Carnival of Chaos makes for a good "In Defense of" post, because many Gwar fans dislike this album. Some cite it as their least favorite Gwar album, claiming that it's too commercial and unfocused musically. Calling Gwar commercial is a huge oxymoron. They'll never be completely commercial. Perhaps they're becoming more accessible to a wider audience, but you're still not likely to hear Gwar on standard radio (unless it's their misguided, label-demanded, and pointless cover of Alice Cooper's School's Out...). Their lyrics are pretty vulgar. Not so much from a profanity standpoint, although they're not afraid of four letter words, but more from a content standpoint. For example, they have songs called "Fucking An Animal," "Preschool Prostitute," "Baby Raper," "Penis I See," etc. They wear thongs and simulate violent acts in their stage show, and they're in direct opposition to Richmond's oft conservative leanings. That's one of the things that endears Gwar to many fans; they represent an aspect of society that others are quick to dismiss, decry, or just ignore. And they do so in an amusing, and very entertaining manner. At it's heart, Gwar's music is a combination of vaudeville, social satire and comic book fantasy, with bits of sophomoric humor and filth added for good taste. or maybe bad taste...
Carnival of Chaos is one of Gwar's most experimental albums, ranging from their usual unique blend of punk rock and metal to a lounge singer ballad, an a country rockabilly track. "Experimental" is always polarizing for music fans, because usually fans want more of the same things that they've always liked, but they also want new material. It's a catch 22, and it's frankly stereotypical. An artist can't evolve without experimentation. Yet if they stray too far from the classic formula, fans pull out their pitchforks and torches. Prior to Carnival of Chaos, Gwar's albums were pretty similar stylistically. Their first album, 1988's Hell-O, is their most straight forward punk rock influenced album. After that, their focus shifted more toward a blending of punk rock and heavy metal. While they've always experimented with various styles within their songs, Carnival of Chaos is the most diverse utilization of multiple styles. I can understand why some fans would see that as being unfocused, but I think it shows just how talented and diverse they are as musicians. On the same album, they pulled off punk rock, metal, country, lounge, 80's pop, classic rock, and other genres.
The lineup on Carnival of Chaos was Gwar in their prime, in my opinion. Dave Brockie as lead singer Oderus Urungus, Casey Orr as bassist Beefcake the Mighty, Peter Lee as guitarist Flattus Maximus, Michael Derks as guitarist Balsac the Jaws of Death, Brad Roberts as drummer Jizmak Da Gusha, Danielle Stampe as female vocalist Slymentra Hymen, and Hunter Jackson as Techno Destructo. Lee, Stampe and Jackson eventually left the band, and they've been different ever since. Not bad, but different. Carnival of Chaos is one of Gwar's most playful albums. They're not taking themselves too seriously here, and really when you've been dressing up as a space alien rock band and "decapitating" crude paper mache representations of celebrities, politicians and giant space creatures and spraying countless audiences with a stage blood concoction since 1985, how could you take yourself completely seriously? The humor here is very tongue in cheek, and at times self-referential, like in the song Letter From the Scallop Boat, in which Oderus sing-reads a letter from a Gwar fan in jail for killing his wife's adulterous lover. The fan asks if Gwar is really from Antarctica and if they just keep their slaves in Richmond. Originally, Gwar claimed that they were from Antarctica, as part of an origin story that has changed and evolved throughout the years. Eventually, people got hip to their real identities, and the fact that they're Richmonders, and nobody really buys the origin story anymore, but they still play with the concept in their albums. The potty humor would get the best of Gwar, and they took it too far over the top with their next album, We Kill Everything. But on Carnival of Chaos, it's used to good effect.
Carnival of Chaos is, perhaps, Gwar's most accessible album. But accessible doesn't mean commercial, in my opinion. Frankly, their earlier albums such as Hell-O can be a bit challenging to take in. And the humor is usually really crude, and probably offensive to most. Here, it's more obviously a joke and a satire. Even the more risque songs, like Preschool Prostitute are obviously not meant to be taken seriously when listened to with the rest of the album. Admittedly, at times the joke toes the line between clever and stupid, especially on the album opener Penguin Attack, a song about killer mutant penguins. But songs like Hate Love Songs, sung by bassist Casey Orr, uses subtle humor and sarcasm to great effect. It's the perfect anti-Valentine's Day song. Carnival of Chaos really feels like a collaborative effort, with Jackson, Stampe and Orr getting the opportunity to be lead singers on entire songs, instead of just background vocals. The band seems to be a cohesive unit here. I get the sense that they enjoyed themselves with this album. Gwar's popularity had wained a bit prior to Carnival of Chaos, and it seems like they were more focused on writing songs that they wanted to write, as opposed to trying to write another Saddam A-Go-Go (their biggest hit.)
All in all, Carnival of Chaos is a great primer for those curious about Gwar. It's easy to digest, with the elements that make Gwar Gwar still in place. It's also their longest album, which means more bang for the buck. It's an oft overlooked entry in their catalogue, and deserving of far less vitriol, and far more praise than it has received. Stand-out tracks: Hate Love Songs, Don't Need a Man, Back to Iraq, The Private Pain of Techno Destructo, Sex Cow.
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