Scumdogs of the Universe

Considered GWAR’s magnum opus, 1990’s Scumdogs of the Universe features a more solid and sleek thrash metal style compared to the hardcore punk of their debut album, as well as much cleaner and clearer production by Ron Goudie. The lyrics of Scumdogs explore GWAR’s ever-expanding lore as well as other obscene, depraved activities.

While the album itself is devoid of a central story, several important characters within GWAR’s line-up are introduced. “Maggots” features operatic backing vocals by Slymenstra Hymen (Danielle Stampe), “Slaughterama” is sung by the band’s manager, Sleazy P. Martini (Don Drakulich, who portrayed Techno Destructo on the band’s previous album), and “Sexecutioner” is sung by the eponymous Sexecutioner (Chuck Varga, with backing vocals by Stampe). The album’s CD-exclusive closer, “Cool Place To Park”, is sung by bassist Beefcake The Mighty (Mike Bishop), and would be the first of many Beefcake-fronted songs.

Scumdogs saw a major boost in sales following GWAR’s well-received appearance on The Joan Rivers Show. According to the band themselves, this is their highest selling album.

The Scumdogs booklet contains tongue-in-cheek edits and notes on its lyrics by a moral crusader named Edna P. Granbo. The Granbo character and her moral crusade would be fleshed out on GWAR’s next album, America Must Be Destroyed, and its Grammy-nominated corresponding film, Phallus In Wonderland. The idea itself would come full circle when lead singer Dave Brockie was arrested and charged with obscenity in September 1990.

On February 7, 2020, GWAR quietly revealed that a 30th anniversary deluxe edition of Scumdogs would be released, with early purchasing reservations available to subscribers
of their email newsletter. The deluxe box set would include numerous exclusive pieces of memorabilia, Scumdogs on vinyl completely remixed and remastered by Ronan Chris Murphy, and a cassette tape of rehearsal demos from the recording of the album. The box set was revealed to the public on May 1, 2020, with a planned release window of August 2020. The remaster will see a wide release on October 30, 2020.