Violence Has Arrived
Encyclopedia
Violence Has Arrived is the 2001 album by the band Gwar
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...

. It was released on November 6, 2001.

According to an interview with Dave Brockie, it was supposed to be released on Sept. 11, 2001, but Metal Blade wouldn't release it until November. What actually happened (according to Slave Pit Inc.) was that it wasn't finished (according to other official sources, they didn't even start recording the album until July, and the Dave Brockie Experience
Dave Brockie Experience
The Dave Brockie Experience or DBX is formed of three of the current members of Heavy metal band GWAR. The band is composed of David "Oderus Urungus" Brockie , Brad "Jizmak Da Gusha" Roberts , and Mike "Balsac the Jaws of Death" Derks . DBX is a pet project of GWAR and shows some of their earlier...

 had a tour in September).

Album Layout and Concept

Violence Has Arrived re-attains the brutal focus of their earlier albums. It is similar to Scumdogs, in that Brockie is now the dominant voice of the band again, and the theme is centered on generalized carnage. Gwar takes on more "medieval" themes this time around, such as torture ("The Wheel") and conjures up some truly ugly imagery in songs such as "Licksore", "Beauteous Rot", "Immortal Corrupter", and "The Apes of Wrath." "Biledriver" is about a fluid-spewing cannon, which can be seen in the "Immortal Corrupter" video and on tour; the cannon itself has now become somewhat of a staple at their live shows.

"The Song of Words", inspired by the 11th-century French epic "The Song Of Roland
The Song of Roland
The Song of Roland is the oldest surviving major work of French literature. It exists in various manuscript versions which testify to its enormous and enduring popularity in the 12th to 14th centuries...

", is the only song to feature the voices of 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...

 and 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...

 (though Flattus does sing lead vocals on the 2009 album 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...

), though neither of them are really singing. Nobody is really singing on the song (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...

, 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...

 and Oderus Urungus
Oderus Urungus
Oderus 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"...

 all speak, as opposed to sing - appropriate for a "Song of Words"). Technically, it is tied with "Jiggle The Handle" for the most vocalists on a Gwar song, though Flattus and Jizmak each have five words. Indeed, the entire album has a narrative feel to it.

Though touching on the "Gwar lore" that began on Hell-O
Hell-O
Hell-o! is the debut album by Gwar. The album was released in 1988, on Shimmy Disc Records.Gwar's angle on the album is that of a morbid punk band obsessed with debauchery, violence and toilet humor...

, Violence Has Arrived follows no individual story. This was due in large part to the disappointing reaction to 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...

by the band, and due to Slave Pit Inc.'s diminished ranks - the previous year saw the departures of 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...

) and Hunter Jackson (Techno Destructo
Techno Destructo
Techno 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...

), as well as "slave" Davis Bradley (though retired from touring for spinal reasons, he did build the Biledriver).

The cover artwork was created by Games Workshop
Games Workshop
Games Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...

 illustrator Adrian Smith. There are two versions of the illustration used for the cover: the version used on the album cover featuring Oderus with a codpiece, and the poster in the booklet features the Cuttlefish of Cthulhu uncovered.

Departures

Violence Has Arrived was Casey Orr's last Gwar album before he took an extended leave from the band. It is also the only Gwar album with Zach Blair on guitar. Blair left in early 2002, while Orr left shortly before the Halloween 2002 tour. Orr has since returned to the fold, replacing Todd Evans in April 2008. "Immortal Corrupter" is the sole video from this album, and features Orr in the role of Beefcake the Mighty for the last time before he left.

It's also the final album on Metal Blade Records until 2009. In a 2004 interview, Beefcake the Mighty (then portrayed by Todd Evans) would say that the reason for the switch is because Metal Blade had some European distribution problems, and they weren't being fixed. However, Brockie has also gone on record as stating that their departure was a result of them being denied payments owed to them for a number of years (due to the poor sales of the previous two albums, which also lead to cutting off the Europe deal). The band returned to Metal Blade Records for their 2009 release, 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...

, which is also their first album since reuniting with bassist Casey Orr.

"Immortal Corrupter"

"Immortal Corrupter" is the only song on Violence Has Arrived with a music video, and is found only on the "Ultimate Video Gwarchive," released at the end of 2002. The DVD features commentary from Brockie, Scott Krahl, Matt Maguire, Bob Gorman and Michael Derks, with special commentary from Mike Bonner for the video to "The Road Behind." The video is Casey Orr's final video; Zach Blair
Zach Blair
Zach Blair is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for Chicago-based hardcore punk band Rise Against. He is originally from Sherman, Texas.Before joining Rise Against in early 2007, Blair was a member of hardcore punk group Only Crime along with his brother, Doni Blair, who currently plays with...

 had left just prior to recording, so fill-in Flattus Tim Harriss (who portrayed Flattus on their previous album) had to wear the Violence Has Arrived-era Flattus costume for the video.

The spelling for "Immortal Corrupter" is incorrect - the word "corruptor" does not have the letter e. It is corrected on the back cover of Live from Mt. Fuji
Live from Mt. Fuji
Released in June 2005, Live from Mt. Fuji is Gwar's first nationally released live concert CD. It was recorded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at Mr Smalls theater. The enhanced version of the album contains the video for "Bring Back the Bomb."-Track listing:...

.
The video has it with the "Violence Has Arrived" spelling.

"Immortal Corrupter" was one of the two songs from this album to be featured on Live From Mt. Fuji, along with "Biledriver." Both are favorite concert songs, by fans and band alike.

Reaction

Violence Has Arrived was an album that the band enjoyed recording - "Everyone was ecstatic when Gwar put out “Violence Has Arrived” in 2001—it marked Gwar’s triumphant return to metal, and the world breathed a collective sigh of relief that we hadn’t put out another “We Kill Everything”" (from a March 23, 2006 news entry at gwar.net) - and is still featured heavily on tour, be it in song ("Biledriver" is often used to end shows) or in theme (story-less carnage has been a big part of Gwar's tours in the past few years, though that changed in the fall of 2006, with the tour supporting Beyond Hell
Beyond Hell
Beyond Hell is the tenth studio album by Gwar. It was released on August 29, 2006, the album was originally announced through the band's official website on February 23, 2006...

). Violence Has Arrived was also a more successful album in terms of album sales, which had been on the decline since RagNaRok.

When asked about his favorite Gwar album to listen to, Don Drakulich (Sleazy P. Martini
Sleazy P. Martini
Sleazy P. Martini is a character played by Don Drakulich in the theatrical heavy metal band Gwar. He wears a gigantic gold necklace with a dollar symbol, a large pompadour, a bright purple suit, and is often seen wielding a sawed-off shotgun...

) named this album.

Track listing

Personnel

  • Dave Brockie (Oderus Urungus
    Oderus Urungus
    Oderus 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 vocals
    Lead vocalist
    The 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...

  • Zach Blair
    Zach Blair
    Zach Blair is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for Chicago-based hardcore punk band Rise Against. He is originally from Sherman, Texas.Before joining Rise Against in early 2007, Blair was a member of hardcore punk group Only Crime along with his brother, Doni Blair, who currently plays with...

     (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...

    ) – lead guitar
    Lead guitar
    Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...

    , background vocals
    Backing vocalist
    A 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 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...

    ) – rhythm guitar
    Rhythm guitar
    Rhythm 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...

    , background vocals
  • Casey Orr (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...

    ) – bass
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

    , background vocals
  • 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...

    ) - drums
    Drum kit
    A 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 ....

    , percussion
    Percussion instrument
    A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...

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