America Must Be Destroyed | ||||
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Studio album by Gwar | ||||
Released | March 31, 1992 | |||
Recorded | 1991 | |||
Genre | Heavy metal, experimental rock, comedy rock | |||
Length | 47:43 | |||
Label | Metal Blade | |||
Producer | Glen Robinson | |||
Gwar chronology | ||||
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Allmusic |
America Must Be Destroyed is Gwar’s third album, released in 1992 as their second album on Metal Blade Records. The album’s lyrical content was inspired by controversy over obscenity charges against the band and an incident in Charlotte, North Carolina in which frontman Dave Brockie’s prosthetic penile attachment, "The Cuttlefish of Cthulhu", was confiscated by police officers.
The lyrical content in America Must Be Destroyed was greatly inspired by Dave Brockie’s fight with police officers while touring in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1990. The controversy revolved around Brockie’s rubbery penis adornment and ended with him being arrested on charges disseminating obscenity. Brockie was revolted by this attack on his rights and so he created a concept album revolving around an elite "Morality Squad" that attacked the members of Gwar and stole Oderus’s penile attachment (a.k.a. Cuttlefish of Cthulu, a phallic hell beast that normally dangles from his crotch). The opening song, "Ham on the Bone" (which has a nod to grindcore) explains this robbery. The story then shifts to Gwar headquarters in Antarctica, where Oderus’s slaves are ordered to shoot up a dinosaur egg with crack. The result is the mighty Gor Gor, a Tyrannosaurus Rex that wreaks havoc on America. Meanwhile, the Morality Squad has enlisted the help of Father Bohab (a Catholic priest) to crucify Gwar in the media. Other songs of interest include "Have You Seen Me?", "Poor Ole Tom", and "The Road Behind". A video, Phallus in Wonderland, was released as a supplement to the album’s storyline. This album was followed by The Road Behind, an EP that contained that single and a live version of "Have You Seen Me?’ (which contained a notorious Ween sample at the end). The single "S.F.W." (a staple of their live shows) was supposedly released on this album as a bonus track, but this has been discounted by the band.