Reviews (page 7 of 9)
Couldn't take it.
A couple of these songs are actually pretty decent - I liked Sweat Loaf and Graveyard pt 2, for example. Some if the others are fairly hard going though, like The O-men. This is a two, but it's on the upper end of it - I was quite tempted to score as a three.
Whenever I think this album might be a 3, it does something to make me want to rate it a 1. The end of the album kind of trips over its own dick.
Nope
Every other song is just noise. It sucks.
я чувствую, что это что-то бОльшее
АХАХАХАХХА ПАШЕЛ НАХУЙ
Хорошо, что всего полчаса... слава богу, что всего полчаса. Не, ну вот с Lightning Bolt я тогда как-то кайфанул. Здесь совсем беспредел.
Pittsburgh
noise rock is still just noise. there are some solid rock patterns in here but the nondescription makes it mostly pretty forgettable. the only thing that people will recall is that it is entirely insane
Cool
I was lead to believe this was one of the worst albums on the website. This album is incredible, I don’t understand everyone. I really like it
The name of this album really was something. The actual content was quite fun, except for the last song which was called 22 going on 23 (literally me fr) and was about a girl who had been sexually assaulted. So. Certainly covered a Range of subject matter
This feels like they have a quirky SpongeBob kind of vibe but after listening to the last song about living with the trauma of sexual assault I read all the lyrics and damn they did not come through in the music.
I absolutely LOATHED listening to this. A strong contender for my least favorite album on the list (at least ~100 albums in). It feels like it wants me to hate it, so I guess it's doing its job?
Album 356 of 1001 Butthole Surfers - Locust Abortion Technician Rating : 4 / 5 Their 'Electriclarryland" album is a favorite and I hoped that I would like this one, as well. While it didn't seem to hit that mark, it is certainly the Butthole Surfers and I like it. They are an acquired taste, for sure. I've been known to like some weird stuff. If you've only heard of them but never heard them, give a listen. I would recommend Electriclarryland over this one, but this would be a fine start, as well. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
This is weird. I like it.
Another one of those albums make me question the office mentality when putting this list together. I have quite a wide ranging vocabulary but even I'm struggling come up with words that adequately describe this utter bowl of sputum that has been delivered. To call it noise is actually insulting the concept of noise itself so i'm left describing it as the biggest pile of horseshit I have ever encountered put together by the largest bunch of fuck knuckles. And there You have it, Only the fact I'm obliged to give it one star, but I do sir but I am doing so reluctantly having had my fingernails pulled out with a pair of pliers and my ears syringed with hydrochloric acid.
Music needed this, the same way it needed Black Flag and Fugazi. It's not user friendly, but it's worth the effort. And to the haters: the music you and the critics fawn over wouldn't look so good if it wasn't for these guys.
Couple good songs. Did I need to listen to the whole album? No.
bold of me to listen on my work laptop. What a grimy album. No notes. 5 stars.
didn't listen to the whole thing but 4/5 on principal.
Strange album with some good instrumentals here and there. Not sure what the idea was when making this... After reading up on it it's a bit cooler but I'm really not sold on the whole genre of psychadelic rock. If the intention of this album was to give someone nightmares it would be a 5 star but unfortunately this is supposed to be music. SATAN SATAN SATAN (light 3) /5
I don’t dislike it all that much but it does nothing for me. I’m glad it was at least interesting and not boring
An absolute classic
somebody is hurting the chickens and it is making me sad. Kudos on making the music they wanted to make but the underside of their design seems more angry, dark, and lost than funny or even ironic.
Ce n'est pas un album que j'ai aimé du début à la fin, mais je reste quand même surpris de la variété de sons et d'expérimentations de l'album. Human Cannonball est une très bonne chanson, le reste est beaucoup plus dur à définir. Ça me donne quand même le goût d'essayer d'autres albums de leur catalogue. 6/10
Album opens on the most gradual of fade-ins I have ever experienced. I had enough time to check my sound settings to make sure audio drivers didn't shit themselves before it became perceptible. Cuts to a sincere-enough sounding vocal exchange that turns absolutely demented. Oscillates back and forth between driven sections with harmonized shouting and spaced out sections. The harmonized sections remind me a hell of a lot of some Disco Biscuits. I'm here for it. Human Cannonball is like alternative post-punk. Has the thumping drum and bassline of a Joy Division, with more expressive vocals and guitar noodling overlaid. Standout track. U.S.S.A. is a trudge of a song that makes me think of a less aggressive Soul Glo. Still, I'm into it. The O-Men features more quirkiness with a heavy, blown-out metal riff with cartoonish vocals (think Faith No More) interleaved with some helium-laiden refrain and satanic sampling. Makes for a delightfully demonic jam -- all the best parts of a bad trip :) Then there is "Kuntz" which flips us suddenly into an Indian traditional sounding song where they can openly discuss Kuntz without it sounding vulgur. Love 22 Going On 23. Pure sludge-fest with more quirky vocal samples and overlays. Well that was an eclectic listen and I feel like I am a better person having now experienced it. I'm gonna go directly back through for a second listen. Surprised I've never dived into Butthole Surfers before. Even more surprised by how different this all is to their breakout single "Pepper" from nearly a decade later. This album is a certified family favorite and I will be playing it at my cookouts this summer. Strong 4 / 5.
This album name and band name duo does not spark optimism that this album will be very good. Hopefully I'm wrong. Goddammit I hate being right.
So much noise and screaming. This album would get 5 stars on the Making me Uncomfortable for the Whole Album scale. There were a couple of songs that were alright like Human Cannonball and Kuntz was weirdly cool. But not nearly enough to pull it out of a 1.
I only know the song Pepper and I love that song so I’m excited for this. Sweat Loaf starts off absolutely unhinged. This song is insane but in a good way. Graveyard is also unhinged in a less pleasant way. Noise! That Pittsburgh to Lebanon song sounded like Tom Waits. Feel like I’m hearing him everywhere and not a fan. This is spiraling out of control very quickly I don’t like it. I was excited after the first song and everything went downhill. This is just barely a 2.
Ik ken Butthole Surfers van 'Dracula in Houston', maar dat is helaas totaal niet wat je op dit album krijgt. Dit album bestaat uit verneukte, experimentele kutherrie. Vroeger hebben ze niet genoeg aandacht van de juf gekregen, nu gebruiken ze drugs en geven ze geen fucks. Stoer man. 0 sterren afgerond naar 1. Iedereen die dit hoger geeft is interessant aan het doen. Wel een dikke albumcover, dat moet ik ze geven.
Trying way too hard just didnt get it i typically like the butthole surfers but this aint it
favourite: the o-men, kuntz, 22 going on 23 least favourite: graveyard, pittsburg to lebanon, weber, hay, u.s.s.a "how can we make our album as uncomfortable as possible" sonically, it's impressive. they can make some super cool noises & the atmosphere is 100% there the vocals on the o-men & kuntz work really well, kuntz especially has a great instrumental human cannonball stands out weirdly, doesn't really fit in with the rest of the album. otherwise, this is actually unlistenable hard to say it's "bad", they're obviously extremely talented. not for me, but I see why someone might like this mayb 5/10
Noise, but I still love it.
Locust Abortion Technician indeed… been hearing great things about this band for years but this is what they are? Shit, this was really disappointing and about as fun to listen to as nails on a chalkboard.
I like it and I could see me listening to it again, maybe a few times, particularly because it's just over 30 minutes long. It was an interesting mix of noise, tunes, riffs, and strange stuff that never failed to please.
Highly abrasive, but does have some nuggets of musicality buried in there
Occasionally dipped into melody but was mostly repetitive and discordant.
Dear lord what have I been subjected to. My butthole has not just been surfed, it has been violated. I have been violated. That said I listened to this on an airplane, does that qualify me for the mile high club?
Enjoyed this. Some Dead kennedy vibes. Human Cannonball and The O-Man were stand out tracks for me. Second half of the album was way better than the start.
Seems to be meta and they know it's bad, but are able to still make it listenable
There are a couple of good songs in here, but most of it veers into annoying weird instead of interesting weird
I tried to get into it, but by the time the album got to U.S.S.A. I realized that it kinda sucked. Sure, when I listen to music I like to have some noise. But I don't like NOIISEEEE@!!$??!.
Nah...
I had always heard of the Butthole Surfers but never gave them a listen so this is the first time I’m listening to them. They’re usually discussed within the same sphere of influential grunge bands like the Pixies. This was not what I was expecting. It’s more noise/experimental. I can hear traces of grunge in some of the songs, such as Graveyard which kinda sounds like “Come as You Are” to me.
Not for me 1/5
Noise
What the fuck did I just listen to? Is this what having a stroke sounds like?
THIS GOES HARD if you’re slightly mentally ill. I thought it was unique and different, and not some horrible thing, but then near the end it was like I started to get sick. It was weird. Added it to my library though because if I’m in a crazy mood sometime I’m definitely listening to this again lol. Overall though liked it a decent amount 4/5
I question some of the selections on this list. I like some of the stuff from this band, but I think a lot of what I appreciate comes from being in the mindset to aptly explore it. Today there were a few moments sprinkled in with what is mostly a bunch of noise.
Hard choice between a 1/5 and a 2/5 for me because it REALLY sucked but I could understand how some people could enjoy it.
I know the song "Pepper" by Butthole Surfers, but these are all new to me and this is my first time listener to a Butthole Surfers album. I do like to drop the name of this band into music conversations as often as possible because it's simply too fun to say out loud. This was cool! Super experimental music with a really raw punk edge.
У меня нет Веществ, чтобы, в соответствие с RYM ревью, оценить альбом по достоинству, но мне все равно понравилось. Я выберу вот этот карнавал ебанутых идей новому романтическому попу 80-ых 24/7/365. Лучшая песня - Human Cannonball. P.S. Подумалось, что это немного, эмм, непоследовательно, говорить о ебанутых экспериментах и выбирать самые прямые и простые песни как лучшие.
Yay, more noise rock, which is absolutely a disguise for 'we're gonna do whatever the fuck we want, call it music, and release it with absolutely no shame'. This is at least better than that horseshit we had from Liars recently, but not by much. Mercifully they keep it short, and devote a good 20% of the record to the opening track Sweat Loaf, which is at least heavy and has a great riff (which they unfortunately overuse). Human Cannonball is also fine, maybe because it doesn't have many vocals, just a lot of screaming, and some inoffensive punk styling. The less said about the rest the better (although I'll highlight Kuntz as maybe the worst track we've had on more than 700 records); why this is one of the 1001 albums we must listen to I don't know, but I'm not sure anyone should've expected much at all from a band called Butthole Surfers.
Well, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. There are dreadful bits, there's the odd passable bit, and then there's Human Cannonball, which is a great little punk song. 2/5, would not recommend anyone listen to anything other than the single.
I like other Butthole Surfers albums, but this was unlistenable. I don’t know if it was important in the development of a noise/freakout scene, but even if it was I can’t see how it merits inclusion.
I did not enjoy this.
Yeah surf da buttholez
Do I respect it? Kind of, do I like it? Not really. Some interesting moments but too much noise.
Absolute rubbish. Noise and more noise..almost turned it off three tracks in!
Nothing amazing
Want to like this much more than I did
Definitely different, but I would say it would be a mercy to receive 3 stars. it was 2-fer
I assume this album is used as torture at Guantanamo.
How the hell does an album like this make the list and not anything by Weezer?
Too discordant/ raucous. Couldn’t get through the entirety of a single song.
Þetta er nú ekkert voðalega skemmtileg plata.
Aika pörinää hitto vie. Siinä on joku lentänyt kasarin lopulla kyllä perseelleen. Tai ehkä perseeseen ottaen huomioon bändin nimen. 3/5
Jotenkin tää toimi yllättävän hyvin. Ekan biisin perusteella en ois ikinä uskonut.
Mjoo, olihan se levy eikä omaperäisyyden puutteesta voi syyttää. Osa biiseistä tosin vaikuttaa enemmän siltä, että halutaan tahallaan ärsyttää kuulijaa. 2/5.
This is just noise with no fucking purpose. At least with Nevermind I could tell Cobain was making music, even if I didn't enjoy it. This is truly just noise.
I would like to find something good (maybe the driving drums) but it is VERY hard....
Butthole Surfers - Locust Abortion Technician Not my favorite. I enjoyed Electriclarryland as an album better. Musically, it's amazing. The final song 22 Going on 23 is haunting. Not sure I'd listen to it again, but I can see why others might enjoy it. 3/5
I was pleasantly surprised at this album not expecting really much from it and I enjoyed it.
funny idea for an album and many of the songs, but the music just doesn't do anything for me.
This isn’t it. Honesty couldn’t wait for this album to end.
From the title of the album and name of the artist, I admittedly was not expecting much. However, I was pleasantly surprised as in reality, I immediately saw the relevance of the word 'abortion' in the title; in that this album should be aborted off the face of this earth for no ears to ever have to suffer through ever again. (last 2 tracks are not horrendous but not enough to save it)
this is a pretty crazy punk record. i thought it was pretty fun. obviously a lot of ~noise~ going on on this one - if that's not your thing, i get it. but to me i really enjoyed the chaotic energy of this one. definitely a vibe album.
Nervig
More discord than I was ready for today
Human Cannonball and 22 Going on 23 are the only good songs. Cute dog. FUCK clowns. 2.5
less trolling and I might have scored it higher. great band name.
I would barely call half of this album music, but it damn sure is entertaining. Not exactly "good" but it's deserving to be on this list. I liked Pittsburgh and the O-Men a lot. Some "songs" were trash. Soft 3
No comment
experimental and actually good.
Un curieux album, parfois agressante, mais intrigant
Not for me and not sure why this one made the list.
Not my favorite one of their albums
I wasn't sure about this one, but I found it awfully funny, and I think I was supposed to... Batshit crazy without being pretentious. I can get behind that!
It wasn’t all torture, but I was sure glad when it ended.
I wasn't quite bored but I didn't have a very good time either and I don't really want to listen again.
I tried listening to the Butthole Surfers back in college but didn’t enjoy them then. It’s pretty much the same story some 35 years later. I felt like I was sitting in some talented young guys’ basement listening to their band screw around and wondering when they were going to finish. I didn’t get a lot out of the songs except maybe a few moments of vague amusement even though they were talented on their instruments. I never got Butthole Surfers’ music. Clearly I’m missing something because a lot of folks disagree.
wtf is this
Early BS sounds like random noises jammed together. But you hear the influence they had on the 90s bands for sure. Red Hot Chili Peppers come to mind there….
lol
I can appreciate their influence on grunge bands of the 90’s but that’s it.
While I was wondering how I'm listening to this wonderfully unleashed psych pre-slugde metal punk for the very first time, I simultaneously knew because they're called the Butthole Surfers and I had always assumed this band's thing is to be ȩ̷̟̝̜̼͓̂̒̈͜d̶̨͈̈́̃͊̆͠ǵ̷̛̜͖̅͆͠ͅy̸̙̞̝̞͖̌̀̍, first and foremost. Was I wrong? no. But when '22 Going on 23' ended after me being quite entertained for 32 minutes, Spotify played the Melvins, because of course: as a point in the last 50 years' of music history, this album is perfectly good at making sense, and at its time, even if its or Butthole Surfers' schtick is not quite ~my vibe~.
I’ve heard many of her other songs and albums before, but not this one. I found a couple of songs I really enjoyed and the album, overall, was decent. Then I re-listened to “Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea” and thought that album was much better. I like how different her sound is across multiple albums and appreciate all of her music. Overall, glad I heard this, but not my favorite from her.
Not something I would go back to for pleasure. It was interesting and I appreciate the experimentation and funhouse quality of the music.
lol
Defiantly delightful madness that’s as artful as it is abrasive.
It must be encouraging to musicians everywhere knowing that, with a little bit of musical talent and a niche following, there will always be a place in western culture to put out albums no matter how far away from mainstream popular music they are. Admittedly, I’m not the most familiar with Butthole Surfers’ music. Pepper has always been a gem, so when I got this album, I was eager to give it a listen. What I got was a journey through a lucid musical hellscape of heavy and up tempo riffs often jammed into short tracks. From reading music industry reviews, it was likened to a musical nightmare, which I have to agree with. It clicked then that the flux of short/long tracks, embedded spoken word recordings and overall macabre theme was not a collection of tracks to be considered individually. It’s a concept album meant to be viewed as one whole piece of music. Still, every first impression I had with this album, from the title itself, to the album art, to the lyrics espousing Satan and sexual assault (among other intentionally unpleasant imagery) gave me the same thought: “oh, how edgy.” This is ultimately how I view what this album is about. It isn’t an exercise in creating memorable music, it’s a performance art piece to poke at the part of society that takes itself even a little bit seriously and feels a semblance of self importance. I guess that’s the essence of rock in roll though, right? F the establishment. Even so, I can regard this as much more than a novelty that is easily forgotten.
Not my thing.
Okay
No
I was enjoying it but it was over so fast
kinda sucks
Weird. Very weird. Not bad.
It’s like the Residents meets Throbbing Gristle, meets hard rock. I can see why a lot of people hate it, but I like ‘Locust Abortion Technician’. It pushes the limits of bad taste and bad music and is darkly funny in the process.
I was a hard-core punk kid through most of the 80s, but this is just some annoying fucking noise. I like a little musicality with my music, as opposed to this crap, which seems to have none.
1.5 Mostly just creepy noise. Kuntz and ussa were almost ok. Don’t really care to listen again
Very weird. Half the tracks were just unlistenable noise. I wondered if I was still listening to the same album multiple times. I would not willingly listen to this ever again but it was interesting and some tracks were alright so I'll give a 2. Stand-out: Human Cannonball
- This album is really weird but I get it - Like a bad acid trip - Kuntz is one of the wildest songs I've ever had the pleasure of listening to
- hmmmm - quite challenging - maybe they tried to a Trout Mask Replica thing but this didn’t hit the same - not sure that Graveyard needed a part 2
С мускатным орехом и кефиром альбом дотягивает до десятки 6/10
The kind of record that bridges the gap between the 1980s and 1990s. I'd never heard it before, and it's a great discovery. “Human Cannonball” is clearly 80s punk, while “U.S.S.A.” hints at the beginnings of Rammstein and Slipknot, to name but the best-known.
- Sweat Loaf
3 stars
I don’t like this
Kind of a meh album. Liked the sound of a few songs, then a few random noise sort of tracks kind of brought it down. Enjoyed the riff on Sweet Leaf a lot.
I didn't /hate/ hate this but it was close a few times. My listening group had Big Black's Atomizer a while back and that was another 'intentionally abrasive' record, but it had much more groove and soul than this one. This one felt a bit like a 'horror' movie, which is also not my bag really. I enjoyed a few parts of this, but ultimately I don't think I ever want to listen again.
Hated - angry and grating
holy heck. ei nykyaikana, nykyajalla pärjäisit tällästä sanoa, hullua komediaa... meikä vanha porilainen, tälläsestä ymmärrä .. haistakkaan haujakaan.. uudet veret hulluttelee give me the eagles..On a dark desert highway... Cool wind in my hair.. siitä ymmärtää.. autolla radio ppäälle ja haisemaan.. siinä nautiskellessa.. eikä tarvi tietokoneilla muunneskella , soittimilla pärjätään mainiosti. pittsburgh to lebanon
It's not music for the mainstream audience, but it does sound like they've tried really hard to put a genre out there for people who hate their parents, which might be more than I would have expected. but who knows?
A bit too experimental and challenging for me. Human Cannonball seems to be the most traditional song and easiest to approach. There's a few others that i can appreciate, such as Sweat Loaf, Pittsburgh to Lebanon and 22 Going on 23, but most of the rest is a bit too noisy without obvious purpose.
SOme interesting stuff here...even catchy at times. I imagine this is like a modern day Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band. In the end it is just too noisy for me to really enjoy 2 stars
4,6 Sweat Loaf - 7 Graveyard - 3 Pittsburgh to Lebanon - 6,8 Weber - Hay - 5 Human Cannonball - 6,9 U.S.S.A. - 1 The O-Men - 3 Kuntz - 3,8 Graveyard - Pt. 2 - 5 22 Going On 23 - 5
Nope
Fine if you're into that sort of thing I guess. I am not.
Starts off okay. Then gets real meh and weird, but not good weird.
3 - so I think this made a lot more sense than black flag. It felt angry and angsty and did land. I thought I was going to really hate it but just didn’t. Some parts were really hard though.
Butthole Surfers performed under a different name at every live show. Early aliases included The Dick Clark Five, Nine cm Worm Makes Own Food, The Vodka Family Winstons, Ashtray Babyheads, Ed Asner Is Gay, Fred Astaire's Asshole, The Right to Eat Fred Astaire's Asshole, The Inalienable Right to Eat Fred Astaire's Asshole, Zipgun, and many others. The silence for the first 15 seconds of the album is unnerving. Who does that. Not surprising then that the album ends with 15 seconds of cows mooing, naturally. I find this album mostly disgusting to listen to, yet I do really admire the chaotic experimentalism of their brand of noise rock. I would be interested in exploring their other work after listening to this. Fave Track: Kuntz 2/5
Quite the ordeal. 0 stars.
Feels timeless and somehow very of the moment it was created.
Well it's a bizarre noise freak out for the most part, definitely not an every day listen, but I can appreciate it honestly. Call it a 3.5.
Was expecting to hate this album, given the name of the band and the low rating on this sight, pleasantly surprised, I enjoyed a lot of the noise aspects of this album, actually holds together pretty well, given this is different to all the Brit pop and 60s rock/pop bloating this list, I believe this deserves its place on the list, just not quiet up to the standards of Sonic Youth or Pixies in making noise rock. 3 stars.
Hopefully never again
My only experience with the band was “Take the Skinheads Bowling.” It started out promising with “Sweet Loaf” but got repetitive and redundant even in its short length. I get that they’re trying to be provocative and all. But it was just… boring.
DNF. What the fuck was that.
epic madness
8/10 awesome album, but I could’ve done with a little less of the 💥💥🧨💣🤯🤯😡😡📢📢💥📢
This album must belong to the author of the book 1001 albums to listen before you die, cause, this has no reason to exist. But unfortunately, it exists in this universe. 1 for the cover
Another day another album without a songs on it. Sounds like Pixies just fucking around trying to sound as awful as they for the most part. I’m not above laughing out loud to a middle eastern vibed song called Kuntz but overall I don’t need to listen to this album 2.9/10
This album was chaotic. Every track felt like they could be in a soundtrack of some old movie. All I had in my mind while I listened to this was these crazy scenarios these songs could be played over. It was interesting, but I can't really recommend the album for anyone. Favorite was "Human Cannonball" obviously.
This is not exactly what I thought it would be having heard the Butthole Surfers that everyone knows. I remember these guys as almost like a joke band from when I was in school. I'd only ever heard some of the stuff they released in the mid 90s. Although there's a lot on this album that could literally be taken away, I mean like 70% of it is basically just weird sounds, the actual songs are pretty solid. Some of it is vaguely Primus-esque but without the amazing bass if that makes sense. Some of it is pretty straightforward 80s punk. You've got a song in Thai with an accordion in the background. But all together it kind of works. A weird band with an unfortunate name, I feel like I can let this one rest.
4.25
Haven’t done enough drugs for this
While I love the B-Surfer, I don't think this is quite as good as their later stuff. Give me Weird Revolution or Electriclarryland any day of the week.
I don’t understand what would be appealing about this album. I guess it’s supposed to be subversive, but it doesn’t even do a good job at that. It’s like they’re trying too hard to be edgy, which just makes it uncool. Plus the music is downright unpleasant.
Must be difficult telling people you are a fan of the Butthole Surfers and not because the band name, but because this album is a joke…hence the clowns on the album cover. But really the joke is on anyone who had to listen to this crap and pretend it’s art. Note: the only semi-ok thing that came from the Buttholes is “Pepper”, in my humble opinion.
Well that was interesting… very experimental. Not very fun to listen to.
Pretty good punk album. Great guttural noise.
Nope. Would need to be on something to understand this one.
I like the light and experimental aspect of it. It sounds like they are just having fun in the studio trying out different effects. But not really any I’d come back to listen to. Rating: 3.1
Hvem skulle trodd at butthole surfers var et unhinged band? Mentalt ustabil sanger og ustabilt band. Hva faen har de tatt jeg orker ikke mer.
Nope.
Syntes dette bare var bråk ass. Dette album-prosjektet har fått meg til å forstå at jeg ikke er en punker.
I knew I’d get a surfers album eventually, absolutely enjoyed it and listened a second time through! 5/5 recommend. It’s short and sweet, and Sweat Loaf is a great song
The songs are not good. It’s not really funny. It’s not really shocking for 1987. I always try to understand why people like the albums on the list, but I have a hard time cracking this one. I guess people have fond memories of using this album to set themselves apart from the normies in high school. 1.5
6 songs in and I don't know what to make of this. A weird mix of potty humor, expiramentation, heavy sludge riffs, and punk sensibilities. I'll give it a three because I don't know what to do with this.
Rating: 5/10
Not my type
#47. I know I said I was going to be less harsh in dealing out one stars after that Tom Waits album, but I guess I lied. Because I kinda hate this. I mean, it's nowhere near as bad as Tom Waits, but I still hate it. It's not really music so much as just noise. 1/5: terrible Song added to playlist: Human Cannonball I've created a playlist on Spotify that consists of the best and/or my favorite song from each of the albums in this book. This list can be found here if you are interested: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7MAXDGLWlwLkFLb8veGfkA?si=FqkQQPgZTFWG0jAUJXLFZA&utm_source=copy-link
I'm really looking forward to my meetings today.
# 115 : Loud noisy mixed up disjointed PUNK trash. Some of the songs are like, Play a few instruments and scream a bit, and some are ok. Not something I'll go back to. Favourite Track : Human Cannonball Listened : 22/11/2023
Ontzettend matig album, waarom dit nou op de 1001 lijst moest staan..?? Het enige nummer dat nog te doen is is Human Cannonball, verder is het grotendeels herrie. The O-men is wat mij betreft het beste voorbeeld over waarom dit zulke herrie is. U.S.S.A kan er ook wat van Butthole surfers komt op mij over als een super edgy tieners project, nogmaals, waarom staat dit in godsnaam in de lijst?? 1 voordeel: het album duurt heel kort.
Happy to see some Butthole Surfers on this list. Locust Abortion Technician is such a bonkers album, though it's not one I've listened to a ton. It's fun to hear less constrained versions of sounds that they continue to play with on later albums. Album description describes that they had their own house to record in with long sessions broken up by heavy drug use...yeah, that tracks, lol!
I'd definitely listened to this before, but perhaps my exposure to more weird music made this a lot more palatable than it was to me previously. That being said, there's a few tracks on here that are less songs and more experiments, which is cool in its own right, but I mostly am interested in songs. The songs are bangers though. 3.49/5
You’d think Butthole Surfers would be right up my alley, but I’m not that hot on them. I appreciate the weirdness to their craft but I’d rather listen to Melvins or Mr. Bungle. C
Now I know what Dave Grohl is talking about.
first listen super weird, but like not in the way i enjoy
I remember hearing about this band in the 80s and I admit I didn't pay any attention to them because of their name. My bad, I know. At the time, punk and hard-core and all that stuff was pretty widespread and I dismissed them because I thought, ugh, here's another juvenile punk band trying to be provocative and offensive, and at the time, that was so common it was really boring. Shock for shock's sake, and all that. Admittedly, as noted, my bad. Decades later, I try to be much more conscious of my many biases and filters. It's great when I can work past those because I often discover new things that way. Back to this album. It's a lot more interesting than I had thought it would be. More going on, more layers and styles, etc. It's probably my middle-aged ears, but I don't always hear the words being sung or shouted. And because I don't listen very often to really thrashy, dissonant, and heavily distorted music like this, some of the tracks were tough for me, but I readily admit that's due in large part to my conditioning and experiences. I do appreciate what they were going for here, and how they executed it. They are very skilled and interesting musicians in many ways. Kind of an odd thing for me to add to a record review, but I get the feeling the group's members would be very interesting to get to know. I get the sense there are some unusual thoughts and views in there. I always like that.
I think there are better butthole surfers albums to put on this list. This certainly is interesting and is bordering the line of noise rock but not necessarily good. There are songs on here that are dissonant but with out any purpose to back, it feels like they have a lot to say on this album but it's really all over the place and doesn't state its message(s) clearly. Overall it feels like this album needs a bunch of context to even start to enjoy it. 2 Repeats:human cannonball, kuntz Skips: graveyard, ussa, the o men
It's like Ween but shit.
Chunky, crunchy, not entirely unpleasant. Sounds more like Nine Inch Nails than Nirvana.
Cooked but rather fun
Probably the most outright wild album we've had so far. Maybe it's just by virtue of it being refreshing, but I relished this. Weird, spooky, fuzzy, chunky goodness. Fave track: Sweat Loaf
Yeah - I gotta tell you...this album was fucking awful. It sounded like the noise my friends and I would make with our instruments while drunk in high school.
Not for me
I prefer suicidal tendencies to the surfers. Some nice sounds but too many sound effects for me
It's rare a band min-maxes into both the experimental and fun stats, but my god they do it. They could surf my butthole any day.
Great Noise, although some parts where I think it is maybe a little too nonconforming and challenging for no other purpose than to be that way.
From start to finish this album feels like some sort of a fever dream
The first bit of the album is a slog to get through. Those last four tracks...starting with o-men, are a tidy noisy mess.
Weird, abrasive, fuzzy, and shocking. The guitar sound is superb, as is the playing. I think I love it.
How is this even in the top 1001 greatest albums!? Trash
Better than I expected. Weird of course but some solid riffs
In a nutshell: background music for reenacting The Aristocrats joke. Heard of the band name, never heard their music. Was anticipating punk rock based on the short description on here. Nope. Don't let the opening sentence of the album's Wikipedia entry fool you, this isn't the rock music you're expecting. This album is definitely punk. It's more in the experimental noise genre than rock. Overall: 1/10
I just could not handle listening to this one the whole time. Ouch
Happy day 365 to me and I’m blessed with a masterpiece. This is SO good. Don’t trust the haterz.
Crystal Castles noise was less than expected in this line of deterioration. Expecting a closed loop is unfair, but that slope was steep, functionally a drop exhausting the ears. Entertaining and surprising from end to end, though.
Uh, yeah it's something. The album reminds me of Captain Beefheart in some ways, but it's a fairly unique listen in its own right.
eh ill probably blow it with this girl, im actually really shy sometimes. and thats okay. maybe everything may fail and you really just have no control over life. and thats okay too. eat the pizza its good for you. im cleaning moth larvae and mould out of the fucking floor lol this album kind of fucking stinks
Yeah not my thing. I try to listen to the whole album each time but I couldn't make it through the first song.
First I thought, are my headphones broken? But no, amazing
Was a lil high when listening to this and it made me scared, should probably check out when sober.
I tried, though not very hard, it’s noisy and weird as expected, but still good, would love to give it another shot.
Occasionally brilliant, occasionally unlistenable - I guess that's what you get from a band who are deliberately pushing around with what music is and how music makes you react.
“Kuntz” was a standout here.
Rock experimental. Ni fu ni fa.
bof
Not for me, wasn't horrendous but not my vibe.
Just terrible. Not one redeeming quality. Nothing to even say about it besides that it sucks.
Butthole Surfers Genre: Noise Rock, Psychedelic rock, Experimental rock, Avant-garde 1987 3rd Listen: 4, 3.5 Standouts: Sweet Loaf, Human Cannonball, The O-Men, 22 Going on 23 Others: Pittsburgh to Lebanon, Graveyard, Kuntz Sweet Loaf is an awesome track! I always loved Sweet Leaf by Black Sabbath and this is a really cool version! And it really sets the mood for the rest of the album. 4/5
How does this album even make it on this list? *sigh*
1/5. Maybe I’m not “smart” enough to get this album, but it’s horrible. Reminds me of Trout Mask Replica, which I also don’t “get.” Not a singular moment on this record is redeeming and every second was a waste of my time.
Not great. Abrasive and weird for the sake of it. Sounds ahead of its time, though.
Love this album
Bad
Mmmm
Very strange album. The track "Sweat Loaf" parodies the riff from Black Sabbath's "Sweet Leaf", while "Kuntz" samples a Thai country music song.
Why? These guys can make music worth hearing, why would they make this? No thanks.
65/100
delightful garbage
I patiently waited for this to finish. Was not a fan
I’d be interested to know the “music” to “stupid ass noise” ratio of this one. At 30mins, even the small amount of “music” on here isn’t any good. There’s a lot of weird, unpleasant shit on this list.
I never really liked Butthole Surfers all that much, whether it's this album or any of the others. They always came off as a bit pretentious to me. Maybe that's because I knew a dude who creamed his pants over this band and thought he was better than people who "weren't smart enough" to enjoy them. Just like any of their other albums, there's a few okay tracks but mostly annoying crap. I stopped trying to like them like 15-20 years ago and I'm not going to start now.
This is one of the worst things Ive ever listened to
Rien de bien intéressant à raconter au sujet de ces surfeurs de fions qui nous proposent un énième album soi-disant incontournable mais absolument pas agréable à l'oreille. Dommage pour de la musique.
C'était bien bien éclaté merci aux Butthole Surfers pour ce superbe moment de gêne.
I don't like the butthole servers much
I started off thinking this was alright, despite the title and band name. By later in the day it was a “NO” from me ! 1*
Grew on me over the course of the day to the point where listening almost became addictive.
it's as bad as you'd expect from a band called "butthole surfers" with the album called "locust abortion technician"
You know, I love some experimental rock. It can even be noisy. But the noise-expermential rock of the Butthole Surfers is something I find a bit to annyoing even though there are some good songs on this like 'Graveyard' or 'Human Cannonball'. I can see why some people might like it but it's not for me.
Weird noisy stuff. I can see how Kurt Cobain could be influenced by some of this and I did hear a melodic guitar riff in the last “song”. It might be slightly disingenuous to give it one star, but it really was not an enjoyable listen.
Gnarly punk!
A lot of noise and swearing dressed up in various attempted music genres. It's garbage. Still wondering who thought this should be on the list...
I'm sure everything about this was edgy and cool in 1987, I just can't find a way to enjoy it now. Maybe as a rebellious teenager I would have been all about it... guess I'm officially an old man because my assessment is that it just feels like loud noise and the various names of band/album/songs are off-putting. It does not leave me wanting more.
Come Halloween, I am blasting this record from my house. This album just begs for the accompaniment of occult imagery and dangerously sporadic flashing lights. One review I read used the phrases "Psychotic Eccentricity" and "Sinister Weirdness." Yep. That about sums it up.
The whole album feels yuck, and not because of the name, lol! So not my vibe. And while I get the musical evolution, this is one chain in the evolve I could do without.
Prior to this album, I only knew the song “Pepper” by Butthole Surfers which I do enjoy. This album started weird, and stayed weird, but I think it got slowly better. Hay, The O-Men, and Kuntz were surprisingly good. I’m honestly surprised I’m giving it a 3, but I’d probably give it a 5/10.
It was alright, not my type though
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
a hmmm idk ..........
Was supposed to interview King Gizzard And the Lizard Wizard for a webzine at a festival today. But the band cancelled all interviews at the last minute to shoot a video by the seaside. So what I'm doing instead is sit idly for the concerts to begin near the artists' lodges. Not because the artists are there, but because I need wifi to listen to today's... well... to listen to today's "album". Sometimes life serves you milk and honey. And sometimes it's just a platter of smelling turds. I feel like "L" is written on my forehead right now. In a way, this record is fitting given the circumstances I'm find myself in at the moment. Things will get better when the gigs start in a couple of hours, hopefully... As much as I respect and understand most of Kurt Cobain's provocative / drugged out impulses when he wrote that "50 favorites albums list" (including *Locust Abortion technician*), it"s obvious that he was more enamoured of the "fuck you" concept behind this LP than the music actually displayed in it. The best "music" in this album is actually a long sample of Thai musicians with a few sparse effects added to it ("Kuntz"). "Human Cannonball", "Graveyard part 2", and "22 Going On 23" are also interesting experimental noise rock. But that's as far as I'll go to "defend" this LP. File next to Throbbing Gristle. As I said before, I'm glad that Dimery's list also picked weird shit to subvert the whole concept of what an "essential" album should be. In this case it's just not the sort of weird shit I would choose myself. Next, please. Number of albums left to review: 465 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 252. Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 125 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 159 (including this one)
Driving with my infant daughter, she's cranky so I think "I'll put on some music, she likes music." Open to see the album of the day and push play. That didn't work out as anticipated. I think I ruined my daughter's morning and mine. For what value does "music" like this hold? Why does noise rock exist? What talent does it demonstrate? I swear I could have reproduced this in high school with my friends in an afternoon. And this is a "must hear"? Nope.
I did not like the music, but I did like the sense of humor in the songs? I'm glad it's over, but I'm also glad I listened to it once. That's... an odd experience. U.S.S.A was my favorite song. Very glad to be hearing more variety in this list.
cool
throwing random sounds and vocals into poorly created melodies is not going to result in good music. locust abortion technician is a disjointed, messy album. it's fine butthole surfers did a play off a black sabbath song, but what was the point? what did butthole surfers do in this album to be anywhere near remarkable and legendary?
The Butthole Surfers surfed too far in and discovered a steaming pile of crap. That's it. That's the review.
Good god, just make it stop. This is pretty much what I was expecting for an artist that is named Butthole Surfers.
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.
This album wasn’t an enjoyable listen. No real songs other than Human Cannonball. Not my thing. Gave it a second listen, slightly better but still not feeling it.
1/11, 9%
Nee.
Fever dream. 4/5
another one of those irreverent "noise for the sake of noise" albums, but it comes off as self-aggrandizing and a bit pointless. thought this 30min album was an hour.
If I thought I heard weird stuff before….
No value whatsoever.
Interesting for sure. A product of its time. 5/10
Wow we were so lucky to be able to listen to this album.
Why is this on here?
"I've chosen this album for my 1001 albums to listen to before you die list because the artist has 'Butthole' in their name. I think the word butthole is funny but their music is kind of terrible."
What a fantastic band name! I’m not sure if I’ve heard anything by the Butthole Surfers, but I’ve most definitely heard of them before. I’m expecting 90’s alt noise rock, but I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe I have heard them before. I can’t remember. Let’s listen and find out! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Human Cannonball There were parts of this album that I quite enjoyed, but quite a lot that seemed to verge a little too far into noisy and strange. I enjoyed this at first, but it didn’t take long for my brain to start tuning out and my attention would be lost despite having the music playing directly into my ears by my big headphones. Overall, I’d say this was an ok album. Some songs were decent, but there wasn’t enough to keep me engaged and I doubt I’ll be listening again.
Rommelig, maar dat was de bedoeling, af en te rete irritant, en hier en daar best goed. Maar niet goed genoeg. Begrijp dat het invloedrijk was.
Pretty Awful
Just not my thing
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!!!
Yet another band I feel that I've always known about, but never actually listened to. I enjoyed this - playful and experimental
un discazo. te tiene que gustar la disonancia, el pánico y el ruido, pero un discazo
Not for me.
The first track starts with 30 seconds of silence, which I thought was kind of fucked up because I was worried that there was something wrong with my speakers. But after listening, that silence was by far the best part of the album.
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).
'Human Cannonball' is a great track the rest of the album is pretty unique and a bit crazy, which I enjoyed.
Rock experimental. Ni fu ni fa.
Un poco insoportable. Menos 22 Going On 23. Noise rockpsychedelic rockexperimental rockavant-garde.
Had some good laughs listening to this. The music sucks but it's great. Good job Butthole guys. Now get out of my sight.
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.
What a weird album, but oddly enough - it was ok. With a mix of noise, psychedelic and experimental rock, this experimental album really pushes the boundaries for what you can do with limited recording equipment. Best: U.S.S.A. Worst: Weber
That was not an easy listen. Not dreadful, but again questioning quite how some of these made the list.
It has a distinctively weird and creepy vibe to it that feels like it matches perfectly with the artist, album title and artwork.
Not nearly as bad as I was expecting. Hated a couple of songs, but was generally vibing to the rest (to a certain point).
This should be my thing but its not
I persevered, I'm very grateful it's only 32 mins as for most of it I thought "let's just pop in that Stan Getz album that's I need to listen to" but am I glad I persevered? Yes as I don't need to listen to again. It's not terrible, part of it is well constructed and clever, and you can't knock the band name. Next.
The kind of punk I prefer, weird loud fun cringe. I liked U.S.S.A. Made me think of what Merzbow could be if it was actual music
thank god it was short USSA might be one of the worst things ive heard last song was decent
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
2/10. Sounds exactly how it sounds like it'd sound.
This album tells you what it is in its title. Believe it. 2/10
Ignoring the terrible name, I don’t like music that seems to come from a place of pure derision, which this does. Sounds like a bunch of smart asses trying to be edgy. I’d much rather listen to Minutemen.
I like quite a lot of noise rock, but this one never did it for me. I am glad I listened to it when it came out, but never go back to it the same way I go back to Sonic Youth.
Yuck. Why is this noise on the list???
Funny band name. Horrible album. Just awful and grating on my ears. Were they making fun of sexual assault? Double gross if so.
I know what to expect from this band and yet I still can't find a way to appreciate it. Like, I can't understand how presumably a group of people and a not insignificant amount of money went into hiring producers, sound engineers, studio time, agents, etc to produce this and print it on LPs, cassettes, whatever. I am left wondering what I'm missing, or whether I'm really missing anything and people who like this sort of thing are suckers.
I’ll be brutally honest. I hated every second. So much wasted potential with the talent of the artists. I don’t know if they just didn’t care, or too many drugs. Incoherent.
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.
I don't hate it. I actually kinda like it, but let's be real; if I listened to this album again, I would probably get bored.
Un mauvais moment à passer parmi tant d'autres
album captivant de la part des surfeurs trouduc
Yeah nah.
Very weird, but adored by a bunch of bands I love. Not my favourite, but pretty interesting
I didnt like 'Hay' but if I had to choose the best abbattoir music, it's probably on the The Smiths 'Meat is Murder'. The rest of the album is interesting.
A decent half hour - stupid as fuck but a lot of fun.
Better stuff surfs out of my butthole
som viagem, nao dos mais agradaveis de se curtir mas proposta criativa/irreverente
15th May 2023 Listened during the day while working from home. Busy day, house bits after then Liverpool Leicester. Everything about this is anarchic. From the band name to the song Kuntz. But not in a good way.
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."
Puuuh Made me laugh now and then but overall a really annoying piece of mischief