Fri Mar 12 2021
3
As a former locust abortion technician myself, I can confirm that this record truly represents what an under appreciated role we have society. It really gives us a voice.
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Locust Abortion Technician
Butthole Surfers
1987
- Album Summary
Locust Abortion Technician is the third full-length studio album by American rock band Butthole Surfers, released in March 1987. The album was originally released on both vinyl and CD on Touch and Go, and was remastered on CD on the band's label, Latino Buggerveil, in 1999.
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Fri Mar 12 2021
3
the first comment on youtube is this "My wife and kids not only hated it, they think I may have lost my mind. How do I tell them that this album touched my consciousness like a greasy finger dipped into a puddle - the oily rainbow slick instantly spreading accross the entire surface of my mind - altering, imbuing, opening. Perspective is the greatest gift we ever got." fair enough - it wasn't quite a greasy finger up the bum like this guy had but i did enjoy it.
Wed May 05 2021
4
I gave this a cursory listen and was about to mark it “1” and move on but the last few songs on the LP grabbed me. I liked the Asian sounding guitar work that kicks off Kuntz. Also, the last song (22 Going On 23) is powerful. It sounds like a radio show where a very hurt and / or deranged woman calls in and the host has nothing useful to say to her. It’s pure magic how the guitar playing captures the mood of the talk show dialogue. These two tunes motivated me to listen again and pay more attention and I'm glad I did. The album starts w Sweat Loaf. I quite like it but can’t for the life of me figure out why. The song transitions back and forth from quiet and almost whisper like to aggressive and heavy. Nirvana later did this very effectively on Heart Shaped Box. The lyrics on Sweat are measured. This the case on most songs on this LP. No excess verbiage, no references to Greek Philosophers or obscure contributors to the Bible. Nothing here is even one inch pompous and, if I remember correctly, being pompous was quite fashionable in 1987. In Graveyard, I like the distorted voice. It’s reminiscent of Black Sabbath’s Iron Man but I couldn't for the life of me (pardon the pun) understand the lyrics without my friendly internet connection. It’s a dark and creepy song which is up my alley. Another angst filled song I also like is Human Cannonball (although Human Cannibal seems to be the better name???) By the time we get to U.S.S.A. and The O-Man the LP has disintegrated to the stage that all that remains is noise. The lyrics to U.S.S.A. are by any definition terse. The words are: U.S.S.A, U.S.A, U.S.S.R, U.S.S.A. No Pulitzer Prize coming anytime soon but I doubt they'd want one. The interesting part about using such terse lyrics is the listener can decide what the song's about. The words do evoke thought and I can think they have a meaning related to the Bay of Pigs while another person can think they relate to the different kinds of poverty and crime in the two then super powers. The beauty of simple lyrics is that the customer is always right. This is also the second album sent to us in the last week where barnyard sounds figure prominently. Hey if it’s good enough for Sgt Pepper . . . I told a friend about the LP tonight and as I was doing so I couldn’t help but worry that the fact I like this LP so much might cost me a friend. lol.
Thu Jul 01 2021
4
I gotta say fellas, this is some of the most fucked up shit. It has a vibe. And I do enjoy noise 4/5
Tue Aug 16 2022
4
Here's a record that I feel like I should have listened to a long time ago. This is right up my alley; heavy, weird, funny, trippy. I love how it leans into how badly recorded it is, and goes heavy into the weirdness. Lots of effects and strange production techniques on what is a pretty punk album, which makes it sound like nothing else. I love the fired take on Black Sabbath ('Sweet Loaf'), plus the backwards tape, effects, sound effects and found tape. It is pretty unsettling, but there are songs o n here that rock pretty hard, and few memorable riffs (if no tunes to speak of). I've listened to this three times through today, and really dig it. (I do like that it doesn't outstay its welcome. 30 minutes is about perfect timing for it to barge in, mess your head up, and then ride off into the sunset.). I really would liek to give this 3.5 stars, but I can't, so I'm going to lean towards 4, because this was a lot of fun, and I will buy a copy next time I see one at a reasonable price.
Fri Feb 11 2022
1
Worst one yet! My horizons are expanding but I don't want them to.
Thu Jun 24 2021
4
My first Butthole Surfers experience. It's loud and I liked it. I've always heard of the band but never heard the music. I really loved the first track and how it sounds oh so similar to Sweet Leaf by Black Sabbath...let me see, what was that song called. Oh yeah, Sweet Loaf. I liked this band right from the start! Ok, it took 1+ minutes, because of that slow load into the guitar riff. Ok, some of the songs have lyrics - I guess. I think they are saying something in "The O-Men" but It could just be nonsense... it doesn't matter. Their noise is interesting. Kuntz is a song sung in Thai... where'd that come from! I'm sure they picked the word because it sounds like cunt! Songs like Graveyard, pound hard and make me turn it up a bit more... I turned it up to 11 on a 10 scale :) There are some really interesting sounds in the song "Hay". Calling it a "song" is a stretch. It is more of an experience in sound than a song. Human Cannonball is probably the most "radio-worthy" song. It seemed like a complete song that I would easily expect to hear on College Radio back in 1987. It has lyrics you can understand too! Halfway through U.S.S.A. I smiled. That guitar riff, that nonsense babble just got me. The into of "22 going on 23" is baffling. She sounds more like 82 going on 83... Great guitar riffs throughout this one. Standout tracks: Sweet Loaf Human Cannonball.
Fri Mar 12 2021
3
A thundering volley of whingeing fuck knuckles.
Wed Feb 03 2021
5
Avant garde noise rock at its finest. Definitely not everyone's cup of tea and I totally get that.
Thu Mar 10 2022
4
Throw genre out the door because it has no place on this record. Perhaps we could call it noise punk; it certainly fits the punk ethos. This album conjures feelings of disconnection and seems to be a gross parody of music and society. However, for whatever reason, it really appeals to me and I throughly enjoyed this album.
Fri Aug 05 2022
4
Nightmare Fuel. Recommended for fans of Sonic Youth, Ween’s pre-Chocolate and Cheese albums, LSD
Wed Feb 03 2021
3
That was a wild ride. A good time, but not one that I think I'll go on very often if ever again. Favorite Track(s): "Sweat Loaf" and "Graveyard" (the second one)
Thu Apr 01 2021
1
Well it took about 10 seconds of each song for me to physically become ill. That’s not a good sign.
Fri Feb 11 2022
1
Truly appalling. I own 1001 albums that are better than this and not on the list.
Thu Dec 02 2021
5
Really weird and punk. Gave it a few rotations and loved it
Fri Dec 31 2021
5
Love the album. Reminds me of highschool.
Mon Apr 04 2022
5
bom demais
Wed Sep 30 2020
4
Strong 4. Dark and hard as nails. Not a huge huge fan of the pure noisy tracks but the feeling is understood. Standout Tracks: Pittsburgh to Lebanon, Hay, Kuntz, Graveyard (2), 22 Going On 23
Wed Oct 14 2020
4
Punk as all hell
Thu Oct 08 2020
4
SATAN SATAN SATAN Great album
Tue Apr 06 2021
4
Very nice!
Fri Apr 16 2021
5
this is fucking amazing! Noisy and wild. I listened to another album right away
Fri Jan 07 2022
5
this i should like and do a lot
Thu Sep 29 2022
5
I love this album name so much
Sun May 14 2023
5
5.0 - This horror-psychedelic blend of sludgy guitars, demented imagery, raw noise and bizarre recordings hits me like a gut-punch. Perhaps it's my jaded ears but I'm loving this shit. Standouts: "Pittsburgh to Lebanon", "Kuntz", "22 Going on 23."
Wed May 31 2023
5
Well, this is going to be a challenge. Well, actually no, it isn't. Whilst there are some challenging tracks, the album altogether just works. The Butthole Surfers are one of those verymost irritating of bands, in that they seem to just fart about. Nothing of them should work. They give no indication of ever putting any effort in, and yet they produce works of musical genius. They shouldn't be this good. Now, I'm not saying that they weren't hard working - but a million bands have worked just as hard (or harder) and not achieved what the Butthole Surfers managed to. Admittedly, Kurt Cobain said in an interview once that he liked them, and that probably helped quite a considerable amount. Luck is more of a factor than hard work, and "who you know" helps out an awful lot more than that. I can't not mention in this review though how Orbital sampled the opening lines from Sweat Load for their track "Satan". What a track. Beautiful. I'd genuinely had no ideas that it came from the Butthole Surfers.
Sat Jun 03 2023
5
Chaotic genius My favourite Buttholes album. I perfect mix of experimental weirdness that doesn't overshadowed some well crafted industrial grunge sludge that is strangely indebted to Sabbath
Fri Jul 09 2021
3
This album is an experimental blend of punk rock, heavy metal, and psychedelic music. The music is creative as the band recorded everything themselves, but it's also supported by great guitar playing. The entire album was a trip, whether that be nightmarish or awesome, is up to the listener to decide. For sure an interesting album nonetheless.
Fri Oct 15 2021
3
Clearly a really influential album for some big grunge artists of the 90s, I love the almost broken guitar sounds, huge fuzz and mad reverse sections and messed up vocals. Can't say it will be an album I will go back to time and time again but from an influence, production and pure madness point of view this deserves recognition. Gets a boxbat special 3.5 from me
Sun Mar 07 2021
2
Some of these songs made me want to jam a screwdriver into my ears to make it stop. Some were okay.
Fri Feb 26 2021
2
Butthole Surfers. What a name. I don't like this, but I like it more than that Scott Walker album, it's more interesting. It's loud, dark, and aggressive, but there are a few bright spots. For the '80s, it's a little impressive. These guys clearly aimed to shock and offend. Sorry boys, I was just a little bored. Also, big shout out to Alden for discovering that Albino Andrew was in this band. Favorite tracks: Kuntz, 22 Going on 23 Album art: We love clowns, don't we folks? These clowns are having the time of their lives training a pup. I'd love it if this happy picture tricked some unsuspecting rubes into buying this. 2/5
Wed May 05 2021
2
The Sweat Leaf riff is a good start if you wanna get college radio play. The noise rock is a bit hit & miss. I liked “the O-Men”. “Hay” not so much. It seems to me that their only contribution to the Phloen Phromdaen song was turning it into toilet humour. I would give this a higher mark, if not for “22 going on 23.” While I think it’s at times unfair to look at lyrics through a 2020 lens, building a song around (and mocking) a woman’s recounting to a radio host of how her rape gives her nightmares was surely over the top even way back in 1987. It’s too bad because the song itself is well-realized, so dark and heavy, and since so many US radio talk shows are also dark and heavy, there should have been no shortage of other material (though it might not shock and disgust to the same extent).
Fri Sep 08 2023
2
I don't like the butthole servers much
Tue Aug 15 2023
5
cool
Mon Sep 28 2020
4
Fun, experimental punk album with a few great songs
Fri Feb 12 2021
4
Good old punk. Some heavy lyrics...breaking some taboos. Their messages still apply to our society today.
Fri Jun 18 2021
4
Fast ein Meisterwerk. Neben der Napalm Death-Scheibe ist diese Platte bislang die ungewöhnlichste in dieser Liste. Und damit eine wohltuende Abwechslung.
Thu May 20 2021
4
this is some real ass music. so many great features of this album including the cover and name. somehow nostalgic and just really great 😏
Fri Apr 02 2021
4
Wow I enjoyed this way more than I thought. I’m not sure why. It just hit right.
Thu Apr 08 2021
4
Hah hah, gloriously weird, very noisy, exactly my type of thing. Fave track - "Graveyard" maybe, although I did enjoy the faux metal glossolalia of "The O-Men" a lot
Wed Feb 03 2021
4
I would say it’s a 3.5 for me, I enjoyed my listen but I don’t see myself coming back to the album as a whole, maybe some of the specific tracks like “Kuntz” and “22 going on 23.” But I’m giving a four just because of how interesting an experience the whole album is
Thu May 20 2021
4
I think I love it. Tough call between this and electriclarryland, at least 7/10.
Fri Jan 29 2021
4
Classic album that got me into these guys.
Fri Mar 05 2021
4
Funny name
Fri Jul 09 2021
4
Sounds exactly like something you'd expect from a band called Butthole Surfers
Thu May 20 2021
4
The first metal album I have ever listened to, can't say I absolutely loved it, but it was pretty damn cool.
Thu Jun 17 2021
4
peak BH, very evocative. and if you see your mom this week...
Thu Jun 17 2021
4
It’s an EP, really, but still completely fucking awesome.
Thu Jul 15 2021
4
You know what? it's a vibe.
Wed Oct 06 2021
4
Loved it. I had never listened to their music before. I kind of feel bad that I missed it when I was younger.
Sun Oct 10 2021
4
I love the first song, like the rest a lot.
Thu Dec 02 2021
4
weirder than I thought - liked bits of it, but some was a bit too experimental to be enjoyable. Like what they're aiming for here though so I'll round this 3.5 up to a 4. Tbh feels like a mid-late 90's album more than late 80's
Fri Dec 31 2021
4
Sweet, sweet, butthole music.
Wed Mar 02 2022
4
Listened to this while extremely sleep deprived, this was a perfect fit. fuck knows if I'd like it when my brain's working tho.
Wed Mar 23 2022
4
One of the best albums from one of the bands most influential on 90s alternative rock. Although not currently in the lowest rated albums in this project, I've seen it down there before, and it's probably in the top 10% of albums on here.
Fri May 13 2022
4
A band I knew the name of but not any music. Clearly shock-artists, they were ahead of the times of the early 90s, but I can see how they were influential to MTV-vibes and Grunge feels. Musically I am into noise/experimental/punk energy so overall I enjoyed it a bunch. Sounds like live would be an absolute spectacle... but not sure I would want to be there. Not sure what 22 going on 23 is supposed to say, but feels kinda gross. Musically I like it, but the shock humor is kind of stupid to me, it would be more hilarious if the music was high-brow taking itself seriously and then just keep the name... Butthole Surfers.
Fri May 13 2022
4
I thought I was going to hate this more than I did. I wasn't starting with much preconception, other than knowing their name, but I did end up liking the sharp edge on the music which sounds like a precursor to a lot of stuff I like now (like Ty Segall, for example and any number of contemporary west coast "grunge" bands). There were moments that I hated, but the vast majority I was impressed with, especially for it being as early as 1987.
Wed Jun 01 2022
4
goofy corny nonsense i love it
Sun Jun 12 2022
4
I started listening to them with independent worm saloon and never explored the back catalogue. This was a great surprise.
Mon Jun 13 2022
4
Haha, daar was ik wel even aan toe.
Wed Jun 15 2022
4
I had not listened to the Butthole Surfers until now and I'm pleasently surprised with this pick. It's incredibly noisy, chunky, and melodic. If I had known this is what they made I would have listened to them a long time ago.
Fri Jul 22 2022
4
I'd pick up a $8 used. Funny, twisted, interesting album. Lots of not fully baked ideas here. This is closer to what I'd consider exciting or interesting when a album comes up on this service. I've heard it before, but almost as background music. Like sweet loaf, pittsburgh to lebanon, just really cool guitar tones, sludge, solos, etc.
Wed Jul 27 2022
4
I don’t hate it and I don’t do enough drugs to love it. One of the most surprising albums to grow on me. Second listen and something clicked, it feels like the fringe of society vocalized. Upsetting, psychotic, anxiety inducing and angry. It’s a parody of music and society. Fuck it.
Thu Aug 11 2022
4
Really fantastic, like Mr. Bungle with less porn and more LSD.
Wed Sep 28 2022
4
Seems like a spiritual predecessor to grunge in some ways. Slower, heavier music. Human Cannonball is one of my faves so far because it veers more into the punk sound. Clearly most people including me only know Butthole Surfers via songs like Pepper and Who Was In My Room Last Night? (which rule btw) but this is interesting to hear more of their music before those songs popped.
Thu Sep 29 2022
4
Look up the term 'grunge' and they should appear.
Wed Oct 05 2022
4
This album doesn't sound fully realized, nor does it feel completely serious. But it's dark, immersive, irreverent, and probably inspired your favorite 90s band. Nothing to sneeze at, once you get over the weirdness.
Wed Oct 05 2022
4
Definitely one of the strongest record of the genre of that period which is also an interesting evolution of the sound of the band. Their style remains unique and all the tracks are relevant and enjoyable. In conclusion, the cover is very nice.
Tue Oct 11 2022
4
Every time I get a bottom ranking album, I approach it with a little bit of dread, but I really liked this album. Musically it's pretty excellent, and more clever than I expected it to be. Noisy and trippy, grinding and grungy, gleefully weird, sometimes with a dash of humor. Love the experimentation with distortions and noise. The outlier is "22 Going on 23," which is dark and twisted, but brilliant. Fave Songs: Sweat Loaf, Human Cannonball, 22 Going on 23, Graveyard, Pittsburgh to Lebanon, Kuntz
Wed Oct 19 2022
4
One of those albums that you have to hear and appreciate, but you'd have a hard time listening to on repeat. I love it when bands are pushing the envelope and this record certainly does that in spades. Helps that Kurt Cobain and Doug Martsch cite this as one of their biggest influences.
Fri Nov 04 2022
4
Noise rock outsider art. Fantastic
Mon Dec 12 2022
4
Swagg
Mon Dec 12 2022
4
Kool and krazy
Wed Jan 25 2023
4
Enjoyable rascally noise
Mon Jan 30 2023
4
This record is everything pure Butthole Surfers, and whether or not that's your thing will depend on how you feel about it. It feels like a nightmare acid trip just dripping with a sludginess that feels so quintessential to the band's best music. Great record.
Thu Feb 16 2023
4
All the noisy and weird punk you could want. I feel bad for the kids in the 90s that bought these albums thinking all the songs would sound like Pepper.
Thu Feb 16 2023
4
High weirdness of the best kind. Not an easy listen, it requires a certain kind of mood and activity to have on. Fortunately I had both by coincidence yesterday.
Thu Feb 16 2023
4
Weird, disturbing, noisy and insane. It's just great!
Thu Mar 02 2023
4
4/5. I don’t know why I like this one so much, I guess it’s the bluntness of the lyrics and the creative use of sound and samples. Not perfect and not a game changer, but gosh is this fun to listen to.
Sun Apr 09 2023
4
I woke up this morning, went to the toilet and used the last piece of toilet paper whilst flicking to see my latest 1001 Album. Lo-and-Behold it was one i'd eagerly awaited on the list of worst albums on the chart! Buttholes and Abortions it must be designed to offend. Well I must say it hit a sweet spot in me and I found myself enjoying it's unabashed in-your-face fun. Too late for Punk and with a tongue in cheek sensibility it's loud and fun rock at a time people were into Hair-Rock and AIDS hence my score.
Fri Apr 14 2023
4
Growing up in Houston, I've probably heard Butthole Surfers' "Pepper" at least a few hundred times (I'd bet a large sum of money that The Buzz still plays it at least daily), but this was my first time listening to one of their albums from start to finish. I'm really glad to see some Texas rockers land an album on this list and... well yeah, that's about as glad as I got during this album. Butthole Surfers are great musicians, and their guitar riffs and drum fills are fantastic, but the lyrics on this album were just a little too out there for me. "Human Cannonball" was the highlight here for me, and I enjoyed the second half of the album more than the first. Even though this album wasn't really my taste, it's not without its merits. Butthole Surfers set out to make an album that showcased their unique psychedelic and noise-rock sound, and they succeed. They're talented musicians and songwriters, but they are a tad niche. I'm giving this album four stars, but I wish I could give it 3.5.
Fri Apr 14 2023
4
A mixed bag of noisy silliness. And I mean that in the best possible way.
Fri May 05 2023
4
It seems like the Butthole Surfers just got a new fan!
Fri May 05 2023
4
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Sat Jun 17 2023
4
Is it really all that wild-sounding today? Certainly, it still feels wildly influential; one hears a formless sort of template that way too many less original and less out-there folks, from Fugazi to Thrill Kill Kult to Prodigy to NIN, would adopt. The scope of the weirdness occassional reaches Pink Floydian scope, and this feels more authentic, like it had to be done, that performative (where acts aim to simply be weird for weird's sake). It all comes down to how comfortable one is with massive abstraction and total unconventionality in terms of song structure, and/or how one feels about art rock or noise rock; and while one's younger self did not naturally gravitate to the BSs, one gets both the art and the impact now.
Sun Jul 02 2023
4
'Human Cannonball' is a great track the rest of the album is pretty unique and a bit crazy, which I enjoyed.
Mon Jul 03 2023
4
This album was certainly interesting and unique…. but I actually quite enjoy it. EXCELLENT album title. ‘Human Cannonball’ is a song I’ve had saved to my Spotify for a number of years, but I find the rest of the album is also really good (though less easy to sing along to), albeit confusing. It’s hard to know what their intention was with “22 Going On 23”, and I don’t like some of their comments about it (assuming the woman was lying is strange to me) - but what they did with it musically is very interesting. I like the art, I’m not sure I like their ethos behind it. Fav tracks: Pittsburgh to Lebanon, Human Cannonball, The O-Men, U.S.S.A, Kuntz (although I do wonder whether this track would be classed as culturally insensitive…. it was pleasing to my ears).
Wed Jul 05 2023
4
un discazo. te tiene que gustar la disonancia, el pánico y el ruido, pero un discazo
Wed Jul 12 2023
4
This album was on the list of lowest-rated albums from this site. I like receiving an album from this list because I usually disagree, but also because I note how non-orthodox albums usually receive very bad rates. At the same time for me, I think sometimes I'm here precisely for this kind of stuff. Anyway, is this a good album? Probably not. Or even better, not a good album for everyone. Do It deserves 4 stars, and should be kept on the 1001 list? Sure! These guys were doing these crazy sounds and a lot of experimentation in 1987!!!
Thu Jul 27 2023
4
Fever dream. 4/5
Sun Aug 06 2023
4
The terriblness and disturbing-ness of this album has been greatly exaggerated by the reviews on here. If you have any experience with any sort of grit in your music, you should be just fine listening to this, and the fact that Nirvana's albums have such high scores compared to this, kind of tells you that I think a lot of Nirvana's fans miss exactly what made that so special. Anyway, speaking of grit, this album is so gripping audibly that it scratches every itch I would try and achieve with any music I would ever make. And the varying genres and styles basically making fun of various types of music keeps the album light hearted without sacrificing the musicality (most of the time), despite the downright evil sound of most of the music. Overall I think this pretty entertaining, and at a cool thirty-two minutes, what's not to like? Are most of the songs something I wouldn't put on casually? Absolutely, but I think as an album and an experience it's pretty great.
Wed Aug 23 2023
4
ahh some good ol schizophrenia inducing music which makes your mom think you joined a satanic cult. fav songs: sweet loaf, human cannonball, USSA, kuntz, 23 going on 23
Fri Sep 01 2023
4
Gnarly punk!
Fri Sep 08 2023
4
Grew on me over the course of the day to the point where listening almost became addictive.
Thu Sep 17 2020
3
Uplifting but little cheesy
Fri Jan 22 2021
3
Everything about this album is a lot.
Mon Feb 01 2021
3
Good album. Not at all what I was expecting.
Wed Mar 31 2021
3
It was ok, a little noisy in some areas.
Sun Apr 18 2021
3
Weird...
Mon Mar 15 2021
3
Scary album ;)