Customer Reviews

Hell-O

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am surprised to find the general reviews of this album so low. This was the first Gwar album I heard (only one at the time), and I'll admitt when I first heard it, it sounded like a wall of throbbing noise. But ya know what? I kept listening to it anyway and it grew on me fast. This is a great PUNK album with hilarious genius lyrics and massive riffing. It's not really a metal album like Scumdogs and it's not as obvious and novelty-ish as their newer stuff. Sure I have trouble getting through "Captain Crunch" too, but in a way I appreciate the fact that the song screeches like a half a pound of nuts and bolts in your mom's favorite blender. Then again nothing compares to "I'm in Love With a Dead Dog", "Time For DEATH!", "Americanized", "Slutman City" and "Je M'Appelle J. Cousteau"! It puts a smile on my face just to type the names of those songs. I saw Gwar in concert about 3 years ago and they played a few of the track from this debut and I was just enthralled. They did the encores without their costumes too! Oh yeah. For my money it's Hell-o and Scumdogs. Both GENIUS albums that the world at large will never know. If you "get" GWAR but don't like this album my suggestion is to at least listen to it again and try to appreciate it as an insane chugging punk antarctic landscape.

Wow, what an amazing album. There is a lot of false information going around, but this IS Gwar's first album. It is very punkish but still worth your money, unlike 95% of the rest of the punk genre. All of the disgusting lyrics and subjects that you would expect from Gwar are here. Best songs are Bone Meal, Americanized, Slutman City, Time For Death and the unmatched Pure As The Arctic Snow. This should NOT be passed up by anyone and is much better as a whole than later Gwar albums.

Now, for the history. People have been saying that Oderus was not Gwar's original lead singer, and that is true. The original singer was Jonny/Joey Slutman, but he only played with Gwar for a couple shows before leaving. Someone brought up the point of an album entitled "Let There Be Gwar." This was released in 2004 and was only available at Gwar's live shows; not in the stores. This album has demo versions of early songs on it, and some of these demo versions have Slutman as the singer. So, in conclusion, was Oderus the original singer? No. Slutman did the earliest few Gwar shows. Is Hell-O the first Gwar album? Yes! Let There Be Gwar came out in 2004 and features DEMO songs, opposed to Hell-O which originally came out in 1988 and featured STUDIO songs. Let There Be Gwar contains the earliest Gwar recordings, but it was not the first album.

This album is rad! I have been a GWAR fan for years and I still listen to this first album of theirs all the time. If you get the European release there is a bonus track - Black and Huge! If you haven't seen GWAR in concert you haven't lived! Also I highly recommend the GWAR video 'Tour de Scum'

I recently picked this up on CD after many years of listening to the warm hiss of my cassette version. Ah, to be taken back to the halcyon days of high school and trying to explain why we all thought "Beavis and Butt-Head" was so damned funny. GWAR has never been about trying to provoke too much thought, although they do a good job of making you realize how silly some elements of punk and heavy metal really are.

Hell-O has become the perfect first chapter in the mythology of GWAR as not only a headbanging and giggle-inducing set but in creating a universe of colorful characters and absolute filth. But it's good filth! The songs are short and sweet and to the point: everything's ripe to be attacked, made fun of, all the while establishing personalities.

Every time I hear the glee of "Techno Destructo" I get taken away to the puke-a-plex and shake with laughter. The terse perversion of "Bone Meal" makes me want to hit replay. The speed and sarcasm of "Americanized" produced, what I still think, is their greatest lyric: "I'll rape your dog with a plow." Come on, that's a band aching to keep going year after year to satiate our sick lust. But it's a good sick lust, innit?

In short, GWAR knew what they were getting into and wanted to keep making more fictional characters and silly songs, often shocking us, to stay level. God bless 'em.

I'm more into GWAR's metal albums. This album is pure punk but good punk. Songs to me are good but not great on this album. Standout tracks to me are "I'm in Love with a Dead Dog", "GWAR Theme", "World O' Filth", "Americanized", "AEIOU", "Pure as the Arctic Snow" and "Rock N' Roll Party Town". Not the first album you should get from GWAR but definately a punk masterpiece.

This is *the* GWAR classic. It's a great album. BUT, it is a little to punkish for my liking. I fully recomend: especially if you like good punk. If you like METAL a later release will be for you.

Gwar has never lost their touch on music. From Hell-o to Carival Of Chaos, they still remained heavy, sick sounding vocals and lyrics. This band is the BEST Punk/death Metal band around this Filthy Planet!! Check them OUT!!

The first album by Gwar is, as with any other debut albums,is rough and basic.The possibility for improvment is there.On songs like AEIOU are basic but they have a playful beat that gets you thrashing in no time.Techno Desructo's theme song is very complicated in which its set on a different world where Techno Dectucto and Oderus Urungus fight it out for the control of the band and ultimatly the fete of the planet Earth.If you are too serious a person this album is not for you.Only people with a sence of humor will enjoy this record, and enjoy itthey will. It is a good start for a group who claims that everyone will be their sex slaves or die triing to be their sex slaves. I say buy it!!!

i never knew this was'nt their debut .half of my life has been a lie.anyway i've had this cassette since not long after it came out & it still plays perfectly .recently though i found it on cd & was discusteded to find (after i had bought it)that the original recording of black & huge was gone .why remaster something & then cut out the last track ? its like the wizard of oz ending w/ dorthy clicking her heels...c'mon yall!!!i could see adding bonus tracks but damn.this is why i'm not giving it 5 stars . as for the sound quality ,i think it adds to character of the band .w/ the obviously sampled viking cheers ,girls screaming ,airport noises & whatever in some songs, its like an audio calage.the ambience of others like "je m'appelle j. cousteau"&"gwar theme" give this album a 1970s documentary on cannibals kind of feel. slave forever!

First off the reviewer named Burq, is correcting everyone saying this is NOT Gwar's first album. He says "Let There be Gwar" is. He is wrong. This is indeed their first production studio album released. Let There Be Gwar was an album released in the 2000's with recordings of Gwar's original singer on the first four tracks and Oderus playing guitar. The rest of the album has Oderus singing. So with that being said, Hell-O is Gwars first studio album. Also a reviewer said this is Death Piggy's (Dave "Oderus" Brockie's first band) third album. It is not. This is Gwars first album. While some members of Death Piggy were on this album, it is not a Death Piggy album. Death Piggy evolved into Gwar a few yrs BEFORE Hello-O was released. So to clarify, when Hello-O was released the band was officially called Gwar at this time. As for the review, this album has a much more raw, punk sound. Oderus's voice is not as heavy sounding. The drumming is different (Rob Mosby, aka Nippleus Erectus) played on this album, so there is no heavy double bass. Mosby's style was more punk. Anyway, the album is a good showcase of Gwar's early beginnings and the songs are raw and very good.
Enjoy.