Customer Reviews

America Must Be Destroyed (Reis)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

A lot of people rate this as one of GWAR's heaviest albums, and that's just as unfair as the critics who try to lump them in with Thrash Metal. While "America Must Be Destroyed" does indeed have some incredibly heavy songs, it also has some incredibly well-played lighter pieces including a classic rock ballad (or a parody of one) and a jazzy bluesy piece (mostly).

The album opens up with "Ham on the Bone", a rocking and fast bit of metal that does a great job setting the stage for the rest of the album. "Crack in the Egg" is another hard hitter that, though excellent, mostly sets the stage for the next track- "Gor-Gor". If the beginning of the album was Thrash Metal, this can only be Extreme Metal since that's the even harder genre I can think of at the moment. If you're not head-banging when this tune kicks in, turn in your T-shirt at the door, you're not a metal fan.

This is where the album changes gears completely. Mostly. "Have You Seen Me?" combines lyrics about abducting children- the title is a reference to the pictures on milk cartons from ages past- with some light and summery instrumentals complete with a ukulele, right before breaking into what might be some of the hardest metal on the album. You can really hear Beefcake (the bassist) tearing it up toward the end. This isn't just a mixture of styles, it's a fusion of two impossibly distant genres that devolves into absolute chaos at the end. And it's brilliant.

The rest of the album is a bit hit or miss, which isn't a problem since the first few singles are worth the purchase price. Highlights include the Morality squad, sung by an elderly grandmother hellbent on destroying GWAR, and The Road Behind- GWAR's take on a Rock Ballad that sounds a lot like a satire of a band like Guns & Roses and is all the better for it. 'Can't you hear me cryin', just like a sad whale song?'. I'm really not a fan of "Gilded Lily" or "America Must Be Destroyed" (one of GWAR's two instrumental songs, though it does feature sampled spoken word) in particular, but the album overall makes up for it.

If you're a GWAR fan, this album is a nice blend of the old and the new. It has a ton of heavier metal, but also quite a bit of the punk and experimental bits that were more prominent on earlier albums. If you're not a fan, this is an odd but worthwhile album to get introduced to the band. I might recommend "Scumdogs" or "Violence Has Arrived" as a starting point before diving into this album. Either way, this is an excellent part of the GWAR catalogue, and I'm hoping some of the tracks make it into their next tour (especially "Gor-Gor").

Not only GWAR's best but in my opinion one of the best Heavy Metal records ever. From the opening track "Ham on the bone" to the Genius complexity of the title track, every song on this record is great. Don't be swayed by people who say GWAR is just a joke. I like all of GWAR's albums but this one most certainly proves they can contend with any band out there musicaly.

Seriously, us Gwar fans have to get off our lazy rears and start reviewing these albums! (This one in particular being their heaviest and coolest) I finally just stopped being lazy and signed up on Amazon and now I'm writing reviews. Why is this Gwar's best? 3 Reasons people:
1- It's basically the heaviest, in-your-face album of theirs next to Vha (which I haven't heard)
2- It's arguably their funniest album as well as being the most intelligent (examples Have you Seen Me? and the nicely crafted title track instrumental)
3- Gwar really shows their potential as excellent musicians. Balsac shreds on the axe, Beefcake tears up the bass, Oderus has killer vocals on here (and a variety of them too), and Jizmak brings serious drums.

Oh wait I just thought of another reason, the album art!!!! You just have to see some of the drawings inside the insert, especially for Rock and Roll Never felt So Good (yeah as other reviewers have said, it's indeed sick). It definitely makes actually purchasing the album worthwhile.

Now I'll try a feeble attempt at rating my favorite songs:

Ham on the Bone 10/10 An INTENSE, short but sweet opening track. (...) The song is kind of grindcore-esque.

Crack in the Egg 9/10 A nice track telling how Oderus and the gang artificially enhance the egg of a Godzilla-type lizard with injected crack and such.

Gor-gor 9/10 Of course the next track tells of the havoc and mayhem that the newly conceived tyrant lizard creates. With Oderus yelling out 'GOR-GOR!!!' this is the epitome of a solid Gwar anthem.

Have you seen me? 9/10 John Walsh, creator of America's Most Wanted would certainly NOT find this song funny. Well that's Gwar for y'all, vile, unscrupulous, un-PC. Has a jazzy tune to it actually, pretty cool. It rocks hard toward the end though.

Morality Squad 10/10 I love how these guys poke fun of the uber-PC losers that try and suppress the essence of Gwar. One of their most meaningful songs in their entire catalogue I'd say.

Last but not least, the ultimate ballad, "The Road Behind" 100/10
I just love this one, this is the first Gwar song I heard (when they showed the video on Beavis and Butthead) and I was like, "Dude I have to check this guys out!" So glad I did too since I discovered a band oozing with creativity and individuality. Ya just won't find a band like this anywhere else. If you like this I urge you to check out This Toilet Earth, Scumdogs, Ragnarok, and I hear VHA and War Party are sweet too.

America Must Be Destroyed is a very underrated metal classic along with many other GWAR albums but this album every metalhead should give a listen to. Every song on this album is good but stand out tracks include "Ham on the Bone", "Crack in the Egg", "Gor-Gor", "Have you Seen Me", "Blimey", "Gilded Lily", "Rock N' Roll Never Felt so Good" and the less heavy but amazing "Road Behind". This is their second heaviest album and in my opinion their second best. If you're into metal I recommend picking this album up. You won't be dissapointed

Gwar's third album is another solid effort from the Scumdogs. Some critics attempt to distill Gwar into a "thrash metal" band, and this disc is probably where that idea came from. AMBD is a harder and faster album than its predecessor. The guitars are louder and more ragged, but the music still retains some restraint, thanks to the rhythm section. Lyrically, the songs on AMBD are much more vulgar than previous Gwar efforts: "Rock and Roll Never Felt So Good" and "Have You Seen Me?" are probably the songs you play to show your friends how obscene Gwar can be. The album starts strong, but slumps a bit in the middle; the instrumental title track and Gilded Lilly don't do too much for me. But the ending is strong: Oderus has a great soliloquy in "Blimey" and Gwar shows their soft side with the "The Road Behind" ballad. The album closes with the source of Nirvana's "Rape Me" riff, the alliterative "Pussy Planet." Overall, a good example of your classic Gwar. Highlights: Ham on the Bone, Crack in the Egg, Blimey, RnR

Wow. I started my gwar collection with carnival of chaos and it dissapointed me. I then picked up Scumdogs which was incredible! I got "America" a week later and it is the best one by far. I listen to Crack in the egg at least once a day cause its so good!Buy this if get a chance, its definately worth it.If you havent bought a gwar album yet this should be your first.(..or if you like punk more, Then "Hell-o" should.)

I cant believe dave brockie still wants to go through with this band. This is pretty much the soundtrack for the move Phallus In Wonderland. If you can find it at a decent price, buy the goddamn movie too. Buy all of there stuff!

If you want to hear GWAR at not only their best but their heaviest as well look further than America Must Be Destroyed. Heavy guitars, bobbing bass lines, good drumming, hilarious lyrics, this album has it all. The album kicks off with the fast addictive thrash number Ham On The Bone which is only 2 minutes and 2 seconds long, but it's a great way to kick off this kick ass album. The next three songs Crack In The Egg, Gor-Gor, and Have You Seen Me? keep the humor and the heaviness alive while the fifth track The Morality Squad shows Oderus and Co. making fun of Granbo and her creeps (the lyrics were written by the band of course). Other good standouts include the slow Poor Ole Tom, the ultra cool Rock N Roll Never Felt So Good, and my personal favorite, the touching ballad The Road Behind. Buy this album now along with Violence Has Arrived for their heaviest releases, and let the fun begin.

GWAR is my favorite band and this is my favorite album by far. "America Must Be Destroyed" is the best album by GWAR and probably the sickest and most vulgar one too "Have You Seen Me" and "Rock and Roll Never Felt So Good" are the sickest ones on here "Have You Seen Me" being about Necropedophileism ... and "Rock and Roll Never Felt So Good" being about sex and murder of a Quadraplegic ... woman. This is GWAR's most thrash metal other than their recently released album "Violence Has Arrived" (which also kicks ...) The album starts out with the thrashy "Ham on the Bone" (which I have no Idea what it's about) Then goes even more hardcore to "Crack in the Egg" the prequel to "Gor Gor" and goes up until "The Morality Squad" with Flattus's exellent guitar solo towards the end. Then goes all the way until GWAR's sensitive side takes over with the Guns 'n' Roses parody, a ballad called "The Road Behind" even though it is different it is still an excellent song. Then it ends with Beefcake "The Mighty" screaming to the top of his lungs on "... Planet" (song is not as sick as the title) My advice if your a GWAR fan what are you waiting for? you must have this album. You won't regret purchasing it. The only song on this album I don't particularly care for is "Poor Ole Tom" but other than that the album is PERFECT. So don't waste your valuable time sacrifice your corpse to GWAR and buy "AMBD" thank you I hope you found this review helpful.

GWAR is ridiculous and disgusting...and I love them! This is the album that got me hooked. I had heard Hell-O and Scumdogs previously, but this album is far superior. Their music is somewhere between metal and punk with lyrics that would send your parents into shock! Nasty stuff! GWAR has inspired my music alot. Especially this album.