singing a song that seems to be about feelings of abuse or being rejected. There's another solo later on in the song, and it's one of my favorite guitar-solos I've ever heard. But this song is great. It's like a single moment of sanity and calmness amidst the sea of chaos. But it doesn't last forever. This song is the end of Side 1.
7. U.S.S.A.
This one is also very strange. It sounds like industrial rock. It has one of the scariest, most abrasive-sounding riffs ever, which has a strange clicking sound in the background, the sound of a record being scratched, and a strange high-pitched voice repeatedly shouting "U.S.S.A.! U.S.S.R.! U.S.A.! U.S.R.!". That's pretty much the song, but it lasts for awhile.
8. The O-Men
This is the definition of "badass". It's a crossover-thrash song, and it has Gibby growling unintelligible lyrics to a repeated beat, as well as sped-up voices, slowed-down voices, and a "solo" that is made up of the sounds of tape rewinding.
9. Kuntz
An amazing track. An old-fashioned Thai folk song totally fucked and screwed up to make it sounds like they're saying "kunt" over and over again as well as other Butthole magic. If this doesn't totally make you laugh on the first listen, then I feel sorry for you.
10. Graveyard (Version 2)
WHY the hell did they have to do the same song twice on this album? That's my only complaint about it. They could have included some other NEW song, but this is just a more "normal" sounding version of track 2.
11. 22 Going on 23
This one is pretty weird. It's basically the same bassline and beat repeated over and over with the sounds of a radio broadcast interview of a schizophrenic woman who claimed that she was sexually assaulted. I was playing it in the car one night and my friend actually asked me to turn it off, he was so offended by it. There is a strangely "happy" solo in the middle of this one. The song ends with, well, the sound of cows and crickets. While somebody else who had reviewed this album said they were in a "field", I personally think "slaughterhouse" sounds more fitting. It's a pretty creepy ending.
The Butthole Surfers were never quite this weird again, and some actually even think they "sold out" after this album. Well, regardless, if you like any form of alternative music, you simply MUST listen to this! You'll never be quite the same.
the story behind 22 going on 23 is great, you should look it up.
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