July 19: Butthole Surfers, "Locust Abortion Technician"

Artist: Butthole Surfers
Album: Locust Abortion Technician
Year: 1987
Label: Latino Bugger Veil


While many bands make "strange" sounding music, there are few bands who play as masterfully, whilst simultaneously being downright spooky, as music legends, Butthole Surfers. Easily one of the most controversial bands in history, from their radio-unfriendly name to their notorious circus-like stage presentation, the genius of the bands' music is often overshadowed by the hype that surrounds them. Blending styles as diverse as electronica and hardcore punk, the bands' musical influences come from all over the musical spectrum, and this in turn makes their music like nothing else ever recorded. Having recorded ten shockingly brilliant records over the past three decades, the band has cemented themselves as one of the most innovative and unrelenting bands in history. While they had an unlikely hit single with 1996's "Pepper," the song is a far cry from the usual sound of the bands' records. Easily their finest album to date comes in the form of their sensational 1987 album, Locust Abortion Technician.

The Butthole Surfers represent one of the most unique bands in history, as they blend together elements of hardcore, jazz, heavy metal, and psychobilly. The result is something that is never anything short of stunning. Much like Ween, this is also a band who do not take themselves too seriously, and along with a good dose of tongue-in-cheek humor, the band has many musically avant moments on Locust Abortion Technician. While there are many, one of the most brilliant moments on this album occurs with the songs "Hay" and "22 Going On 23." Though many people do not know it, "Hay" is, in fact, a reversed, and slightly modified version of "22 Going On 23." As in, they are the same song, played in reverse directions. The "mooing" at the end of "22 Going On 23" is actually the core of the lyrics of "Hay," slowed down and reversed. That the two songs are equally great is a testament to the genius of the Butthole Surfers. Locust Abortion Technician also stands as the bands' first album that was recorded nearly entirely in their own, home studio. Without the constraints of time and money, the band was able to fully explore each song, and the results of this opened-ended recording process yields their finest musical work ever.

Musically, the Butthole Surfers take as much as they do from Frank Zappa as they do from Black Sabbath (the main riff from "Sweet Loaf" is lifted from Sabbath's "Sweet Leaf.") The quirky, sludgy music that is found throughout a majority of Locust Abortion Technician is truly like nothing else, and is absolutely amazing. Guitarist Paul Leary shines brightly throughout the record, mixing crushing riffs with fantastic soloing. Leary has also made a name as a producer, working with bands like Nirvana, Reverend Horton Heat, and The Refreshments. Bassist Jeff Pinkus is equally as brilliant, making the songs sway and shudder, and it is very much his contributions that gives the music its dark, somewhat maniacal mood. Pinkus also takes much of the credit for the album sounding different than the bands' previous efforts, as this was his first recording with the band. Locust Abortion Technician sets itself aside from a majority of the rest of the Butthole Surfers catalog in that it is one of their few albums to feature two different drummers on every track. King Coffey (real name Jeffrey Coffey), is the bands' "normal" drummer, and he has appeared on every record they have released since 1983. Joining the band in the studio on and off throughout the 1980's was drummer, Teresa Nervosa (real name Teresa Taylor). Rumors of Coffey and Nervosa being siblings have been a part of the bands' lore since the 1980's, and though there are facts that support both possibilities, it remains a "mystery" to this day. Nervosa returned to the lineup of the Butthole Surfers in 2009 after more than two decades away from the band.

Though his stage and studio antics are something that is well beyond the word "strange," lead singer Gibby Haynes' past is, in many ways, even more strange. Haynes was, in fact, a high school basketball standout in Texas, and whilst studying accounting in college, he was captain of the basketball team, as well as President of his fraternity. After graduating and working at a large accounting firm for about a year, Haynes formed Butthole Surfers, and his outrageous stage antics quickly garnered a cult following for the band. Haynes' vocal delivery is about as unique a sound as you'll find anywhere; sounding like a strange combination between Jello Bifara and Frank Zappa. Locust Abortion Technician also features the debut of what the band calls "Gibbytronix." This is the term they use when referring to the strangely distorted vocals that appear on songs like "Graveyard" and "Human Cannonball." It is often vocals like these that give the songs a far darker and eerier mood. While some of the songs, such as "Kuntz" are perfect examples of the bands' clever humor, lyrically, the songs are often strangely veiled musings on love, though usually hidden behind the grim music and non-traditional vocal delivery. It is the somewhat crazed, somewhat feral way in which Gibby Haynes sings that makes the music of the Butthole Surfers both sinister as well as absolutely genius.

Though many have not heard much of their music, there are few people who do not at least know the name of the Butthole Surfers. Much like their band name, the music is something that, once you hear it, you can never forget it as it is so unlike anything else ever recorded. Creating a strange, brilliant blend of heavy metal, hardcore punk, and shock rock, the music of Butthole Surfers is uniquely fantastic, and the band never fails to be wonderfully original. Centered around the writing and unmistakable vocals of Gibby Haynes, the band served as influence on everyone from GWAR to Dinosaur Jr to Pantera to Flaming Lips. The musicians strong of the band are constantly pushing the boundaries on what they are capable of musically, and this ensures that no two songs or two albums bear too much similarity. In nearly thirty years of performing, the band has never compromised, and still delivering amazing studio records, as well as some of the strangest, most controversial stage shows in history. While every album they've recorded is worth owning, the band delivered their finest musical work with their shocking, yet undeniably phenomenal 1987 album, Locust Abortion Technician.



Standout tracks: "Sweet Loaf," "Human Cannonball," and "The O-Men."