Carnival of Chaos
Encyclopedia
Carnival of Chaos is the Gwar
's sixth studio album. It is perhaps most notable as their longest album (exceeding 74 minutes), and also as the album that contains Stampe's solo number: "Don't Need a Man". Hunter Jackson also returns in "The Private Pain of Techno Destructo", and there is an ballad entitled "Sammy" about the rotting corpse of Sammy Davis Jr.. "In Her Fear" is Oderus's swan song, and Beefcake the Mighty
gives a memorable song in "Hate Love Songs" - Casey Orr's last song as a lead vocalist with the band until his return on Lust in Space
. "Sex Cow" seems heavily influenced by bluegrass music
and country music
and some jokes, "Scallop Boat" and "I Suck on My Thumb" round the album out.
Carnival of Chaos is the last Gwar album to feature Peter Lee as Flattus Maximus
- due to recurring stomach problems (stemming from a gunshot wound sustained in a carjacking
four years prior), he left the band shortly after the 1997 Halloween Tour (and after "Dawn of the Day of the Night of the Penguins," the video that corresponds with Carnival of Chaos, was recorded).
"Don't Need A Man" was not originally meant to be a Gwar song. It was supposed to be just Danielle Stampe (Slymenstra Hymen
) singing and Michael Derks (Balsac the Jaws of Death
) on piano. It ended up featuring Brad Roberts (Jizmak Da Gusha
), Derks (sequencing the upright bass part, the piano and the guitar) and Stampe. Derks produced the track, but received no credit. Additionally, Derks wrote "Hate Love Songs," and was initially going to sing the lead, but opted instead to have Orr (Beefcake) do it. He is still heard in the background.
Approximately nine minutes after "Don't Need A Man" is a clip of "Drop Drawers." This was supposed to appear on the album, along with a complete version of "The Private Pain of Techno Destructo." The latter had to be changed, due to Paramount's refusal to give permission to use music from the 1967 Star Trek
episode, "Amok Time" (there is a "Slave Pit Single, released after this album, that features it). The former, which included a cover of Billy Thorpe's "Children of the Sun," had to be cut, save for a short clip at the end. "Drop Drawers" can be found on Slaves Going Single, an extremely rare B-sides collection released between We Kill Everything
and Violence Has Arrived on Slave Pit Records. The latter can be heard, minus the unlicensed cover, on the album (just after Techno sings "You'll just make me..."), and the full song (except for a slight cut-off of Techno at the end) on the Rawgwar Slave Pit Single.
"Sammy" is the longest song on this album, despite "Don't Need A Man"'s 12:40 track length (most of it is silence; the actual song is a little less than 4:30 long). Clocking in at 6:57, it and the title track from their 1999 follow-up, We Kill Everything
, are the longest songs by Gwar (it too is 6:57 in length).
Songs from Carnival have not been in the band's setlists for a number of years except for the group occasionally playing "Penguin Attack" and "Back to Iraq". Unlike We Kill Everything
, where the band readily admits their dissatisfaction for the content (explaining the absence of songs from that album), they have yet to give a definitive reason why.
Gwar
Gwar is a satirical heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia, United States, in 1984. The band is best known for its elaborate science fiction/horror film inspired costumes, obscene lyrics and graphic stage performances, which feature humorous enactments of politically and morally taboo...
's sixth studio album. It is perhaps most notable as their longest album (exceeding 74 minutes), and also as the album that contains Stampe's solo number: "Don't Need a Man". Hunter Jackson also returns in "The Private Pain of Techno Destructo", and there is an ballad entitled "Sammy" about the rotting corpse of Sammy Davis Jr.. "In Her Fear" is Oderus's swan song, and Beefcake the Mighty
Beefcake the Mighty
Beefcake the Mighty is the bassist in the rock band Gwar. He appears as a stout humanoid girded in Roman-style armor. He is usually portrayed wielding either an oversized Gladius sword or a large battle-axe .-Background:According to Gwar mythos, Beefcake originates from the planet Cholesterol...
gives a memorable song in "Hate Love Songs" - Casey Orr's last song as a lead vocalist with the band until his return on Lust in Space
Lust in Space
-Line-up:*Dave Brockie - lead vocals*Cory Smoot - lead guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Release the Flies"*Mike Derks - rhythm guitar, backing vocals...
. "Sex Cow" seems heavily influenced by bluegrass music
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
and country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and some jokes, "Scallop Boat" and "I Suck on My Thumb" round the album out.
Carnival of Chaos is the last Gwar album to feature Peter Lee as Flattus Maximus
Flattus Maximus
Flattus Maximus is the name of a former character and guitarist in the American heavy metal band Gwar. He is known by his red face, white dreadlocks, dinosaur-head shoulder pads and reptile feet. The name "Flattus" implies a flatulent character. His speaking mannerisms suggest a childlike...
- due to recurring stomach problems (stemming from a gunshot wound sustained in a carjacking
Carjacking
Carjacking is a form of hijacking, where the crime is of stealing a motor vehicle and so also armed assault when the vehicle is occupied. Historically, such as in the rash of semi-trailer truck hijackings during the 1960s, the general term hijacking was used for that type of vehicle abduction,...
four years prior), he left the band shortly after the 1997 Halloween Tour (and after "Dawn of the Day of the Night of the Penguins," the video that corresponds with Carnival of Chaos, was recorded).
"Don't Need A Man" was not originally meant to be a Gwar song. It was supposed to be just Danielle Stampe (Slymenstra Hymen
Slymenstra Hymen
Slymenstra Hymen was Gwar's dancer and occasional singer portrayed by Danielle Stampe . She is perhaps best known for fire dancing, usually during the song "Horror of Yig." On the tours for the Carnival of Chaos album, she danced to the song "Sammy," because "Horror of Yig" often followed the...
) singing and Michael Derks (Balsac the Jaws of Death
Balsac the Jaws of Death
Balsac the Jaws of Death is the rhythm guitarist in the rock band Gwar. He appears as a humanoid creature with a face resembling a bear-trap. Balsac is usually portrayed wielding a giant battleaxe...
) on piano. It ended up featuring Brad Roberts (Jizmak Da Gusha
Jizmak Da Gusha
Jizmak Da Gusha is the drummer in the rock 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...
), Derks (sequencing the upright bass part, the piano and the guitar) and Stampe. Derks produced the track, but received no credit. Additionally, Derks wrote "Hate Love Songs," and was initially going to sing the lead, but opted instead to have Orr (Beefcake) do it. He is still heard in the background.
Approximately nine minutes after "Don't Need A Man" is a clip of "Drop Drawers." This was supposed to appear on the album, along with a complete version of "The Private Pain of Techno Destructo." The latter had to be changed, due to Paramount's refusal to give permission to use music from the 1967 Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
episode, "Amok Time" (there is a "Slave Pit Single, released after this album, that features it). The former, which included a cover of Billy Thorpe's "Children of the Sun," had to be cut, save for a short clip at the end. "Drop Drawers" can be found on Slaves Going Single, an extremely rare B-sides collection released between We Kill Everything
We Kill Everything
-Story:The album's story differs slightly than the version told in "It's Sleazy" and on tour.The first three tracks on the album do not follow one particular story, and focus on Gwar's generally decadent ways...
and Violence Has Arrived on Slave Pit Records. The latter can be heard, minus the unlicensed cover, on the album (just after Techno sings "You'll just make me..."), and the full song (except for a slight cut-off of Techno at the end) on the Rawgwar Slave Pit Single.
"Sammy" is the longest song on this album, despite "Don't Need A Man"'s 12:40 track length (most of it is silence; the actual song is a little less than 4:30 long). Clocking in at 6:57, it and the title track from their 1999 follow-up, We Kill Everything
We Kill Everything
-Story:The album's story differs slightly than the version told in "It's Sleazy" and on tour.The first three tracks on the album do not follow one particular story, and focus on Gwar's generally decadent ways...
, are the longest songs by Gwar (it too is 6:57 in length).
Songs from Carnival have not been in the band's setlists for a number of years except for the group occasionally playing "Penguin Attack" and "Back to Iraq". Unlike We Kill Everything
We Kill Everything
-Story:The album's story differs slightly than the version told in "It's Sleazy" and on tour.The first three tracks on the album do not follow one particular story, and focus on Gwar's generally decadent ways...
, where the band readily admits their dissatisfaction for the content (explaining the absence of songs from that album), they have yet to give a definitive reason why.
Track listing
All tracks by GwarGwar
Gwar is a satirical heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia, United States, in 1984. The band is best known for its elaborate science fiction/horror film inspired costumes, obscene lyrics and graphic stage performances, which feature humorous enactments of politically and morally taboo...
Personnel
- Dave Brockie (Oderus UrungusOderus UrungusOderus Urungus, played by Dave Brockie, is the lead vocalist of the Metal band Gwar. He appears as an intergalactic humanoid barbarian with devil horns and a meaty looking face, and always carries around a long sword named "Unt Lick"...
) - Lead vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the... - Pete Lee (Flattus MaximusFlattus MaximusFlattus Maximus is the name of a former character and guitarist in the American heavy metal band Gwar. He is known by his red face, white dreadlocks, dinosaur-head shoulder pads and reptile feet. The name "Flattus" implies a flatulent character. His speaking mannerisms suggest a childlike...
) – Lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Mike Derks (Balsac the Jaws of DeathBalsac the Jaws of DeathBalsac the Jaws of Death is the rhythm guitarist in the rock band Gwar. He appears as a humanoid creature with a face resembling a bear-trap. Balsac is usually portrayed wielding a giant battleaxe...
) – Rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, backing vocals - Casey Orr (Beefcake the MightyBeefcake the MightyBeefcake the Mighty is the bassist in the rock band Gwar. He appears as a stout humanoid girded in Roman-style armor. He is usually portrayed wielding either an oversized Gladius sword or a large battle-axe .-Background:According to Gwar mythos, Beefcake originates from the planet Cholesterol...
) – BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Hate Love Songs" - Brad Roberts (Jizmak Da GushaJizmak Da GushaJizmak Da Gusha is the drummer in the rock 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...
) - DrumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Hunter Jackson (Techno DestructoTechno DestructoTechno Destructo is perhaps the most famous GWAR villain . He is played by either Hunter Jackson or Don Drakulich , though Jackson played the character for the majority of his time in GWAR...
) - Lead vocals on "The Private Pain of Techno Destructo" - Danielle Stampe (Slymenstra HymenSlymenstra HymenSlymenstra Hymen was Gwar's dancer and occasional singer portrayed by Danielle Stampe . She is perhaps best known for fire dancing, usually during the song "Horror of Yig." On the tours for the Carnival of Chaos album, she danced to the song "Sammy," because "Horror of Yig" often followed the...
) – Lead vocals on "Don't Need a Man"
- Ron Goudie – Producer, Mixing
- Warren Croyle – Mixing
- Gene Grimaldi – Mastering
- Katherine Leatherwood – Photography
- Drew Mazurek – Mixing
- Mark Miley – Assistant Engineer, Drum Producer
- Grant Rutledge – Assistant Engineer
- Eddy Schreyer – Mastering